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Suitability of Sony A7S for time lapse

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#11 photon_trap
I plan to power mine from the same 8000mah 2S r/c battery I have used with my 5D II with great success, I just have to find the corded "dummy" battery. I think I saw them on Amazon if I remember correctly.
The guys at Promote Control informed me basic ramp will work with the correct cable but that's just shutter ramping, ISO ramping is not possible with current firmware I was told - very disappointing indeed. I gave Sony my input on a survey form so maybe if enough others do as well.....
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#12 photon_trap
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1) Use a bright star and a Bahtinov mask; fast and accurate
2) With a telescope or manual lens adjust the focus manually (w/o focus peaking) until the most stars are visible, i.e.: stars will fade in and out on both sides of a good focus. Adjust until the most are visible. This method is also quite accurate but takes a bit of practice.

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bwana -

I used various masks on the telescopes for a long time before going to auto focus which focus by FWHM values more accurately than the eye can see on a good night - Sorry, I should have been more specific, here I'm referring to wide angle lenses. Are you able to zoom in enough with the a7S to use a mask on such a lens ? That would be awesome !
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#13 Achim74
What apps can be used to modify camera settings on the A7S without touching the device? Are they reliable?
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#14 photon_trap
So far, I have been able to operate the camera via qdslr on wi-fi but have yet to attempt a time lapse with it...
I have also contacted TriggerTrap and they spoke confidently about it not having any limitations except the mandate to operate in MF, which is a non-issue for me personally. But, I ended up ordering this:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00LITL...ge_o00_s00
mostly because It will allow timed exposures >30" as tracked astrophotography is a priority for me right now. It got good reviews on the CN forums, is said to have an intervolometer function and, was half the price of TT so, I'll hope for the best...
Unfortunately, it's slim pickins with the Sony as the company does not make it easy for developers for some stupid reason.
Hopefully, others with more actual experience with the camera will better answer your question
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#15 keksi
(2015-07-22, 17:41)Achim74 Wrote: What apps can be used to modify camera settings on the A7S without touching the device? Are they reliable?

I usually put my tripod on solid ground and attach a heavy stone to it. That way its no problem to touch the camera, and its also safe in case of strong winds.
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#16 photon_trap
Good idea. I have an old window sash weight I use but I'm gonna male a triangle of heavy cloth like canvas to fill with stones so no need to tote dead weight around.
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#17 keksi
I just use a strap and 1 big stone that i find on site...
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#18 photon_trap
Ha, all good until you find yourself in a stone-free location !
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#19 keksi
I might place my tripod on a tree trunk and turn a hook into the trunk. These trunks appear quite regularly on lower mountains in my region. On the higher mountains there are plenty of stonesSmile

But actually for soft ground i have no solution....except maybe hammering 3 large posts into the ground.
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#20 JMJS
I haven't found a proper solution for now. I have contacted Sony about it and their reply is: we cannot help you if you are not using Sony batteries or a Sony lens!!! I have a Hawkwoods dummy battery but Hawkwoods say that Sony don't share the info about the power chip in the batteries so they are unable to make a dummy battery able to work for timelapses/long durations.

...also check out: