Timelapses - Tips and Dangers?

[Jeff Dunant]

I am a camera operator for a local independent film and we are doing a timelapse shot of a sunrise Thursday morning in a rural area. None of us have done a timelapse so I decided to look into it on the forum. I came across this thread (http://reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?t=31483&highlight=timelapse) that actually discussed how pointing the camera at the sun could damage the sensor. Of course, this is the last thing I want to do. We have access to 0.6, 0.9, and two 1.5 ND filters. Basically, I just have no idea what to do. What shutter speeds should you use, do you want to keep it as underexposed as possible? Watch for clipping? Second of all, is it really necessary to cover the camera in-between the the shots to protect the sensor or if I put enough ND filters on will it be a problem?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Cail Young]

Aside from your sensor issue, make sure you switch the fans to HOT otherwise you risk overheating.

[Eric Ulbrich]

Stack those ND filters hard. Close waaaay down and open up very slightly. The camera should warn you if the sensor does not like this. Ive shot straight into the sun stacking n.3 n.6 n.9 and an n1.2 IR at an T 22 and it worked fine. Be careful tho!

[Andrew Walker]

The sun right as its coming up isn't that bad as its intensity goes. If you were trying to shoot it in the middle of the day I would be a little more worried. I've shot sunsets with no ND's stopped down to f~11 or f~16 and everything worked out just fine. Just make sure when you start stacking ND's you have an IR filter in there of some kind.