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Full Version: Shutter Dragging during sunrise timelapse
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After reading your ebook and watching your tutorials I am just trying to get my head around shutter dragging and the resultant exposure times.

This morning I shot a timelapse from dark to sunrise and started at f2.8 ISO100 and 1 sec exposures (Foreground was lit up with lights). I was using a 5 sec interval. As it got brighter my shutter speed obviously got faster too which is going to produce a very gerky replay.

I understand that for a 5 second interval the best exposure time would be 2.5 secs to give you that smooth transition between frames, but without ND filters I had no chance.

Do you use ND filters during sunrise and sunset timelapses? If not, how do you maintain your shutter drag to ensure you get the smooth flow in your timelapses.
Hi, no for Holy Grails I normally don't use ND filters, because I don't want to remove them while shooting - color shifts, etc.
Hi Gunther,

First of all, thanks for the wealth of information you provide through tutorials, your ebook and your website, not to mention LRTimelapse itself! I am really learning a lot and hope to share my own results in the near future.

Now, I am a bit confused about your quote below:

(2013-09-12, 18:01)gwegner Wrote: [ -> ]Hi, no for Holy Grails I normally don't use ND filters, because I don't want to remove them while shooting - color shifts, etc.

I have seen you making similar comments in older posts in this forum. This seems to directly contradict what you wrote in your ebook, which I quote below:

ebook Wrote:You can of course start without a ND-filter. But I strongly recommend that you purchase one sometime – that is, if you want to produce truly stunning time lapse movies.

ebook Wrote:There is quite a contradiction in the demand for shooting wide open and simultaneous using long exposures, and to be frank, this cannot always be done. So, in order to restrict the amount of light, most time lapse photographers make generous use of Neutral Density filters.

ebook Wrote:I’d like to recommend an ND 3.0. Its x1000 factor will keep you on the safe side.

Now, I understand the issues a ND filter can introduce... camera shaking, color shift, etc. But then why in your book do you "strongly recommend them to shoot truly stunning time lapse movies", while in these forums you seem to strongly recommend the opposite?

I assume the ND filter is meant for daylight only timelapses, whereas for holy grail we're better off not using the filter. Is that correct? If that's the case, then I would recommend updating the writing in your ebook to make this distinction more clear. As a complete beginner in timelapse shooting, this is a bit confusing and if I hadn't I come to these forums precisely because I was confused about this, I would surely have tried to shoot a HG with the ND filter on and removing it at some point during the process (just like our colleague above). Your book makes a big deal about using ND filters but there is no mention that this does not apply to HG situations.

Just a suggestion! I suppose most of your target audience are probably complete beginners at this Smile
Sure using the ND filter is the recommended way to go. Unless you shoot from day to night. In that case you will eventulally have to remove the filter - and that would most likely screw up the whole shooting.
So in that case I would make the exception and accept the shorter time in order to get a proper day to night transitions.
Life is full of trade-offs - and so is time lapse shooting ;-)

Will try to make that clearer in the next edition of the EBook, thank you for making me aware!