Sorry but you are dead wrong. Capn C is correct. Use a tripod and a shutter release.

I may be wrong but after seeing so many do it I assume you are one that even when everything is set up on the tripod, framing, exposure etc. and ready to shoot, you still feel some need to look through the viewfinder and ignore what is right in front of you. Once the camera is set up, leave it alone and watch the scene with both eyes. Talk to them all, tell them a funny story (OK not a real funny one, they are boys) When you leading up to a highlight in the story, open your eyes wide like something magnificent is about to happen and press the button.

Telling them to sit straight is a recipe for disaster, tell stories.

Good luck and be thankful you aren't using film.

I believe they are trying to load the Aperture catalog in LR which is an exercise in futility. It's like trying to run a MAC program on a PC, it don't work. (at least without a lot of band-aid fixes) You need to find a PC program that is equivalent. In this case install LR, point LR at your collection of photos and let it create it's own catalog. You then end up with an Aperture catalog and a LR catalog, both different but both showing the same results.

Was there a reason for trying LR or was it the case of the curious cat?

Both are almost identical with a few bells and whistles differing. LR works with MAC and PC but Aperture is strictly MAC. Of the 2, LR is most widely used.

If you're shooting manual then no need to cover the viewfinder. It can't change the exposure no matter what the light meter says.

You're correct, I considered putting in that point but it wouldn't solve the overall problem with shooting in auto. It still allows for fluctuating exposures from the lighting changes over time as seen through the lens. If a cloud covers the sun you expect darker tones in the picture. Shooting auto would adjust for that making all the lighting changes look the same. Shooting a bright sunny scene would look just as bright when a big black storm cloud moves in. It will end up looking funny in the final video.

When it comes to time lapse you know you need to be in manual mode, right? Meter for the brightest and darkest spots in the frame and choose a mid point. If you choose any auto mode then YES you will need to keep your eye in the viewfinder to block any light filtering in from the eye piece, fooling the light meter and making for improperly exposed photos.

Another tip, get it all set up and take 3 or 4 pics. If everything is OK then turn off the shot preview, no sense wasting battery power. This assumes you will be close enough to the camera to hear if the shutter stops.

Good luck, it can be a lot of fun.

So once it is set up why do you feel the need to stand... er crouch there and watch the viewfinder? I do timelapse a fair amount and once set up and running I find a nice place to sit, sometimes even lie down, and let things run their course. Now I am close enough to the camera to hear the shutter so I know if something goes wrong.

He can't tell you cause he's in hiding... :hunf:

I have used a modified version of this technique for years. Mostly I use two flashes but on occasion I use 3 or 4 depending on the room size. The difference is that I place my flashes as high up as I can get them, maybe on a display cabinet, and point them at the ceiling toward the room center. One at either end of the room so no matter where I aim I get even but soft lighting. Being close to the ceiling I get good light transfer and at 1 end of the room my ratios might get a 3 to 1 but in room center I get the 1 to 1 ratio. By placing them high I don't need full power but can pull it back to 1/8 or 1/16 so the flashes last for the entire Christmas present opening and with 5 grand kids they last the entire session.

Hey hoggers, several weeks ago I bought what I thought was a replacement pfi-301pgy ink for my IPF8100 but I ordered the wrong ink for my printer. My printer takes a PFI-302pgy. Regardless, my loss your gain. I can't return the ink as I already removed it from the box and plastic wrapper. The cartridge is new and won't even fit into the printer so it is unscathed. My purchase price including sales tax in Canada was $243 CAD plus $10 CAD S&H. Anyone interested? I am entertaining offers.

Standard USD price is around 200 without tax.

Have you created a shot list? That will be a huge help in determining what goes and stays.

If your worried about equipment being "confiscated" make sure you have lots of cards and rotate them every few hours and keep them away from your equipment. Also, every time you have a few minutes back them up to the cloud or some other place.

Don't allow your fears to govern your memories.

Sekonic L-478DR :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:

Looks like the original captured the entire dynamic range so I would question the use of HDR. I agree with the others that #2 is too over processed.

I would recommend keeping the finished clips to around 4-8 seconds and make several of them. Different view points and angles obviously. Then add them together in your final movie. It makes for a more dynamic viewing adventure rather than a 3 minute yawn fest watching the clouds move across the sky. After 4-8 seconds we get the effect and appreciate a different angle. IMHO