Now made a much better time lapse with my K-r.

Fire Angel · 03-22-2016, 06:30 AM - **2 Likes**

OK, at last I managed to eliminate the annoying flickering in my time lapse videos made with the K-r. I now use not only a mains adapter for the K-r but one for a Sunpak external flash; this allows me to set everything manually and eliminates the flickering which was caused by the slightly inconsistent flash power using the pop-up flash.

You Tube

**pentageek** · 03-22-2016, 11:46 AM

Cool! Could you shortly describe the technique, please?

Fire Angel · 03-23-2016, 04:22 AM

Making these is simple enough. First set up whatever you intend to shoot, and get the subject framed. I used a tripod of course, and then set up the flashgun on a light stand with an umbrella. The camera is then set to perform interval shooting in the menu system. For this video I used an interval of 17 seconds and shot 990 frames. You do need a mains adapter for the camera because there is no battery for the K-r that will last that many shots. I also used a mains adapter for the flashgun because the same applies to the flash. You may use a video light instead if you have one, but whatever you use needs to be mains powered not powered by a battery. Once everything was set up I dropped the ice into the glass, pressed the shutter release to start interval shooting and went to bed.

I normally shoot in RAW, but for these I have to shoot in JPEG. The software I use to transform the images into a video can't process .DNG files so this is essential. Because I shot at the full 12 Megapixels I could produce an Ultra HD video from the frames, that's 3840x2160, but I chose for now to just go for 1920x1080 standard HD. On a Mac you can use iMovie or Graphic Converter to convert your folder full of images to a video, I don't know what I would use if I were using Windows or Linux but I am sure others here could advise.

---------- Post added 03-23-16 at 11:37 AM ----------

Oh and something I forgot to mention; you need to work out what length of time is needed between shots. this one used 17 seconds so with 990 shots that covers 4 hours, 40 minutes and 30 seconds, and runs at 25 frames a second. This compresses that ice melting into 39.6 seconds, a speed up of 425 times. For my next time lapse I will use a longer interval because I want to cover several days and video a plant growing, something that is obviously more difficult to set up. I am going to try and plant something in a glass container with the seed against the glass so the roots can be seen growing as well as the shoots and leaves. I'm not sure yet how I will set this up or how long the video will have to cover, but that's something I can work out later. Before I attempt to shoot a plant growing I will grow a few samples without shooting them and see how long they take to grow to a suitable size.

Fire Angel · 03-24-2016, 05:09 AM

Something else I forgot, it will be obvious to most but all of us can overlook things so it's worth mentioning; a dry run in the shooting location is a good idea. How long will your ice take to melt? Find out before you start shooting. Naturally the same applies to many things you may wish to shoot as time lapse sequences, see how long they take so you can get your timing right when you actually start shooting.

Last edited by Fire Angel; 03-26-2016 at 12:01 AM.

**pentageek** · 03-25-2016, 04:07 AM

Thanks! I've got to try it on my own.

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03-22-2016, 11:46 AM	#2
pentageek Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2016 Posts: 420	Cool! Could you shortly describe the technique, please?

03-23-2016, 04:22 AM	#3
Fire Angel Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2014 Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 136 Original Poster	Making these is simple enough. First set up whatever you intend to shoot, and get the subject framed. I used a tripod of course, and then set up the flashgun on a light stand with an umbrella. The camera is then set to perform interval shooting in the menu system. For this video I used an interval of 17 seconds and shot 990 frames. You do need a mains adapter for the camera because there is no battery for the K-r that will last that many shots. I also used a mains adapter for the flashgun because the same applies to the flash. You may use a video light instead if you have one, but whatever you use needs to be mains powered not powered by a battery. Once everything was set up I dropped the ice into the glass, pressed the shutter release to start interval shooting and went to bed. I normally shoot in RAW, but for these I have to shoot in JPEG. The software I use to transform the images into a video can't process .DNG files so this is essential. Because I shot at the full 12 Megapixels I could produce an Ultra HD video from the frames, that's 3840x2160, but I chose for now to just go for 1920x1080 standard HD. On a Mac you can use iMovie or Graphic Converter to convert your folder full of images to a video, I don't know what I would use if I were using Windows or Linux but I am sure others here could advise. ---------- Post added 03-23-16 at 11:37 AM ---------- Oh and something I forgot to mention; you need to work out what length of time is needed between shots. this one used 17 seconds so with 990 shots that covers 4 hours, 40 minutes and 30 seconds, and runs at 25 frames a second. This compresses that ice melting into 39.6 seconds, a speed up of 425 times. For my next time lapse I will use a longer interval because I want to cover several days and video a plant growing, something that is obviously more difficult to set up. I am going to try and plant something in a glass container with the seed against the glass so the roots can be seen growing as well as the shoots and leaves. I'm not sure yet how I will set this up or how long the video will have to cover, but that's something I can work out later. Before I attempt to shoot a plant growing I will grow a few samples without shooting them and see how long they take to grow to a suitable size.

03-24-2016, 05:09 AM	#4
Fire Angel Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2014 Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 136 Original Poster	Something else I forgot, it will be obvious to most but all of us can overlook things so it's worth mentioning; a dry run in the shooting location is a good idea. How long will your ice take to melt? Find out before you start shooting. Naturally the same applies to many things you may wish to shoot as time lapse sequences, see how long they take so you can get your timing right when you actually start shooting. Last edited by Fire Angel; 03-26-2016 at 12:01 AM.

03-25-2016, 04:07 AM	#5
pentageek Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2016 Posts: 420	Thanks! I've got to try it on my own.