Tips for timelapse photography (updated)

How to shoot nice timelapse videos:

- Turn off the auto focus before you start shooting. This will avoid image "pumping" and also increase the battery life of your camera. I do focus with AF and then switch to MF - this helps me to find the right focus.

- Select a shutter speed that captures the movement in your shot. This will result in a fluid video. If your shutter speed is too fast, your video will look clipped. So choose longer shutter speeds. If your image is to bright go for higher f's or use a ND filter to reduce the light that gets into your lens.

- If your subject is moving fast (cars) select a short interval time. If it's moving slow (flowers) the interval can be longer.

- Check your camera settings before shooting the timelapse. Manual mode should be preferred. You don't need RAW and big sized images for a timelapse videos, so change it to JPG and choose a smaller size.

- Think of the ISO you want to set (keep it low to avoid noise), don't leave it on automatic. If you do so you will se ugly flickering in your video.

- Turn down the brightness of the screen and swith off the image review to increase the battery life.

- Last but not least, check your battery power and the space on your memory card before shooting the lapse. This will avoid a freak out that - in the worst case - can lead to a broken camera ;)


Continuous interval shooting is not the best treatment for your camera. Mirror and shutter are designed for a specific number of shots (some say 100.000 some say more - I don't know how long they last, but I don't want mine to get repaired). Mirror lock does not work for liveview mode (which I prefer because I think the mirror has to work less in liveview mode), but it can be very helpful when your exposure is around 1/15 and you don't want your shots to get shaky (remember that you have to turn off liveview and that only every second shot is recorded to your card).


I hope this helps. If you have other tips or if you know how to protect the mirror and shutter write a comment please.


Cheers,
jonni