Must Have Time Lapse Camera Accessories

If you are looking to shoot a time lapse video for yourself, you have probably witnessed the awesomeness behind time lapsed scenes. This fascination is as a result of photography skills coupled with a good time lapse camera and of course some great accessories to go with it.

Just a recap of what time lapse videos entail. A time lapse video is an incredible way of showing a scene that takes significant amount of time for changes to be seen.Take for example one of our time lapse videos during the construction of a building or a crane height increase; though the application of time lapse goes beyond construction.

A time lapse camera captures regular shots of an active construction site later speeding up these images to showcase milestones that would take days weeks or even months to view within a minute or so. This assembly of snapshots and speeding up effect goes without compromising the quality of the final footage.

Time Lapse Camera

Now before talking about time lapse camera accessories, it is important to have the right camera for the job. There are many many models in the market both DSLR and Mirrorless. Even giant mobile phone brands such as Apple’s iphones have pioneered incorporation of the technology into their devices with many android companies looking to follow suit.

Most cameras will do a good job, but only a few can nail it to perfection. Quality is key here if you are aiming for a professional final video. Look for a camera with high resolution full frame sensor that performs well even in dim lighting conditions and also, captures photos in RAW file formats for effortless post production editing.

Time Lapse Camera Accessories

Intervalometer

An Intervalometer is a key part of your time lapse camera gear without which time lapse photography would be long, tedious and exhausting physically and mentally. Imagine having to hold, click and keep count of hundreds of photos while maintaining consistent intervals. Near impossible right? An Intervalometer is a wired or wireless cable release device with timer functions that is plugged into the camera for handsfree controlling. It enables one to set images intervals giving the photographer complete control of the rate and speed of the shots. Thanks to its locking system, there’s no need to click shutter release when filming. Everything from the sequence to the intervals, number of shots and exposure length can be set remotely without physically interfering with the camera greatly reducing shake.

Tripod

A tripod may be seem to be this heavy cumbersome metallic stand you can probably do without, but not with time lapse photography. If you care about professional sharp looking images, a tripod is quintessential at reducing camera movement and your arms and back will thank you for it too. It will hold your camera still for hours on end as it captures hundred of images. There’s an assortment of tripods in the market in a wide range of prices. While quality and durability matters, any tripod is better than no tripod at all and therefore budget constraints shouldn’t be a factor to eliminate it from your camera gear list.

Motorised slider and pan tilt head

If you’d like more explosive videos, a motorised slider and pan tilt head are tools worth investing in. They are devices that simple rotate and move the camera in a number of diverse ways for dramatic effects creating a more vibrant dynamic video than the usual stills that lack life. A motorised slider is a sort of metallic rail about 5.5 foot long that moves the camera in a slow motion along it capturing movement. A tilt pan head on the other hand rotates the camera horizontally or vertically. This head can be mounted on a fluid or tilt pan tripod. Modern designs come as a single integrated unit though they can be bought separately. Creativity and skill is however paramount to pull off some insane angles.

Power bank

Let’s face it, the hyped features of modern newer camera models consume a lot of power rapidly. Pair that up with hours or even days of time lapse shooting especially long exposure; not forgetting our motorised accessories. The result is that oops moment when your batteries suddenly run out on you unexpectedly. The preferred option is always to carry extra batteries. You can never have too many. But why miss out the defining moments while trying to replace batteries? That’s where power banks comes in. To keep cameras rolling and all your gear fully charged for longer.

While, the above will get you good to go for short projects, long term outdoor time lapse shoot requires a lot more in terms of camera build and functionality. For example special housing, unlimited files storage and even reliable power supply such a s solar or AC. For expert time lapse camera advice and to learn more, talk to the construction time lapse specialists.