Enhancement request for bulb ramping and logs from a test with 2.3 ga

[rramirez125]

Hi guys
this is my first post so please bear with me, I did my first test last night of bulb ramping using the sunset option,
it worked as expected with some minor flicker, please see logs to see how luma jumps a bit
here is the video

and attached the logs.

the enhancement I would like to see, would be a delay of x seconds between shots, why this? when using sliders you need time between frames to move the car usually a couple of seconds but sometimes a bit more if you are using something like mx2 and emotimo together it will need time for mx2 to move then emotimo to move so if you add them up you need like 4 to 5 seconds then at this point you would like the the photo to be taken. I know time would increase but there are workaround to that too, I think the new version of mx2 will be able to read from the flash port if the camera has completed the shot (like the little bramper does)

I recently installed ML for the first time and I must say I am very happy and impressed with the new possibilities. I am really loving it.
thanks for all the hard work

can't find how to attach the log file would you please let me know where to send it?

sorry just realized there is a feature request too

Rafael

[a1ex]

I don't understand what do you mean by delay between shots - it's already there.

To avoid flicker, use long exposures as much as possible. See the user guide.

To attach the log, put it on dropbox or pastebin or whatever, then paste the link. Or include it in [ code ] tags. I'll create a nice graph from it

[rramirez125]

Thanks Alex, here is the link https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B_AsAFZgYV4iSFQ5SzBGV1VlMjQ and will check on the option to delay between shots I may have missed it.

Rafael

[a1ex]

I think the optimal ramping speed for this case was 0.03 EV / shot.

For zero flicker, use manual ramping, but you need to know the ramping speed in advance. You will learn it from experience, after a few timelapses.

[rramirez125]

Thanks Alex this is very interesting
I will definitely try the manual too and post here the results,
hopefully I will get a similar clear night today as I did last night.
Rafael

[rramirez125]

Alex,
Ok I have gone back and play with the settings, I see what you mean we already have time between shots and its true,
but I don't think I explained what I wanted correctly,

what I meant was shutter time plus delay time option, lets say during the day it can take the photo in .1 seconds but at night it would be 10 seconds and I want at least delay of 5 seconds between shots for the dolly move,  I would select the option shutter + delay and say 5

during the day it would be 5.1 seconds to allow the move to happen, but at night it would have to take the 10 seconds for proper exposure plus the  5 seconds for move which would make it 15, this would allow me to take the maximum number of shots during night and day, while now I can only  plan on having the time at 15 during the day to allow the night shots and the move to fit during the time frame.

hope it makes sense.

as for the manual value you recomended to set to .03 I tried and it looks like it jumps from .02 to .05 it would be good to allow us to go step by step for fine tweaking, have not done any testing to see if it really makes a difference to go from .02, to .05. I will and get back to you

thanks for you quick responses
Rafael

[Malcolm Debono]

Isn't that the way the intervalometer works? If you enable bulb-ramping, you'll get a changing exposure (such as day to night, with a short exposure during day-time and a long-exposure during night-time) and a fixed interval between each shot (which you can specify).

[a1ex]

I think I understand - you can set up a high interval between two shots, but ML will use it for long exposure, if it can. You can raise the auto ISO to 6400 - as a result, ML will try to keep the exposure close to half of the interval delay (that is, 180 degree for motion blur).

But when it gets really dark outside, ML will extend the exposure time until interval delay minus 2 seconds. I think this is what you want to adjust - increase it to 5 seconds, no?

The closest one is 0.02 - and you will also get some fade to dark effect, which is good IMO.

[rramirez125]

Yes Alex,

ok on the .02

and Yes that is what I mean, but I take it a bit further it would help when using this in the mx2
from the feature below,
we would not necessarily have to wait fixed interval time between shots of the long exposure during daytime,
if we had an option to be shutter time plus dolly move time, (not sure how you would factor the shutter time, maybe getting the value from the previous shot and adding the specified dolly move time) so in day it would be 5.1 sec until the ramps start to happen the the value would go to 5.2 to 5.3 until it reaches the 10 secs of night bulb time plus the 5 seconds of dolly time making 15 so that way you have maximum number of photos possible during the night as well as the day and still allow time for the move to happen when the shutter is closed

http://dynamicperception.com/software/mx2-firmware-images

MX2 Firmware Version 0.92

Invert External Input Type

In previous versions, you could use the Ext 1 port to trigger a signal, such as Start, Stop, External Interval, etc.  However, this only worked when a signal was brought from HIGH to LOW.  For some use cases (such as chasing the camera shutter when connected the cameras PC port to the Ext 1 port), it is preferred to trigger the input when the signal is brought from LOW to HIGH.

To enable this feature:

[enter] To show menu list
[down] To the Settings menu
[enter] To select the Settings menu
[down] To the Invert I/O option
[enter] To edit the value
[up] or [down] to change the selected value
[enter] to save, or

to discard changes

Malcolm hopes this also answers your question

sorry if I don't explain myself clearly English is not the my native language.
Rafael

[rramirez125]

as promised here is the new test with the manual bulb ramp set to .02
I think I started it way before I should have and the ramp went to fast,
when I came back and realized that the shots were overexposed
I changed the settings to sunset and restarted the test which looks much better,

the log files for reference

https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B_AsAFZgYV4iNDJ6OVRva3EwUDg

hope it helps

Rafael

[a1ex]

This was automatic ramping