No. I started with raw, but then realized that by the time I compress the image down to 1080p and show each image only 1/24th of a second, there's not much advantage to raw. Since I always shoot my stills in raw mode, I created a custom setting (C3 - I don't know why I started with the third one) for this purpose.
In this particular experiment, I was still shooting a Large (full resolution) image, then downsizing it in Lightroom. I have since changed the setting to Small JPG, letting me import the images directly into QuickTime and skip Lightroom altogether.
That does mean I have to be very deliberate about framing and exposure upfront, since there's little margin for adjustment afterwards. The framing's no big deal (since it's on a tripod, and I have enough lenses to get what I want). The exposure, though, has been a challenge.
I started with manual exposure, but I couldn't keep up with the changes in lighting, and the effect was choppy. I switched to Aperture priority mode, which brings two problems:
1) The autoexposure algorithm on the G2 is a step function, so you see the jumps. In addition, it's sometimes jerky, changing it's mind after a few minutes and letting in more light. Haven't quite figured that out yet. (More on that below.)
2) I really wanted the image to get darker after sunset, but simple A mode won't do that for me.
The trick I settled on is to rely on the maximum speed of the shutter (1/4000) to "pin" the exposure. If a lens is wide open on a sunny day (around f/2.8 or f/2.0), 1/4000 is about right for a good exposure. So I set it at EV -2 (which makes it look good in the dark) and let it go. Until sunset, the camera
tries to do EV -2, but fails, because it can't go faster than 1/4000. The result is a well-exposed image. As the sky darkens, the Aperture-priority program kicks in, and the exposure drops to the appropriate night-time level. I didn't use that trick here, because I wanted to experiment with the cool "stars" diffraction you get when you stop down an old Nikon lens.
If you watch this flic, you'll see that the camera gets confused around 1/3 of the way through, and everything gets brighter again. I haven't figured it out yet, but it seems to coincide with when the fog rolls into the mid-ground, so the lack of contrast may also be confusing the exposure algorithm.
... it works fine. It has a timer and everything and just keeps clicking away for the duration set. I should note though that the timer itself is off too... it seems to be off by about 1 second per 30 seconds or minute but it's still "regular" photos. Just don't expect it to be high precision timing...
