I want to be able to get nature shots by setting up where I suspect a creature will put in appearance, and get some shots without having to be there.
Have used intervalometer successfully for this (see http://robneave.phanfare.com/5964652), but at the expense of many hundreds of shutter operations.
Suspecting there is a smarter way, and tried motion detect. After setting the camera up, I tested the operation by moving the camera slightly. It correctly detected the motion and fired a shot. As I prepared to walk away and leave everything to work for me, motion detect shut down. Repeat; same result. It just seems to loose interest after about a minute.
What am I doing wrong?
In an hour or so, I will check out trap focus and see if that will be better.
Rob
I don't have my camera handy to find the correct name for it, but when I shoot lightning, I was using "sticky half press shutter" or something like that.
edit: Sticky HalfShutter
http://wiki.magiclantern.fm/userguide#misc_key_settings
Then turn on some of the powersave settings to increase battery life.
You should also set your focus beforehand and then turn off AF. Turn off IS also to help increase battery life.
You probably have auto power off set to 1 minute.
Sticky half-shutter? How does it help with lighting? (I've only used it for poking DIGIC registers...)
Quote from: a1ex on March 02, 2013, 09:27:56 AM
Sticky half-shutter? How does it help with lighting? (I've only used it for poking DIGIC registers...)
Keeping the camera awake. From your response, I assume I've been doing it backwards.
Have experimented motion detect and it is pretty cool. But then, a reading of robneave99's post gives an indication that Motion Detect feature saves on shutter operations. How's that? When I used motion detect, the camera makes a distinctive sound and I think it is the shutter.
It is more economical of shutter than intervalometer, where I set up and shoot maybe 360 shots per hour and 90% of them contain no subject.
I could not make motion detect work, but trap focus was successful in my trial this afternoon. See last few shots in http://robneave.phanfare.com/5964652. The pink and grey Galahs.
Rob
Oh! I see. I tried motion detect on a rainy late evening to capture the lightning and it worked. But then, I deleted the photo; it wasn't any great perhaps on account of bad exposure setting. Your trap focus experiment has indeed a great success; nice photos!