This means that you can only mount a relatively lightweight camera like Canon PowerShot S90, and you should secure the entire setup during the capturing process. Keep in mind, however, that the timer itself can support only a very light load and the entire solution is not very stable. įigure 1: Building a panning rig requires only a few simple and inexpensive components. To attach it to the timer's top plate, use either strong glue or Sugru. A common M6x16 flat-head (hexagon) screw, which can be found in many home improvement stores, will do the job. One way to do this is to attach a screw that fits the camera's tripod bush to the top plate. When you wind up the timer, the top part slowly moves clockwise, which makes it an ideal panning platform.īetter still, the top plate of the timer is perfectly flat, so you can easily mount the camera on it ( Figure 1). The key component of this panning device is an Ordning egg timer which can be procured at any IKEA store. Although you can build a panning solution with Raspberry Pi or Arduino, you have a much simpler, cheaper, and decidedly low-tech alternative. The first order of business is to build a panning rig. In fact, this type of photography is ideal for tinkering with hardware and putting open source software to creative use, so if you happen to have a Canon PowerShot compact camera or an Android smartphone, building a simple panning rig and creating time-lapse videos makes a perfect weekend project.

You may think that creating panoramic time-lapses requires expensive hardware and software. The idea behind panoramic time-lapse photography is rather simple: Instead of remaining in a fixed position, the camera slowly pans in one direction (e.g., clockwise) while taking photos, which makes it possible to capture panoramic time-lapses of landscapes, city skylines, cityscapes, and so forth.

Time-lapse photography is great as it is, but adding panning to the equation takes the concept to another level. And it's easy to understand why: Time-lapse movies assembled from multiple photos can be beautiful and mesmerizing, offering a radically different view of the world around us. Although time-lapse photography is nothing new, it remains a popular genre with enthusiasts and amateur photographers alike.

Free time lapse software ubuntu