Unwanted Timelapse Movement

[Brandon Barnard]

I have been experimenting with timelapse the last few weeks and I keep running into the same problem. First, here are my specs.

7d
kit lens
knock off intervalometer (philip recommended)
All done on steady ground with beefy manfrotto sticks.

Typical setup:
100 to 400 iso
f3.5
MF
4-6 sec intervals
camera set to AV. Only thing that is adjustable(on the camera's end) is the shutter speed.

The Problem:
It seems that the camera moves during the timelapse. It almost bounces around. The frame will stay steady for like 60 frames then hop around and it looks like someone is almost bumping the camera.

Any help is much appreciated. I have searched but have come up empty handed.

[Jon Fairhurst]

Try shooting your timelapse in Live View. Otherwise, the mirror has to flip for each shot. That can move the camera around if your tripod isn't rock solid.

[Chris Medico]

Be sure to turn OFF the IS on the lens. That can cause the image to shift around between exposures. It can look like the camera is being bumped pretty hard.

You can go into the menu and choose "mirror lockup" to reduce camera shake from mirror movement. My gut feeling is that its not mirror movement causing the problem.

[Brandon Barnard]

Thanks guys, I will test this out soon and let you know.

[Brandon Barnard]

It was the IS on the lens. Turned that baby off and I am getting fantastic results. Now on to the next challenge...flicker.

Ultimate Frisbee Time-lapse 2 on Vimeo

[Jon Fairhurst]

Regarding flicker there are three ways to counter it. The first is to shoot with a lens that has an aperture ring. The second is to shoot with an EF-compatible lens using a wide open lens aperture. The third is to stop down your EF lens, hold the DOF preview button, and untwist the lens.

The problem is that EF lenses open the aperture between each shot for easy viewing and accurate focusing. They then close down for each small aperture photo. The problem is that the aperture closes slightly differently for each photo. Keeping the aperture stable through the timelapse will eliminate the flicker.

Personally, I prefer long exposure timelapses (like your example above) to stuttery sequences. I also tend to prefer deep field of focus shots for timelapse and slow motion as my eyes like to wander around the scene. To achieve this, you need to stop down to f/11 or tighter. Consider a 0.9 or higher neutral density filter as well when doing daylight timelapses. Since my lenses all have electronic apertures, I always untwist them for timelapses.

Enjoy!