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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

Bramping for Epic

Andrew Walker

Andrew Walker

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"Bramping" is bulb ramping. Its a smooth and very effective way to change the exposure of a shot over the course of time. So you can start with a mid day city shot with the sun high above and then watch it go from that to sunset to night without having to be locked into a fixed exposure. Of course this is something that I'm just thinking about having for timelapse purposes but I'm sure there could be other uses for it. I'm bringing this up because I just started using a bramping device with my 5D2 for shooting timelapse and the results are pretty impressive. I would just like to see Epic with a function like this if its at all possible because I think with its HDR mode and some bramping controls Epic could do some seriously amazing shots. Plus it doesn't seem like it would be very hard to fit a function like this into Epic. But who knows. Anyway here's some more info on bramping.

http://www.thewhippersnapper.com/LittleBramper/Site/Home.html
 
Well, the demo looks fabulous but there are so many questions. How do you set your key exposures? And how do you correct for pre midday/midnight start times - ie; when there will be two ramps involved?

[EDIT] OK, so I read the tutorial. Now I get it. Cool but damn! It won't work with my 550D.[/EDIT]
 
So the question(s) would appear to be:

1. Are the shutter speeds in the Epic fully variable or to they work in 1/x of stops?
2. And, if they do work in fractions of stops, what is the shortest exposure one can, electronically, get from bulb?

Sounds like a job for ... (da da da daaaarrr) REDMOTE!

Jarred? Jim? Mark?
 
Martin Weiss said:
80 bucks is a steal!

It says that it probably won't work with the Rebel 2ti/550D. Do you happen to have actual experience with that camera and the little Bramper?

Edit: Found the answer meself - seems like the 550D has a minimum shutter speed in Bulb mode of 1 second. http://www.timescapes.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?p=24419&sid=f4fb03de17d748bdbccf8bc536e2565a#p24419 Bummer!
Click to expand...

Yeah, $93 for this Little Bramper controller is an amazing deal. Especially with what it allows you to do. Works great with the 5D2 but it does have its limitations because of the internal workings of that camera. Such as the fastest shutter speed is 34ms, which is about 1/30th of a second. I believe Epic could over come this limitation very easily and make this bramping function quite amazing. Hopefully someone from RED will chime in here and let us know if this might be possible.
 
Paul Steinberg said:
What a brilliant gizmo!

How frightening is it to have the guts of the thing just hanging out like that?
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It is great. And to me, it IS frightening with everything being exposed, that's why I'm building a water proof housing for it as we speak. I really need to being able to take that thing into harsh condition locations. Will probably cost more than the device itself, but I think it will be worth it. The little bramper will be a rugged, professional device once I'm finished... :)

And yes please, that would be a great feature for EPIC...
 
something along those lines could help any kind of shot that moves indoor/outdoor, no? course, that's usually a faster pull, but depending on the lens, etc. that might be a nice option to have to change shutter speed electronically rather than pulling iris.
 
I would for sure use this kind of capability with RED on eruption time-lapse work. Set up Scarlet in the danger zone, run like hell, retrieve 24 hours later...

Mike
 
I know that Deanan is super busy right now, but I bet this is something he could add to Epic without too much trouble. I've just started playing with the Bramper myself lately. Really cool.

And keep in mind that Epic has several advantages over still cameras for timelapse, including a lack of a DSLR mirror, and lack of a physical shutter. It can also shoot much faster than any DSLR. Timelapse possibilities with Epic are almost endless.
 
Wow what a great device, exactly what I've been looking for. Seems like they are backordered at the moment.
 
Tom Lowe said:
I know that Deanan is super busy right now, but I bet this is something he could add to Epic without too much trouble. I've just started playing with the Bramper myself lately. Really cool.
Click to expand...

When we to the point of implementing the timelapse features, we have very cool and powerful stuff on the todo list.
 
Can't wait to hear more about it, Deanan. The entire timelapse community is excited about the DSMC program and all the possibilities it offers for timelapse.
 
First on the to do list: Keep the guts protected.

In the past I've had some decent results with the F900R for transitions from day/night or night/day when using the auto-iris and B4 lenses with their built in zoom/iris servos. The F900R's has metering modes that will meter different zones (ie ignore the top 1/3 of frame) that help out a great deal.

How would that work with PL lenses though? Would a module need to be built to control a Preston motor?

Inquiring minds want to know.
 
Paul Steinberg said:
How would that work with PL lenses though? Would a module need to be built to control a Preston motor?
Click to expand...

Well there's one way available right now - you could use a wireless follow focus unit by RT Motion - one of the most exciting parts about it is that you can program how fast / slow you want the motor to turn, it's a feature specifically for timelapse. The whole thing costs £1200. I've written about it here:

http://reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?t=52958
 
Deanan said:
When we to the point of implementing the timelapse features, we have very cool and powerful stuff on the todo list.
Click to expand...

Can't wait! :thumbsup:
 
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