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MJPEG FPS setting for Timelapse on GH2
  • 128 Replies sorted by
  • LucLuc
    @tida
    yes i also thought about this idea. But I think there will be a problem with the time the camera need to fully save a file. During this time you can't push the record button again. And the intervalometer normally only sends one signal to the camera - You need two. Stop and then again Start
  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev
    @Luc

    I'll make time limit patch, so you could specify limit in seconds.
    And could use intervalometer to start recording again.
  • balazerbalazer
    On the GH2, time lapses from 1080/24p AVCHD with a 1/2 s shutter speed should work fine: the camera shoots at ~1.8 fps and writes 13 identical frames for each picture taken. Naturally, you'll want to use a long GOP (ideally 13). If you use GOP1, the compression efficiency is very low. With a long GOP, the bit rate of the generated file ends up being just a fraction of what you set in Ptool (and that's a good thing), and not much higher than you'd get with MJPEG. There should be no problem spanning, so no file size limit. Your card size and battery should be the only recording length constraints.

    As @GH13Timelapser pointed out, Vegas will only do 4x speed-up, though there are tricks to go higher than that in Vegas. I can use Avisynth to go as high as I want and retain control over how the blending is performed.


    As for using an external timer, if you put the GH2 in burst mode with the burst rate set to SH, it shoots using the electronic shutter only - no mechanical shutter. If the shutter button is pressed briefly, it takes only one frame. Frames can be 4:3 or 3:2 with 4 megapixels, or 1920 x 1080.

    Edit: GH2 1080p AVCHD time lapse confirmed. I can start a new topic or upload a sample, if anyone really cares to know how it's done.
  • White_WidowWhite_Widow
    @GH13Timelapser "Make sure you're in manual focus mode - you can't select a shutter longer than 1/30 second otherwise."
    Thanks for the tip - brilliant!

    @Hallvalla "Frame blending is off by default. Choose Clip > Video Options > Frame Blend."
    Will play with it - thanks!

  • GH13TimelapserGH13Timelapser
    @balazer Vegas, frustratingly, will only speed up footage by 4x. Unless there's a trick I'm missing.

    Interesting thought re: burst mode on GH2. I think most intervalometers will let you hold down the shutter for four hours if not indefinitely.

    @Vitaliy Great idea, thanks. People might need to experiment to get the timing just right - I think my intervalometer isn't exact when it comes to how long a second is.
  • stockhausenstockhausen
    is there a reason why the 2fps isn't available on GF1?? (firmware 1.22) this is a very exciting feature for me and I'm still living in low budget GF1 land , which isn't a bad place to be except when all the big boys get nice things like this :] .
  • GH13TimelapserGH13Timelapser
    Just checked and you're right, the option isn't there for the GF1. I'm sure if you ask @Vitaliy_Kiselev very nicely, he might be able to implement this in the next version of PTool.
  • stockhausenstockhausen
    Well here goes.... Vitaliy, I appreciate all the work you've done and how it turned my humble GF1 into a manual controllable video 25p Bitrate crazed beauty.. can I hereby humbly request the 2fps option for us smallfry in GF1 land. That is of course unless there is some technical/code reason it's not possible..?
  • lowriderlowrider
    hi, What would be the workflow in Final cut pro 7 after using the timelapse patch? thanks GH13 here :)
  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev
    @stockhausen

    I'll try to add GF1 option to next PTool release.
  • stockhausenstockhausen
    very much appreciated Vitaliy.. must be a pain to try to implement all the developments across all the firmwares....
  • mdagohoymdagohoy
    Vitaliy, you are such a blessing...and the other guys testers here.
  • kmarkb_8017kmarkb_8017
    hi Vitally, we also appreciate all the work you've done for us G2 users i was wonderin if its also possible for the G2?. =) no pressure
  • balazerbalazer
    @stockhausen and @kmarkb_8017 , super fast motion time lapse effects are achievable by using software post-processing with any of these cameras. I do not think we should be asking Vitaliy to change in firmware what we can already do in software! If there is any interest, I can explain how to do this kind of processing with Avisynth.
  • GH13TimelapserGH13Timelapser
    @balazer

    The functionality was already present in PTool for the GH1. Vitaliy has already been kind enough to add the GH2, has said that he'll try to add the option for GF1 in the next release.

    This is a completely different method for doing timelapse that some people find useful, even if you don't.
  • greenbeangreenbean
    Thank you GH13Timelapser and Vitaliy. This patch works nice. My first tests yesterday:
  • GH13TimelapserGH13Timelapser
    greenbean: Hi, your video title is "Testing GH13 Timelapser" but it seems like you're not actually using GH13Timelapser - rather importing the 2fps .MOV file straight in to your NLE and speeding it up?

    Using GH13Timalpser with "1 interval, 1 shutter" and then using the resulting footage would give you much smoother [though faster] motion.
  • greenbeangreenbean
    @GH13T
    Wow, you are right. I guess I went ahead without really understanding the app and just used the 2fps patch. How do I look with pie in my face and my foot in my mouth?

    I haven't been able to get the .cmd to open files with Wine on a OSX. Subtracting files is easy enough w/ Photoshop file/import/video frames to layers and then choose # sequence, and export layers as files.. Although most likely more processor intensive than your app. Same end result?

    @balazer
    Did you start a new thread or can you drop a sample of 1080p AVCHD TL? I like this approach.
  • HallvallaHallvalla
    @greenbean

    fwiw - it still looks cool to me :)
  • fatpigfatpig
    @balazer:
    i dont know if mentioned yet- but if you sync the gop to the shutter- in this case for 24p it would be 12 - you should get best results. because then every new picture gets a new iframe. perfect! maybe those are even directly extractable pictures with no reencode?
  • HaznaHazna
    testing
  • AugenblickAugenblick
    I tried to PTool with the settings from timeelapser on my GH2, it looks like it works, but when I start a recording I can stop it. Even when I turn off the camera, it's still recording. Only solution is to take out the battery to stop.
    Anyone knows what I make wrong? Maybe I have some wrong settings in PTool. Looking forward to get hints ;-).

    Yours Daniel
  • GH13TimelapserGH13Timelapser
    @fatpig ffmpeg [the tool that GH13Timelapser uses] can extract the frame and save them as lossless PNG frames but it's very slow. If we can get AVCHD recording at 2fps I'll look at this again, but I don't think it's going to happen.

    @Augenblick Did you definitely set the fps to 2? I seem to remember this kind of thing happening when I tried to use a non-functional fps setting like 1.
  • dannywong3dannywong3
    @Augenblick I sometime happens too,still finding why....using SANDISK EXTREME 30MB/s 8G card
  • jfrojfro
    I've shot some 2 fps on the GH2. I'd like to take it into AE (which I don't use much) and am looking for some help. I'd like to make movies out of 3 or 4 sequences and them take them into my editor for color / exposure work and then output a final piece. Have Premiere CS 5.5 and Vegas Video so can edit in either. Any suggestions on a quick way to take my 4 clips totaling 2 hrs of 2 fps mjpeg and knock it down to 24p with each of the 2 fps being 1 frame at 24p.

    Also, didn't have to but if I were to go long on the recording, do the files span when hit hits the 4GB limit?
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