Welcome to our community

Be a part of something great, join today!

  • 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 :)

EPIC TIME-LAPSE?

Jim Grieco

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 7, 2013
Messages
51
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Location
NYC/Tri-State area
Website
www.jimgrieco.com
What's the deal with shooting time-lapse with the EPIC? I can't find any intervalometer settings on the menu pages. Can anyone enlighten me on the process?
 
Try the new beta firmware 4.xx. That's when RED added true time-lapse capabilities. Otherwise, you can set the camera to 1 FPS.
 
Thanks, Wey. I have a few more questions for you...I'm a TV guy and I have been shooting time-lapse with my Panasonic Varicam for a few years now. With my Varicam, the onboard intervalometer allows me to shoot random frame bursts at random time intervals to achieve the desired effect I am are looking for (controls the apparent speed of time passing...more blur...less blurr, etc...). Should I assume that when you set EPIC at 1 FPS you just let it roll for whatever length of time you desire? That being said, as I increase the fps, I assume that I will achieve more blur and less apparent time passing in the playback version?...And how about the shutter setting...I'm guessing 360% for the least blur? I'm going to do some test shooting to see how EPIC does...anyone else have any helpful tips for a fellow REDUSER? Any additional pointers will be greatly appreciated.
 
360deg shutter gives the most blur, as the shutter is open for the entire duration of the frame!

Higher framerate gives lower frame duration and hence lower blur.
 
I am aware of how the shutter normally effects motion blur...I only guessed at 360% because when I shoot time-lapse with my Varicam, I get the cleanist image when I turn the electronic shutter off. EPIC is obviously a whole new world, so, thanks for the comment...any advise is appreciated. I'm hesitant to load up the Beta version of the firmware because it hasn't been road tested. I'm going to stay with my current firmware version and just do a series of test shots at various FPS settings and shutter angles. I've heard that when shooting with the EPIC set at less then 24fps, you have to black balance before and after changing speeds? If so...that's a total drag. I do a lot of shoots where I have a full plate...and I don't have extra time to sit around black balancing the camera on-site. Can anyone confirm if this is the case?
 
Thanks, Oliver...saving the black balance for 1fps is going to be the answer. I just searched my EPIC menus again...and I can't find a way to adjust the time interval longer then 1 second. Does Epic only shoot at 1 sec intervals?...no long exposures for time-lapse? Does any other REDUSERS have any tips on the best way to shoot time-lapse with the EPIC's current road tested firmware build?
 
Looks like the build 4 (Beta) and a lot of test shooting is the way to go for time-lapse with EPIC. Thanks again, Oliver.
 
Jim,

build 4 is the first build to introduce time lapse features, like the REd One into the EPIC.

until now, and with the build you are on, you can only capture 1fps and adjust the shutter speed. This means you can not do 1 frame every ten seconds, etc.

with the new build and proper black shading I have achieved amazing and very clean results (even shooting star fields for long exposures) on epic. They put a lot of work into this and made it really great.

Buold 4 I'd worth loading up while you are testing to get a good feel for the new powerful time lapse tools. You can also save and load multiple black calibrations with build 4, and the camera does a black balance in about ten to fifteen minutes (much faster than the build you are on.

So while it is not road tested , you really should test build 4 because the full featured time lapse tools are excellent with mind blowing results even in zero light. The one limitation will be a maximun 1/2 second exposure, so you can't do BULB style exposures, but the camera can be set to interpolate longer exposures through different modes.

here is a little fun video I did as a test with long exposures as a creative tool.


http://www.reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?92218-BUILD-4-Stretch-your-creativity


david
 
Thanks man...your effect on the clip is way cool. You caught lighting in a bottle! I'm relatively new to the EPIC world...purchased mine in the late summer and I still haven't had a time-lapse gig with it. At REDucation I asked Ted if EPIC shoots time-lapse and he said yes, so I assumed it had an on-board intervalometer like my Panasonic Varicam. He was obviously not lying...he just failed to mention EPIC's time-lapse limitations (for obvious reasons). I should have asked about long exposures. No biggy...I thought he was great, regardless. Visionary...cutting edge and ahead of the curve. Anyway, I've been dragging my feet for months as far as getting my EPIC out in the field on one of my days off and test shooting for time-lapse. Now I'm glad I waited...I'm sold on the build 4. As far as my experience with my EPIC to date...I love the camera! I've owned several HD 24p capable rigs over the years...but thanks to EPIC's 5k sensor, this is the first one that actually reaches the quality level of film. It's still a different look...but it's a kick ass one! Thanks again for the reply!
 
Back
Top