• GHB
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Topic: Canon t2i w/ iStopMotion

So I recently bought a pretty nice t2i which I'm really digging right now for the incredible video quality which I'm looking forward to in my future live action films as well as its incredible picture quality for general photography. Besides that, I also bought this camera to replace my old c920 for brickfilming...          ...and that's where the trouble starts.

I'm talking to anyone who has used any sort of DSLR with iStopmotion(3), preferably a Canon camera. So far, my experience with ISM and my t2i hasn't been too good, but it would really discourage me if I had to spend another 300 bucks on something like Dragonframe if all I had to do was take pictures. I read on Boinx that the t2i is "supported" with iStopmotion, and I guess you could say it works, but here are my problems with it so far:

1. The camera is pretty inconsistent in getting the live feed to appear in ISM, which would obviously prove to be annoying, especially if it decided to cut out in the middle of a super long shoot.

2. If the camera feed actually does load, when I try to take a picture, it usually gives me an error code, and the picture isn't taken, or the picture is recorded only after about 10+ seconds, which would also prove to be very annoying. I've tried lowering the quality of the image, but that didn't seem to help at all.

3. This is something that might be just a nitpick of mine I'll just say it. I bought my t2i used, so I'm sure its shutter has been broken in fairly well, which worries me even more, because whenever I take a picture on ISM, the shutter is activated as well, which to me, makes absolutely no sense. It makes a whole lot more sense to just have iStopMotion simply take a picture of the live feed on the computer rather than wasting some very valuable shutter actuations on the camera, if that makes any sense. (Maybe there's a very obvious solution to this, but at the moment, I clearly wouldn't know that)

I have looked around online a bit to solve these problems, but sadly I've had no luck. I'm not sure if it's my firmware or what, but something's up, because I have heard of people using this camera with iStopMotion. My main question here is this: What is the best setup for using a t2i(or DSLR for that matter) with iStopmotion without any inconsistencies like this and whatnot?

Thanks quite a lot, and if any clarity is needed, by all means just let me know.

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Re: Canon t2i w/ iStopMotion

In answer to question three, the reason the shutter is released is because the preview image is incredibly poor in comparision to the actual photo  captured, I don't know how iStopMotion does it but Dragonframe captures both the preview image (which is just for animation reference)  and the photo, you can clearly see the quality difference here:

http://i.imgur.com/RaZJkyP.png

Even down scaled for web the quality of the preview image is poor, with less definition and far more digital noise, the live view sensor an the main sensor are different and you really want that shutter used to get the most out of your image. Remember DLSR bodies are a disposable item when it comes to stop motion, lenses are where your money should be invested, sorry to hear that iStopMotion seems to have so many issues with DSLRs it would have been nice to know cheaper alternatives to Dragonframe exist, but that sounds unbearable and Dragonframe works REALLY WELL, you can always try a Dragonframe demo to see if the issue is somehow camera related and not software related, but it sounds like poorly programmed software issues to me.

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Re: Canon t2i w/ iStopMotion

Hmmm. So, since my t2i is used, I'm guessing it has about at least 70,000 actuations left, optimistically. So if every five minute, 15 fps video is about 4500 to 5000 frames, that would mean I would only be able to make about 14 videos with this camera. I mean, considering how many videos I make, that would last me like a good two to three years, but knowing the number of films you have left to make with your camera before buying a whole new one is a bit depressing if you think about. And I'm also using it for photography and live video as well, so it would be even less than 14. Is this just a common reality with DSLRs I will have to live with?

Last edited by GHB (September 23, 2015 (10:18am))

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Re: Canon t2i w/ iStopMotion

GHB wrote:

Hmmm. So, since my t2i is used, I'm guessing it has about at least 70,000 actuations left, optimistically. So if every five minute, 15 fps video is about 4500 to 5000 frames, that would mean I would only be able to make about 14 videos with this camera. I mean, considering how many videos I make, that would last me like a good two to three years, but knowing the number of films you have left to make with your camera before buying a whole new one is a bit depressing if you think about. And I'm also using it for photography and live video as well, so it would even less than 14. Is this just a common reality with DSLRs I will have to live with?

I think the actions have to do with the shutter, not the camera, and the shutter is in the lens so you should just have to get a new lens but I really don't know. But as far as that goes I have really only heard that actions thing a few times, I'm pretty sure Brotherhood workshops just uses his kit lens so Im assuming he still has the same camera/lens but I really don't know. I think the only time I have heard of somebody replacing there camera because of the shutter blade is "Montogo Studios" and I think they were working on Bound, which is 45 minutes. If I were you I would just enjoy the camera and not worry about it breaking.

Hope that helps
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Re: Canon t2i w/ iStopMotion

Actually, the shutter is in the camera. It's the part that exposes the camera's censor for a specific period of time to let light come through. Shutters do wear out, with them opening and closing a lot, but with modern cameras, this does not happen as often. Most of the time, cameras may last years without wearing out, but usually, when to do break, you're ready for an upgrade anyway, or your camera is old enough to be fairly inexpensive on eBay. Monitogo Studios had to replace their shutter because they had been using that camera a long time, even before making Bound.

(Of course, I'm no expert on the life expectancy of a shutter, so correct me if I'm wrong)

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Re: Canon t2i w/ iStopMotion

rioforce wrote:

When doing animation, you are always running the risk of wearing out your camera sooner than if you were doing casual photography, but you have to know that when investing in a camera. It's a scary fact that your camera might die, but all animators must live with the fact.

Ugh, well I suppose I'll just have to live with it. I'm thinking about it now and I guess 12- 14 films will last me quite awhile. Anyways, does anyone else have any suggestions for the iStopMotion problem?

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Re: Canon t2i w/ iStopMotion

Equipment wearing out is a simple fact of existence. You don't avoid buying a car because you are worried that you will have to repair its brakes in four years. Likewise, you don't buy a camera worried about it eventually failing. Because everything will eventually fail, and you'll have to buy a replacement.

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Re: Canon t2i w/ iStopMotion

If your camera *does* run out of shutter actuations, it can be repaired for around $300, or by cheaper DIY means..

I'd really like to see Panasonic or Sony step it up in the USB tethering department so we could have more proper stop mo options. A lot of Panasonic cameras now have the option to take stills without using the shutter, which would be great for our purposes, but unfortunately none of them place nice with Dragonframe and the like.

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