exposure ramping

RamperPro 20 stops test - from sun to stars

For many the holy grain of time lapse photography is a perfect sunset or a perfect sunrise. Shoots like this are originally called bulb ramping, but we like to call it exposure ramping. The reason for this is because the RamperPro can both support normal shutter speeds of your camera or it can use the bulb mode. All supported Nikon camera's are switched to bulb automatically, on Canon camera's the RamperPro will notify you when you need to switch your camera to bulb mode.

The ElysiaVisuals RamperPro time lapse controller

The history of the ElysiaVisuals RamperPro time lapse controller started in 2011. The general consensus at that time was that it is not possible to make good sunset time lapse movie with a Nikon camera. These movies are made by ramping the exposure time of the camera. Its getting darker but the exposure is made longer in small steps which results day to night transitions. The same is true the other way around for sun rises. Classic ramping solutions worked by using bulb ramping. The camera is set to bulb and the bulb time is accurately controlled by the time lapse controller. This gives a limited use because you cannot use fast shutter speeds or bulb times faster than approximately 0.3 seconds. Classic bulb ramping cannot be done with a Nikon because you cannot achieve any desired bulb speeds because Nikon uses discrete steps in bulb.

Here the RamperPro steps in. You can use any desired shutter speed or any desired bulb speed to create ramping sequences. The camera is automatically controlled via USB by the controller. That makes it possible to automatically shift the ISO during your shoot. The RamperPro can therefore easily ramp over 20 stops from bright day light to stars. We like to talk about exposure ramping and not about bulb ramping because you are not limited to bulb mode when you use the RamperPro.

ElysiaVisuals timelapse controller test - D800 exposure ramping over 10 stops

We are almost ready to release our time lapse controller. The hardware is getting stable and all planned features have been implemented in the first version of the firmware. We plan to accept orders for the first units in October. The first version of the firmware will mainly support the Nikon D700, D800, D3 and D4. But other models can be added in only a few days. Keep your eye on our blog because we will post more test results and images of the actual hardware that we have developed.

First test results of the new ElysiaVisuals exposure ramper

We have been too quiet about our exciting time lapse controller that we have been developing here at ElysiaVisuals.com. We are very close to releasing the first units to beta testers. It has taken us so long because we want to be sure that the unit works as designed. We have also modified the interface. The controller is totally without any buttons because we have added a 2.8" full color touch screen. We believe that this is the very first dedicated time lapse controller in the industry that uses a touch screen interface.

What's happening with the Elysia Visuals timelapse controller

We announced the development and possible availability of our timelapse controller a while ago. Many of you have asked us what the current status is. The first prototype is behind us and we decided to totally redesign the controller. Many hardware and software bugs were ironed out in order to provide a stable controller that works well with both Nikon and Canon camera's. We do support USB control of the most popular camera's and we will add USB support for other camera's in the near future.

First test results of the ElysiaVisuals exposure ramper / timelapse controller

Here is the first test result of our upcoming timelapse controller. We did a ramping test where the camera is fully controlled via USB. This means that the camera is set to Manual by the controller. ISO and shutter speeds are also set by the controller. No manual intervention was needed. You just need to set the correct runtime parameters on the controller and you are good to go. The controller has a simulation mode which gives you very detailed information about the sequence that it will create. That way you can easily plan your timelapse sequence in advance.

It's Alive - the ElysiaVisuals timelapse controller

Christmas started early for ElysiaVisuals. We finally received the first 20 boards for our timelapse controller. We mentioned it a lot of Facebook and forums for a year now, but there still wasn't any hardware to show.

ElysiaVisuals timelapse controller firmware is ready for testing

We have been working very hard on both the hardware and the software of our upcoming timelapse controller. The first hardware boards should arrive here in our electronics lab soon from now. I will post images of them as soon as they are soldered and working. I guess the time is almost coming that we are calling for beta testers.

The ElysiaVisuals time lapse controller hardware is reaching the Beta phase

Here is a sneak preview of our time lapse controller board. We have teamed up with another company to speed up the development of the electronics. The first 20 boards are ordered and we cannot wait to assemble a few of them. We don't want to give away all the specifications yet, but you can expect a lot of features.

You can control this time lapse controller via Bluetooth, WiFi, Dynamic Perceptions' Microbus or through the native user interface of the controller itself. We have also included connectivity with the MX2 motion controller, the eMotimo and other time lapse devices.

The ElysiaVisuals timelapse controller with exposure ramping is under development

I made a promise in the past. I was supposed to blog more about my exposure ramping ideas and upcoming solution. We have been working very hard, behind the scenes, on the development of our own time lapse controller. That is mainly the reason why we haven't blogged more lately; this controller is consuming a lot of our time.

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