If you’re interested in creating time lapse videos and are looking for an incredible camera to work with, then the Nikon D7200 is the best option for you. It comes with a 24.2 megapixel CMOS sensor which has no optical low pass filters. This means you can get the most memorable images without any external light affecting them.
This camera also has an outstanding autofocus system. It comes with 51 different focus points, all operational for up to -3 EV. This focusing system comes from Nikon’s latest multi-CAM 3500DX II controls, which allow you incredibly clear images with the perfect background blurring effects.
Since time-lapse videos are all the rage today, you might want to look into the D7200’s many features that help you create these amazing videos. It comes with a full HD 1080/60p video recording function that can be easily accessed through its HDMI or flat picture control. These functions assist you in viewing the video on a larger screen and allow you to edit them as you export them onto a device.
This camera is an incredible tool for anyone who wants to venture into time-lapse photography. Whether you’re a professional or a beginner, this camera will help you create the best videos you’ve ever seen. So, let’s explore all that you can do with this piece of equipment accompanying some tips for using them.
Here are 5 tips on using the Nikon D7200 for time lapse photography.
Use Manual Mode
Using the manual mode is integral in creating a seamless time lapse video. The primary reason for using the manual mode is to avoid flickers in the video. Flickers are little gaps that enter the video because of the camera’s automatic adjustments to lighting or focus changes. These flickers are more likely to occur when using the auto mode. In contrast, the manual mode ensures that the camera’s settings are fixed and will not adjust automatically.
A time-lapse video is either a compilation of many images or an edited video set on a fast forward speed. Thus, it is understood that the primary video will be of extended length. Due to this, the external lighting may change occasionally, and the auto mode is programmed to balance those changes. In that balancing, the minute ISO or aperture changes may come out as flickers in the final video.
However, you will set a predetermined ISO, aperture, and shutter speed by using the manual mode. This allows the camera to take images consistently, which will avoid incorporating any inconsistencies in the final product.
The Nikon D7200 comes with a fully functional and customizable manual settings mode. You can access the ISO levels, which range from 100 to 25,600, and its many manual focus modes, which allows you to operate the camera as per your wishes. These features help you in minimizing flickering and maximizing the potential for an incredibly smooth time-lapse video.
Take A Lot Of Pictures
Since time-lapse videos are supposed to show processes at a fast-paced speed, you have to make sure to take as many pictures as you can. Taking lots of pictures also reduces your chances of missing out on certain events you would have wanted to be included in the final video. Thus, you have to make sure that you have a useful repository of images that you can use to create the most seamless and incredible time-lapse video for your viewers.
Taking lots of pictures is also important to encapsulate the full integrity of the process happening. For example, suppose you are shooting the hatching of a cocoon. In that case, you can’t skip certain moments because each and every little moment is important to that process.
Hence, you have to show everything. Otherwise, the video will be left incomplete, and your viewers will remain unsatisfied. So, to create a wholesome video, you have to capture everything, and that too at a higher rate of frames per second.
With the Nikon D7200, you get incredible features that help you take lots of amazing images. It comes with a shutter speed of 1/8000 sec that has a continuous shooting speed of up to 6 frames per second, which will allow you to take lots of fabulous images in a matter of seconds. Additionally, it also comes with a dual memory card slot, which helps you store as many photos as you want.
Don’t Move The Camera
When you watch a time-lapse video, you want to be transported into the scenery as if you’re there. And this is an experience that you, as a time-lapse photographer, have to translate into your own work. So, to make your video as perfect as possible, you have to ensure that there are no sudden movements when recording a scene. Even a second’s worth of movements will destabilize the entire framing of the video, and the audience will not have the seamless experience you want them to have.
There are many tools that you can utilize in order to minimize movement in your videos. For example, you can use a sturdy tripod, which will ensure a static placement of the camera throughout the shooting period and capture the most beautiful sceneries.
Another way is to place the camera on a flat surface instead of your own hands (because human hands are generally shaky). The latter option works best when you’re recording a travel time-lapse or a sunset.
The Nikon D7200 makes sure that your images are fully stabilized through its EXPEED 4 imaging processor. It also comes with slots that you can use to attach external equipment such as tripods, microphones, and flashes. Perhaps the best feature is that it has WiFi connectivity, which means you can use a remote control to start recording, which will minimize any kind of movement at all.
Get Comfortable
You have to be comfortable with your equipment and yourself. This is more of a ‘self-esteem’ advice, although this step also has technical details. You always work best when you’re comfortable, and you can think of ideas. In fact, getting comfortable also means being patient. When recording time-lapse videos, you will see that there is a very long waiting period. Since you’re recording a slow process that will eventually be edited into a 10-second clip, you have to be mentally ready to get comfortable in whatever scenario you’re shooting.
For example, if you’re recording the night sky and movements of the stars, you may have to travel to an isolated location and set up a camp there. You will most likely have to stay the night at the shooting site and make sure that the camera is recording everything. Since it may take hours to shoot, you will have to prepare yourself to get comfortable in the area. Bring a snack or two, or a reclining chair to sit on, maybe even bring a book to read or a friend to keep you company.
The Nikon D7200 helps you relieve any issues you may face in terms of long shooting periods. It comes with a lithium-ion rechargeable battery, which can take hundreds of images without pausing. In addition, you can also carry extra batteries, which you can purchase from the Nikon store. With the WiFi and NFC controls, you can also watch your video as it’s being recorded live on a device, or you can use the D7200’s 3.2″ RGBW LCD to view all your images and recordings.
Add Motion
Time lapse videos are becoming more and more popular these days. So, to make yourself stand out from the crowd, you will have to look for ways to distinguish your work from others. One incredibly smart way to do this is to add some motion in your videos. This can happen in multiple forms, but you have to make sure that you keep your camera steady while the direction of the motion remains streamlined.
For example, if you’re in a garden or a small forest-like location, and you want to record a time-lapse video of the growing plants around you, you can easily create a panoramic video spanning several days.
You will have to position your camera in the center, attach it to a motorized tripod, which will move at an incredibly slow speed, and start shooting for a few days. This way, as the camera moves, it will capture the steady growth of the shrubbery around. It will make the viewers think they are in that exact location, watching the plants grow.
Adding motion to your images was never easier than it is with the Nikon D7200. This camera comes with multiple AE/AF control options such as face tracking, focus lock, and auto-area focus. All of these features help you keep a steady focus on the subject you are capturing, in this case, a garden or a forest. Even as the subject moves and grows, the camera’s subject-tracking function will keep the focus right on it so that you can have the clearest images to use for your time-lapse.
