5D mk II shows "busy" error while making a timlapse

[pele2010]

Hi,

i am checking out the timelapse bramping feature at the moment.
Version of the software is 2.3

When i start the program : bramping 15 Sec. with a picture as reference
at first everything is fine. Camera starts and does it job.
After a while, when the camera is performing longer exposures the display shows the
information diialoge : "busy" nothing happens.
After a restart the camera starts again and after 100 shots the dialoge comes back again.

1. Do i have to wait until the camera is unbusy?
2, is this a know issue?
3.I use trancend CF cards , maybe to slow ? should i better use a faster card ? sandisk extreme?

It would be greate if someone could share information on how to avoid the "busy" display
it feels like the camera crashes.

thanxs
peter

[halbmoki]

The "busy" screen is not an error and with a 15 second interval, it can't be the card either. Even the slowest card could handle that.

The only other thing I can think of right now is the long exposure noise reduction... For long exposures (over 1sec, I think), the camera takes a dark frame with the same exposure time to reduce hot pixels. The display shows "busy" while doing that. It can be turned off in the Canon Custom Functions. With my 50D it is under C.Fn.II (Image) and I think it's the same with other cameras, too.

Note that disabling the long exposure noise reduction will increase noise and hot pixels. If you want to avoid that, your only choice is to use a longer interval or shorter exposures.

[tron]

I agree. I have not used my 5D2 and 5D3 cameras that way but I have taken many long exposure shots and I have used long exposure noise reduction most of the time. There are some hot pixels when turned off (even at low iso settings).

The only way out of both situations is - probably - to get a dark frame (cap on, camera on manual, same number of seconds at the same iso) and subtract it in post. The downsides:
1. You will have to do it for each frame!
2. Since camera's temperature may change with usage maybe the dark frame will not be adequate for all shots.

Sorry the above methods are in theory because although I have used long exposures at night I have not combined them with timelapses. I suggest you first try without dark frames at all (just do what the previous poster suggested).