In this Skylapser video, we show you how to calculate the Field of View (FOV) for any lens on any camera. For shooting panoramic or giga-pixel photos, it’s necessary to know both the horizontal and the vertical FOV for the particular lens that you are using. Most sites only show you the Diagonal FOV for a full frame 35mm camera. Luckily there are exceptions, such as Max Lyon’s Photography Calculator page here:http://www.tawbaware.com/maxlyons/cal…
But another way to calculate FOV is by using the following formula: 2x arctan(Sensor mm/2/(Lens mm))in deg
You can copy or type this formula into Google search and substitute the values for your camera’s sensor dimensions and your lens focal length and it will calculate your FOV value.
In this Timelapse 101 episode we explain the difference between RAW and JPEG image formats and why you should always shoot your timelapses in RAW (except when you have to shoot in JPEG. We also demonstrate a time lapse workflow using Adobe Camera Raw and Panolapse softwares.
For more timelapse tips, techniques and tutorials visit: http://skylapser.com
To find out more about the Panolapse software vist: http://www.panolapse360.com/?ref=skylapser
There are many action cameras out there that have tried to topple GoPro’s dominance, maybe, just maybe the 360fly camera will take the crown with its rugged golf ball shape and 360 degree field of view. While the GoPro’s 180 degree field of view is impressive , imagine how impressive a 360 degree action camera would be. There have many attempts at making a 360 degree field of view video cameras but most of them use the kludgy method of shooting into a curved mirror, most notably the Kogeto DOT for iPhone. The 360fly is different in that it uses an ultra wide angle fish eye lens to capture a 240 degree field of view, while it’s not truly a 360 degree camera in all axes, it can capture a true 360 degree horizontal panoramic FOV for an immersive viewer experience.
The 360fly holds its own as just an action camera; it’s waterproof, shock resistant and small enough to mount just about anywhere. It comes with flat and curved swivel mounts and it looks cool with its black Darth Vader meets Bucky Fuller design. The camera charges via USB and has both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, and it’s controlled by a smartphone app. The smartphone app acts as a viewfinder, remote control and as a viewer for the completed panoramic videos, although you don’t need a phone just to start and stop the camera’s recorder. Apparently the camera has a 1504 X 1504 pixel square sensor although it’s not exactly clear as to what the resolution of the “unwrapped” video is.
The skeptics may wonder just what the use case for the camera is and if having to use a proprietary viewer is going to take away from the appeal of the camera. We think that the camera has the potential to revolutionize the whole POV camera market just as the GoPro did. We are hoping that the camera will have a time-lapse mode and low-light performance better than a GoPro so that we could shoot meteor showers and whole sky nighttime time-lapses. We are also hoping that there will be an open source HTML5 viewer, so that the panoramic videos can be viewed in any Web browser. We are a bit concerned about the resolution and hope that if the camera takes-off that they will evolve the resolution toward 4K. But we are definitely excited about the product and can’t wait to take it canyoneering and whitewater rafting in Utah. We only wish we knew who we have to kiss to get our hands on one for testing.
The 360fly is available for pre-order and promises to ship in Spring 2015. You can get more information and pre-order the camera at https://360fly.com/ Until you actually get the camera you can check out their demo video:
How to import your timelapse RAW photos and create timelapse videos using the Adobe Creative Cloud suite. We cover RAW file importing, renaming your files, organizing your files and creating timelapse video using Adobe Bridge CC, Adobe Camera Raw, Adobe After Effects CC, and Adobe Media Encoder.
Check out this time-lase film created by Joe Capra using a PhaseOne IQ180 medium-format camera with a 80 Megapixel sensor. Besides having incredible detail at full resolution, shooting this big gives you lots of flexibility for cropping and movement in post production.
The new HERO 4 camera update lets you do 4K timelapses in the camera, no post production necessary! The new video timelapse feature allows 4K 16X9 and 2.7K 4X3 timelapse capture and saves the timelapse as a ready-to-show video right from the camera. Other cool new features of the update include:
720p240 + 2.7K60 video for doing high resolution slow motion.
Auto Image Rotation for those upside-down GoPro on a stick shots.
Add HiLight Tags During Playback so you can pre-edit your video.
30/6 Burst Photo for captureing high resolution fleeting moments as photos.
Check out this video overview of the new features:
If you are doing time-lapse photography you need a timer or intervelometer. Using an external intervalometer allows any camera with a remote port to shoot time-lapses, even cameras with built-in intervalometers can benefit from the control offered by an external intervalometer. In this video Jay Shaffer explains how to use a simple remote intervalometer to shoot time-lapses.
Taking nighttime photos and especially night time-lapse photos is hard. Outside Magazine asked outdoor photographer Andy Best to share his secrets of capturing beautiful Milky Way and star trail photos. You can read the full article here: How to Take the Best Nighttime Photo of Your Life.
The Q-666C carbon fiber convertible tripod is sold under several brand names including Beike and Afaith on Amazon or ebay. This tripod is an inexpensive alternative to some other higher priced carbon fiber ultra-lightweight travel tripods on the market. For shooting time-lapses in remote locations where you have to pack in your gear, a carbon fiber tripod is on my essentials list. Some of the features I like in this tripod are:
Lightweight and Compact easily fits in a backpack or carry-on bag
Converts to a monopod/ walking pole
Extends to almost 6 feet
Has twist-lock leg locks
Includes a three-way ball head
At around $150 I can destroy several for the price of a name-brand carbon fiber tripod
The only thing that I am a little disappointed with is that the ball head is rather heavy. When you are backpacking every ounce counts, so when I’m backpacking, I use a lighter weight Giottos brand ball head. Also, if you are not careful with the included ball head’s Arca Swiss compatible quick release plate, you can inadvertently loosen the quick release screw and possibly drop your camera.
You can add camera movement to your time-lapses using a kitchen timer, but using a 6-hour hot tub timer works even better. This spring-powered auto shut-off timer from Intermatic http://amzn.com/B000B8WJZU is an easy DIY project to make a long-duration time-lapse panning camera mount for lightweight cameras. Check out this Skylapser video:
