EOS Cameras

Recommended Models

    400D XTi, 350D, 20D
    30D, 5D, 1D Mark II , 1D Mark II N, 1Ds Mark II

Canon's EOS cameras are capable of capturing very high quality images for High Definition time-lapse. We recommend the less expensive EOS models more strongly. We don't like the idea of using the more expensive models for time-lapse because of the extra wear on the shutter from shooting thousands and thousands of images.

EOS Advantages

• Interchangeable lenses  - A wide variety of Canon lenses gives you a great deal of flexibility.
• High resolution - The higher resolutions offer the ability to do "virtual zoom and pan/tilt" in post production by moving or scaling the image crop.  Even the lowest resolutions are suitable for creating HD time-lapse.

EOS Disadvantages - All Models

• Limited Shutter Life! - If you use an EOS camera for time-lapse, you must understand that you can easily exceed the life of your camera's shutter.  The shutter can be repaired, but may cost as much as $200 or more depending on the model. The 300D shutter life is rated at 50,000 images. You could exceed that in less than four days of continuous shooting at 6 seconds per image.  On the other hand, you can create 28 minutes of high def video from 50,000 images (at 30 frames/second). It's up to you! 
• Manual Zoom - Zoom is a manual lens operation and cannot be remotely controlled.
• Manual Focus - AF/MF (automatic/manual focus) is a switch on the lens and cannot be remotely controlled.  Locking the focus must be done manually by switching from AF to MF on the lens after achieving the desired focus.
• No Live Viewfinder - There is no live viewfinder function. You must capture a full size preview image instead.
• Manual On/Off switch - All EOS models have a manual On/Off switch so they will not power up automatically when USB connection is established. GBTimelapse prevents the camera from turning itself off, but a camera not connected to GBTimelase may time-out and turn itself off with the swith still in the "on" position. To restart the camera, you have to manually turn it off and then back on. This can be a problem for an unattended time-lapse setup. The only way around this problem is to use power the camera from an uninterruptable power system.
• Interchangeable lenses  - EOS models can be subject to errors from poor electrical contact between the camera body and the lens. This is usually reported by GBTimelapse as a "Battery Level Empty" message and disconnection of the camera. When this happens a quick look will usually show "ERR 99" flashing in the camera's display . It can only be cleared by turning the camera power off and back on again. For a thorough discussion of ERR 99 please refer to this blog entry in Richard's Notes.

EOS Disadvantages - Some Models

• Shutter Mode Dial - On some EOS cameras the shutter mode can only be changed manually on the camera. If you want to change from P mode to Manual mode, you have to manually turn the dial, you can't do it remotely under computer control.
• External Flash - Has an external flash, so flash compensation cannot must be set mechanically on the flash unit.

Camera Notes

Here are notes on a few EOS cameras that we have used.

• 400D Rebel XTi - Good Points: It's a relatively inexpensive DSLR. Has an integral flash, so flash compensation can be set remotely. Fast image transfer. Bad Points: Shutter life is rated at 50,000 cycles.
• 20D -   Good Points: Fast image transfer (less than 2 seconds for 1728 x 1152 in manual mode). Shutter life is rated at 100,000 cycles. Bad Points: Can be prone to ERR 99, if electrical contacts between camera body and lens are not cleaned. Uses an external flash.
• 300D Rebel - Good Points: It's a relatively inexpensive DSLR. Has an integral flash, so flash compensation can be set remotely. Bad Points: Has frequent capture errors, but can recover. (See our discussion of Camera Errors.) Suffers from a slow image transfer of about 6 seconds at the lowest resolution. Shutter life is rated at 50,000 cycles.
• 5D - Good Points: Very fast image transfer (about 1.2 seconds for 2496 x 1664 in manual mode). Shutter life is rated at 100,000 cycles. Bad Points: Uses an external flash.
• 1D Mark II - Good Points: Shutter modes can be set remotely. Bad Points: Uses an external flash.