HD Time Lapse with the HC1
 

Hello,

I want to do some time lapse footage using the HC1. I would like to use the camera within the camcorder to capture each frame and then compile them in post production.

My question is this.....Which photo option (fine-standard) would you suggest I use?

When the Camcorder is in Camera-Tape mode the:
1440X810 (which can later be slightly stretched to fit on a 1920*1080 screen)
Fine = 645KB
Standard = 274 KB

When Camcorder is in Memory Mode the:
1920X1080
Standard = 450

(Each picture take about 2 seconds writing time so it is acceptable for time lapse)

Any advice would be appreciated.

Curtis Shillington

I personally would not use the HC1, and opt for a real digital camera to capture at a higher rez for such work.

Canon has a free still image capture utility that will allow greater flexibility and capture directly to a labtop. Again just my opinion. Therefore, you should do a quick test using the HC1 and see which settings work for yourself.

I use the HC1 for timelapse in memory mode with a 1GB Memory Stick Pro Duo (940 jpg in fine quality). The image size is 1920x1080 and I import them in Quicktime. You can also choose 1920x1440 and apply a tilt movement later in Post-Production. In the menu Pict-Appli select INT.REC-STL and set the interval to 1, 5 or 10 min.

Thanks for the reply!!!

The problem I found with shooting FINE-1920X1080 pics is that each pic takes about 2-3 seconds 2 process.....(i guess this is not a big deal though in most circumstances).
1 GB card will get you 1000 pics (aprox. 30 sec of time lapse = which is about 50 minutes of shooting time)

Do you think using 1920X1080 Standard will look any different after you transfer it to video and watched on a HD TV?

About QUICKTIME:
Is this the best program to use in transforming all these pics into a timelapse video? How do you go about this process with QUICKTIME?

What are the steps to achieve time lapse with the HC1?

To do timelapse with the HC1 you have a couple of options:

1-easiest and cheapest way is to record a full 60 min tape then speed it up in post production to about 2 minutes....

2-you will need an intervolometer to control the camcorder to take photo's .....you can use software on your computer.....or a http://www.bmumford.com/photo/camctlr.html after you have all your pictures you put them together in post production.....

3-get a http://www.focusinfo.com/solutions/catalog.asp?id=149

If you don't mind tethering to a laptop, HDV Rack 2 (now released by Adobe) has a time lapse recording feature. I haven't used it but I believe it records directly to video so you wouldn't have to convert from a sequence of images.

Does the HC1 dont have an own function for this?
The DCR-HC96 has one.
I recently did a review on this:
http://babelfish.altavista.com/babel...%26Itemid%3d28

Yes the HC96 has a really good time lapse function.....but they took this option off almost all of their camcorder. Their is only a handful of 'older' model sony camcorders which include this function. I have the DCR-PC350 which also has this time lapse function.

Can you record frames separatly?
The function is could "Frame Rec". The Idea: program a PDA with IR to control the camera and record in intervals.

Yes! The HC-1 has an intervalometer function in the still photo menu.

In tape-mode or only in memory-mode?

Only in memory mode. I forget all the settings, but the shortest interval is 1 frame every minute.

Anybody remember the setting or step off-hand? I took a quick look and couldn't find it - is it under Burst?

Roll tape!
 

Unless you know relatively precisely how much interval is correct, you may want to just roll tape and do stop motion in post, as recommended above.
This way you have lots of flexibility to fit it to a scene. Especially true for things that would be a hassle to re-shoot.

Calculating this for stills is as much art as science, IMO