Timelapse videos of natural processes have always blown my mind. Planet earth had some of the most impressive timelapses. What made them particular was how the images panned. The way this works is that a track or a motor moves or turns the camera from one place to another very slowly over a programmed period of time.
A colleague of mine rescently showed me how these can be accomplished relatively cheaply using motorized telescope heads, and firmware on a Ti-83 calculator.
First, here is an awesome examples of panning timelapses using this technique:
from on .
The TimeIsMotion project offers free custom firmware for motorized Meade telescope mounts. This will let you program the pan speed and angles. Info found here: http://www.openmoco.org/node/25
This site tells you how to use a calculator to trigger the shutter at set intervals: http://www.instructables.com/id/Turn-a-TI-Graphing-Calculator-into-an-Intervalomet/step1/Parts-Needed/
This is the guy who go it going in the amateur world: a lot of his videos are guides and instructions.
Enjoy!
Nate,
Great stuff there man! You probably didn’t know it, but I have a BFA in photography and have spent many years working with photographers, so I’m very pleased to see this is your chosen field of work. Nice to get an update of what’s going on with you! Best of luck!
Doug Sigman