cheap DIY time lapse fun stuff

dirtyghettokid

ok so i've been planing on building myself a proper DLSR panning tripod head for some time now, but i'm waiting on some parts and things to do it.

in the meantime, i thought it would be fun to build a small panning "thing" to use with my iphone. i'm sure you've all heard of the egg timer?!

i have an app for my iphone called iTimelapse (how original :rolleyes:) i can't remember what i paid for it. was probably €2 or free.. or something. i don't like to spend too much money on apps.

bought an egg timer for €4 in tesco. made a cardboard holder to hold my iphone on the timer... and then made this video

http://vimeo.com/30792679



i know, it's pretty ghetto..

quality is seriously questionable on the "panning device", but at least it worked! however, the weight of the iphone is pressing too heavy onto the timer. i tried to spread the weight out more.... but it's really hard to hold the phone sideways on a timer that doesn't have anywhere you can attach anything to properly. i'll invest some more time in it for the laugh and hope that my mcgyver-like husband can help me make something more stable. i tried to make a longer video, and outside this time and not at the window but the timer stopped after a few seconds because of the weight pressing down.

have you guys tried any fun things like this?

Gumbo

Cool idea!
PS - i have one of those little Tri-Pods there, bargain of the century

dirtyghettokid

that little tripod cost me $1.25 from the dollar shop back home! i intend to attach it to the bottom of the egg timer.
it is a bit of craic alright!

Gumbo

dirtyghettokid wrote: »

that little tripod cost me $1.25 from the dollar shop back home! i intend to attach it to the bottom of the egg timer.
it is a bit of craic alright!

LOL, €2 in the €2 shop on Georges Street

Rainbowsend

This might help you on the Timer Mark Two!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tjxv65dgkAY

dirtyghettokid

Rainbowsend wrote: »

This might help you on the Timer Mark Two!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tjxv65dgkAY

yea i saw that video yesterday alright! i think i should try and get some different types of egg timers... not happy with the one i have right now!

the_tractor

I made one myself a while back, got a timer from argos.

I used a hotshoe/tripod adapter for the top:


And a 3/8 tripod adpater for the base:


So the top screws to the tripod socket of a P&S camera, and the bottom can be mounted on a tripod.

It works well, but I've only had time to mess so far, trying to get the Canon CHDK to work as I want for timelapse shooting.

dirtyghettokid

which P&S cameras are you using for time lapse?

i don't have a timer remote for my DSLR yet, thats why i have been using the iphone. i know you can do time lapse with some P&S but not all?

Kenny Logins

Some of the Canon Ixus range can record video from time lapse speeds up to 240fps.

the_tractor

It's a Canon G9, there is a timelapse option on the video settings, it's probably the heaviest that the timer could support.

I've be trying to get the CHDK (Canon Firmware Hack) to run. There are a few intervalometer scripts that should run on it, but I was having bother with it.

If I could get the CHDK to work as I want then I would have more control over exposure than using the timelapse video mode.

Failing that I'll put it continuous shooting and tape the button down, the Canon G9 FPS is max of 1.1/sec anyway, so probably perfect for timelapse.

dirtyghettokid

it's taken nearly a year for me to find a good egg timer. ended up buying one in the dollar store where i got that mini tripod.
it looks less ghetto now.

it's a lemon.. i like lemons



here it is in action



and here's a short video made with it. the quality is crap, but it's just a bit of fun......

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXT4Ga7cvYw