Camcorder with time lapse?

This is just an exploratory query at the moment, the requirement is far from certain as yet.

Does anyone know of a camcorder, not more that about £500 and preferably HD, that can do time lapse photography?

Doesn't have to be off its own battery, it can be mains powered, but obviously needs a tripod mount.

If it suits your needs, check out the GoPro HD Hero2 - that does time lapse, however, it is on the small side so doesn't have a lot of features that a bigger camcorder has...

Here's a guide to do the time lapse with the GoPro

The size is only a problem insofar as it's likely to get lost at the bottom of the camera bag

And as you imply it's a bit basic, especially optically... but it's not expensive (tho' VAT and import duty won't help) so I'll put it on the list as a possible, thanks

I've done a few timelapses at uni. I use the video function on my Canon 600d and record for a few hours, then increase the speed of the video in premiere. Any 1080p HD camera will do a decent job, it's all in the post processing really to make it smooth.

What do you want to do?

1 frame or a short video clip every few minutes/hours?

My 40D doesn't have a video mode, and I don't want to buy another DSLR!

I could control it from the computer and stitch a series of stills together with QuickTime, but I'd prefer not to be tied to a computer... I'd much rather the camera could take stills at pre-selected intervals until I told it to stop. I'd also prefer the camera to stitch them together so I just had to download an mpeg movie from it, but I suspect that may be asking a lot

Single frame at intervals from a second or so up to a few minutes should cover it. Keep going until I tell it to stop or it runs out of memory

Does your DSLR not do that? Then use an editing programme to create the video ... I have done it several times using my Pentax and if I save as a medium quality JPG I can get a few thousand on the card.

In reply to a post by MHC:

Does your DSLR not do that?

No; it's got a couple of continuous shooting modes (~3 or ~7fps) but they're not adjustable and you have to hold the shutter release down for as long as you want to shoot.

But I don't really want to mess about using the DSLR, all I want is a half-way decent camcorder that can take a still at presettable intervals without being tied to a computer, it's not a lot to ask is it?

a simple app on a smartphone might do what you want.

In reply to a post by ggremlin:

smartphone

In reply to a post by billford:

a half-way decent camcorder

Does not compute

Anyway, I haven't got a smartphone and have no intention of getting one!

Sorry, not a camcorder but the Nikon J1 can do time lapse (but only up to 999 shots in a set).

Thanks, but I'd like more than that- at least 2 minutes worth, ie >3,000 frames.

I'm beginning to think that my earlier comment of "not too much to ask" was more than a touch optimistic . I've found a JVC that will do time lapse, but it's out of my price bracket and only has fixed intervals of 1, 5 and 40 seconds. Not as flexible as I'd hoped.

Time to re-think my ambitions I think!

Probably is!

Get a second hand Pentax K20 !

Nice results on this and refurbished cheap enough, Got dad a SD sony job from Tesco for £140 last year so even full price of 168 for this not bad. Have seen HD camcardered for well but do this as on youtube, who knows.

http://www.geek.com/articles/gadgets/jvc-hm300-time-...

http://www.idealo.co.uk/compare/1953384E0J2/jvc-gz-h...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=jvc+gz+h...

I'd seen that one in a few places, but all it said was "Time Lapse - Yes", but no indication of the range available and it's taken me until now to find the detailed user manual!

(On the JVC website, where I should have looked first )

One or two reviews suggest that the battery life is less than brilliant, but that shouldn't be a problem. It looks distinctly promising, thanks

If you have an old Canon point and shoot this may work.

http://chdk.wikia.com/wiki/CHDK_for_Dummies

I'd forgotten about my old PowerShot G2... I think it probably won't do some of the things I'd like that a modern camcorder will, but as it's free it's definitely worth a look for playing/practising with, if nothing else.

I'll dig out the G2 and investigate whether it will work or not, cheers



Later...

Damn, the G2 isn't on their list . But thanks for the thought!

Edited by billford (Wed 09-May-12 15:32:02)

Pity, I think your PowerShot G2 is slightly too old as it uses digic1. Meant to be (Windows) dos compatible though!

Just to point out, it is for sale on Amazon etc, and from most good camera shops so no need for import duty

In reply to a post by john2007:

Pity, I think your PowerShot G2 is slightly too old as it uses digic1. Meant to be (Windows) dos compatible though!

Maybe it is, but I'm not

In reply to a post by metalhead41:

Just to point out, it is for sale on Amazon etc, and from most good camera shops so no need for import duty

That just means it's hidden in the price

I've more-or-less decided on the JVC Everio GZ-HM650, but I'll try to find somewhere local to have a look at one before I commit myself.

How about controlling it from your Mac using iStopMotion from Boinx?

In reply to a post by ian_c:

How about controlling it from your Mac using iStopMotion from Boinx?

I didn't know about that one... as I said earlier, I don't really want to tie the camera to a computer but the camcorder options are looking less attractive as I investigate them further.

The "Home" version looks attractive at $49.99 but it's limited to 960x540 pixels... if I want to use the camera's full 2272x1704 I need the "Pro" version at $499.99

I'll give it some thought, thanks for the suggestion.

How about a timer remote control for your 40D such as this (& for the princely sum of £12!)

I'd looked at the proper Canon unit but it was a bit pricey, that looks more reasonable.

Using the 40D, camera battery life might be an issue for very long elapsed times... an advantage of the G2 is that you charge the batteries in situ, so in effect you can run it from the mains. I've got a battery grip on order for the 40D (for other reasons), that will help with that problem.

I see some of the reviews are less than enthusiastic about the build quality, but for twelve quid it's worth a punt, thanks

Update, for those who may be interested:

More in hope than expectation, I tried hooking the G2 up to the MacBook and running ImageCapture... after a few false starts (mainly due to finger trouble), it worked

(The 40D didn't like it- it went into a "busy" loop and stayed there until I switched it off )

It's not ideal because of the way the G2 works- it has to be in "playback" mode, and then you've got no control over the camera settings (zoom level, flash on/off etc). But as a trial I pointed it out the window at the cloudscape (fortunately it's fairly windy here today) and let it take a picture every 15 seconds while I watched the second practice for the Spanish Grand Prix

Then install the QuickTime 7 player from the Snow Leopard CD, upgrade to Pro and follow the instructions as for the GoPro (thanks metalhead).

So now I have a nice little 24-second time lapse video of the clouds hurtling over me for 90 minutes- happy bunny

In a few days when I've got more time I'll check out the trial version of iStopMotion (thanks Ian) and see if that's better for camera control.

In reply to a post by billford:

In reply to a post by metalhead41:

Just to point out, it is for sale on Amazon etc, and from most good camera shops so no need for import duty

That just means it's hidden in the price

I've more-or-less decided on the JVC Everio GZ-HM650, but I'll try to find somewhere local to have a look at one before I commit myself.

I got the HM 435 and i am happy with it for the most part, the controls are a bit fiddly if I want to do manual settings, but video quality si good for what it is. I never tried the time lapse on it, but I may have a go this week since I am off work for a week, I may set it up in town. Saying that you can do a time lapse in a video editor anyway.

Battery life could be better i must admit, going to buy a second battery for it.

the one you are looking at is a few models above mine.