Its always nice to have a seat with a view. Until about an hour later when boredom pays you a visit.
Me? I always carry my cameras and who knows what the bored mind will dream up next.
Here is my latest time killing project the Flying GoPro Time Lapse with a Twist.
I did all the moves in the camera, no editing tricks. So, how did I do it?
Two years ago I put together the original How To Make An Egg Timer Timelapse Panning Unit.
I made the original timers for work back in 2008, to provide panning timelapses for extra b-roll
for projects I was shooting. I had no idea the how popular these cheap little gadgets would
become, go figure. I guess I'm not the only timelapse photo geek out here.
One of the constant comments I get is that they are too hard to build and they are ugly.
Frankly, I find them easy to build and I don't care how they look. I care how well they work,
and that they are cheap enough to throw away when they break. The original looked a little
steampunk, and that's cool right? Well I have been listening and here are my two new designs.
Parts
Ikea Stam Timer
Ikea Ordning timer
1/4 20 set screw
3/8 to 1/4 20 bushing
One of the great things about these Ikea timers is that they are cheap. Right now the Ordning is $5.99
here in the states. The Stam is a crazy $1.99. After you add a metal bushing to the Ordning you've got a tough piece of gear. The Stam is so cheap why not try to convert it? You do not need to take these timers apart for the conversion. In my video I use a drill press, you do not need a drill press, you can do both of these conversions with a hand drill.
Both of these units will sit on a flat surface and spin.
Now for reality, the timers in all of these units have cheap plastic components so they will break.
That is why I build them as cheap as possible and keep a couple on hand.
When they break, I unscrew the bushing and the set screw and toss them.
You can get the set screws at any hardware store, the bushings are harder to find but most camera
stores will have them.
Finally, looks. My original timer may have looked like junk but its product speaks for itself.
But for those of you (and we know who you are) who are fashion conscious, these new models
are stylish and functional at a bargain price.
Just finished editing my latest DIY egg timer time lapse video.
Thought it would be fun to cut a quick preview.
I had a great time shooting the colorful Ikea kitchen
timers with a IGUS Drylin slider on loan from Chad over at Canon1dm4 on youtube.
Check out his review.
The preview and DIY were shot with a Canon 7D and an EF 50mm 1.4.
The full DIY will arrive soon, I must find my photos and parts list
for a complete and thorough blog post.
I almost stepped on this procession on the way to my car.
Quickly grabbed my little video camera (Sony sx-83)for those
who are asking, and popped off a few shots.
Not the best video I shot all week, but it is interesting.
Teamwork is amazing in its purest form.
I had a shoot at the Grooveshark headquarters in Gainesville Florida, and took the opportunity to document the drive. This is Florida and it is flat. I shot the timelapse at 1 frame every two seconds, and mounted the GoPro on the roof of the car with my homemade magnet mount.
I regularly use a shoestring as a safety tie off. If the magnet were to fail you need to make sure it won't go
flying into traffic.
Pan Left Lido Key is the second in my series of "pan left" shorts.
The first, Pan Left Portland. Details here.
We shot this short during our April staycation at Lido Key in Sarasota Florida.
Now the point of a vacation/staycation is not working ..... but when your a timelapse
addict you have little choice in the matter.
The entire short was captured with two GoPro Hero cameras mounted on my homemade
egg timer timelapse thing-a-ma-jig.
The cameras were set to shoot 1 frame every 2 seconds. The egg timers rotate 360 degrees
in an hour. I slowed and sped up the lapses to fit the music.
Back in August I promised I would try to test my egg timer time lapse thing-a-ma-jig again
and try to achieve an underwater 360 degree panning timelapse with my gopro.
Well, I finally got a chance to try it again while on staycation here in Florida.
Specifically, Lido Beach in Sarasota.
I waited for a quiet morning, did not want kids disturbing it, or creeped out parents calling the cops.
Amazingly, it worked.
The inspiration for this test came from Canon Filmmakers and Philip Bloom.
Cristina came up with the idea and their video is a fun watch.
I used the same rig as before, Joby Gorillapod, with egg timer spinning my GoPro Hero.
Unfortunately, this time the shot killed my egg timer.
So, don't try this shot unless you want to risk your $4 dollar egg timer time lapse thing-a-ma-jig.
