Stop Motion Capture with a Digital Still Camera

Note:  The size of images imported into the application has been limited to no larger that 2000 x 1100, to keep memory requirements realistic  (we can supply a larger image version on demand). This does not effect the originals imported from the camera into the computer.

WHY USE A STILL DIGITAL CAMERA FOR STOP MOTION OR TIME LAPSE PHOTOGRAPHY? For most applications, a good quality video camera is normally adequate. Digital Still cameras do though offer a better image resolution, colour rendition and depth of field then most video cameras. As most people already have a Digital Still camera, it may be more cost efficient to purchase a cheap USB camera as a video assist and output high quality images, without the cost of a very expensive high quality video camera.

Note: SMM Advance will only import .JPG, .JPEG and some .tiff image file types, but can be used by basically any digital still camera that can output these file types. It must be noted though, that cameras must have the capability to manually focus/lock and set the exposure settings for flicker (slight changes in exposure or focus) free images.

To capture Still and ‘Video Assist’ images with just one click for Stop Motion, proceed as follows with SMM Advance:

Note: There may be no video from the Still camera at this stage if you are using a video feed directly from your still camera.

A separate logitech 4000 camera is being used in this example below.

Connect the Cameras and Turn on (in this case) the Canon 2SIS camera.  Although this could be any camera that has the capability to export directly to the computers hard drive.

Note: Other digital camera can also be used, read further for more details.

• - Select AE mode (Automatic Exposure) to ‘Manual’.
• - Select a suitable lens opening and shutter speed for the available light and depth of field                required.
• Note: Do not change these settings once set, unless required during the shot.

As the Canon S2IS does not have a manual focus option within its remote application (does not exist in the SDK), select ‘AF lock’ to lock the focus.  I sometimes also use a focusing aid to help the camera focus where required.

Now you are ready to take a frame.

Select ‘Release’ in the Cannon ‘Remote Capture Task’ Application.  The camera will take the picture, which will then be uploaded to the computer harddrive. (holding Directory).  The SMM Plus application will detect the arrival of the image and then convert and upload it to the working directory and display it in the Still Image Window.  After the image is uploaded, a video capture will be automatically triggered.

So not only can you use the live video to gauge the next shot/capture, but you have instant feedback on the quality/look of your final still image frames.  If you make a bad shot, you will know instantly and be able to delete the offending frame and simply re-shoot. Even if you use another application to edit/make the final movie the advantages of this system are obvious.

Note: This will also automatically start the Canon image editing application as well, which I have deleted, as it just got in the way (your choice).

If your digital camera cannot directly capture to the computers hardrive, just export the images manually from the cameras memory card into the defined holding directory after the shot and then import into the SMM Plus application with the press of one button ‘Import From Holding Directory’ as detailed further into this tutorial.

Manual Import.

If you have manually exported images from your Still Camera to the holding directory, select the button ‘Import from Holding Dir’.  The SMM Plus application will then upload all image files in that directory into the working directory and display them when finished.

• Note:   A frame number will be displayed as each frame is uploaded. If you later add more frames to this directory for the same scene, then the old files must be saved into another directory or they will be imported again.

This is not necessary if using the Monitoring Directory function for cameras that can export directly to the computers hard drive, as it will only upload new images.

Replay

The current frames can be ‘looped’ (replayed) at any time to give an indication of how the scene is progressing. The speed of the replay is set by the ‘Frame Rate’ in the main Video Mode Window and the capability of the computers CPU and available memory.

Re-importing Images

If you change your mind on the image size or cropping of your movie, just delete the imported images by selecting ‘Delete Working Directory Images’, (or save them from within the ‘Still Image Mode’) and re-import from the holding directory at a different size or crop.

• Note: Obviously, a dynamic crop cannot be used with this batch image import.

 Compositing and Editing images

If the images requires compositing (Green Screen) or editing (removal of support wires etc), then these function are all available within the ‘Still Image Window’.

The above shows the ‘Crop’ function being used to capture a different part of the image.   Note. that to produce an  AV I movie, all bmp images must be the same size.

Making a Movie

When the scene is completed, the images can be converted to an AVI file by selecting ‘Make Movie’ within the Still Image Window. 

Note:  The USB or capture card must be enabled to identify  the program on what compression to use. The image limitation of the capture card or USB WebCam will not effect the output size of the AVI or compressed movie.

If a video camera is not connected select the ‘Bmp to AVI’ button in the main window as shown below.

Timelapse with a Digital Still Camera.

The setup for creating a Timelapse movie with a capable Canon, or other camera is very similar, with the shots being controlled by the Canon or other camera software.  With the Canon 2SIS and similar, this function can be found under the ‘Shootings’ menu of the ‘Remote Capture Task’ Window.  Also, I normally do not worry about enabling ‘Trigger a Video Capture’ into SMM Advance, as this extra process just slows down processing between shots and is not necessary for Timelapse photography.

The limit for how quickly the next timelapse image can be taken, is directly related to how fast the image can be uploaded and processed. A camera/computer connected via USB-2 instead of the slower USB-1 will be faster.  The fastest my Canon P4 3.0 Ghz Computer and camera will reliably export via a USB-2 connection is 2 seconds between shots. The images produced by this process are excellent, even if down converted to 720 x 576 for standard PAL video.