Time Lapse Photography Using the Sony A7iii

Time Lapse Video Photography Using the Sony A7iii and 16-35mm F/4 Zeiss Lens

Yesterday was such a beautiful day and although everyone’s self-isolating to prevent the spread of COVID-19, I still managed to get out in the garden and get some photography done!

I’ve been using the Sony A7iii for a couple of years now for wedding photography but the camera recently received a firmware update allowing a series of images to be taken using inbuilt options whereas previously it was necessary to use an external intervalometer to achieve this functionality. As all my weddings are on hold at the moment, I though I’d have a play and see what I could do. The white fluffy clouds rolling across the perfectly blue sky were the ideal subject for my first time lapse video!

In camera settings are very simple. All you need to do is set the number of shots and the interval between shots. For a 30 second clip at 25 frames per second, 750 shots are required. To capture roughly an hour of footage in 750 shots, you would need to set an interval of 5 seconds as 3600 / 750 = 4.8. You can also set a delay time before the first shot so you can go to bed and leave the camera to it’s work!

For this kind of work it is advisable to shoot in RAW to give more flexibility in exposure and allow for more shadow and highlight recovery but I like practising getting the exposure right in camera so shot straight to full size, highest quality JPEG using the standard creative style with contrast reduced to -2. I shot in aperture priority with a fixed ISO setting so that the only thing that changed was the shutter speed. I set the zebra exposure warning to 100% and exposed to protect the highlights and prevent the clouds and sky blowing out.

Once I had all the shots I needed, I assembled the time lapse videos using Sony Imaging Edge Desktop and PlayMemories Home Movie Maker.

Have a look at my first two time lapse videos using the A7iii and let me know what you think. Hopefully I’ll be able to venture out further than my back garden in the near future and get some more exciting footage!

Summer Sky Time Lapse

For this time lapse, I took 800 shots at 5 second intervals at ISO 100, f/5.6. The shutter speed was determined automatically by the camera.

Sunset Time Lapse

For this time lapse, I took 100 shots at 10 second intervals at ISO 200, f/8. The shutter speed was determined automatically by the camera. I chose f/8 to get sunstars as the setting sun passed through the gaps in the branches of the trees.