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Hyperlapse - tripod or monopod? And what head?

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#1 Julian Elliott
Hi there

I am familiar with producing time lapse videos but this past week have tried to do the hyper lapse stuff with varying degrees of sucess.

From what I know, a level ground is preferable to getting the lapse as smooth as possible but I'm wondering if my gear that I use for normal photography is hindering things a little.

The hyperlapse that I tried have been done using a carbon fibre tripod with a Manfrotto 410 geared head.

is this really ideal in doing hyper lapse?

Would love to hear from people out there as it seems to me this method of working hasn't ever really been broken down gear wise.

Appreciate any and all help!!!

Jools
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#2 Zoeperkoe
I don't think the tripod really matters that much. I have shot hyperlapse on tripod, monopod and even handheld, and it all works, but I prefer a tripod. I like it as rigid as possible, so that the legs won't shift when I move it around. What matters more is where you point the camera at; keep it level and keep the same point in focus. That's easier to do on a tripod with liveview on, but it's not impossible to do that even handheld while looking through the viewfinder. If you pay attention to this while shooting, it will definitely pay off during stabilization in AfterEffects.
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#3 Julian Elliott
Thanks for that.

I've done two this week.

The first wasn't too bad but then a bit wonky half way through despite me keeping the camera level.

Yesterday, I did another and tried learning from the first but it turned out worse!

I'm aware of keeping a point in focus but there seems to be something else not going quite right in my field technique somewhere.
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#4 Zoeperkoe
Can you post something online? Might help to see what's going on. And another thing is, take your time when you start doing hyperlapse. When I started I used an interval of 18 seconds or so. That should give you plenty of time to move the tripod and re-focus the camera.
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#5 Julian Elliott
Yes, try this: https://vimeo.com/110072264

I'm hesitatant tp use live view too much due to battery wear.

Will be in Paris tomorrow and hoping to get something there.

PS Here's a link to a "normal" time lapse that is currently on Getty: http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/vide.../453686950
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#6 Zoeperkoe
The "jump" probably comes from you passing behind the lantern post; warp stabilizer sometimes has problems handling that. Try to reduce smoothness to, say, 2 or 5 percent. You may also want to do manual stabilization before you apply WS.
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#7 Julian Elliott
Thanks.

As far as AE, I'm still very new to it so appreciate the advice!

I've reduced it to 5% and does indeed look a little better.

You mentioned stabilizing things "manually". How on earth is that done?

And are there any other settings I should be aware of when it comes to warp stabilzer and HL?
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#8 Zoeperkoe
Another thing you may want to try is to toggle "preserve scale". Otherwise, read up on the help pages of Adobe, they have good info on WS, and links to helpful tutorials. One that you certainly want to watch is [Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fr9DF5iSSk4] and read the description as well, there is a useful tip on two-pass manual stabilization that I have used a few times as well.

But the best tip is still: shoot as stable as possible, and if you do that, a one-pass WS should usually do the trick.
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#9 Julian Elliott
oddly enough, I found that link about an hour ago while surfing round.

Just had an interesting conversation with someone that does this professionally who has given me more food for thought.
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#10 Holy_13
Do you mind sharing?

...also check out: