How to do an oven timelapse with GoPro?

Question

I am trying to do a timelapse of the pastry baking in the oven with a GoPro Hero3+. My first attempt is to shoot it from the outside.

The problem is, the oven lid glass has the usual black lines on it (which appearantly help heat preservation) and the GoPro lens see those lines in focus. Interestingly my smart phone camera puts them out of focus but GoPro does not.

Below is a sample image taken by Hero3+.

On the Internet we see a lot of timelapse videos of things baking in the oven. Do all those people have heat resistant equipment?

What kind of setup do I need to shoot oven timelapse videos, in terms of both the camera and the lighting equipment?

Answer 1

Options:

• Use an oven with a glass door that does not contain any other obstructions.

• Use a countertop convection oven. Many models look like upside-down glass bowls.

• Use a stone or brick oven with an open design. There is no door or glass to obstruct the view.

• Use a stove-top alternate to baking (using cast iron cookware).

• Use a long-enough lens so that the camera can be set up on a tripod far enough away to allow the oven door to open. Open the oven door prior to each shot. Baking time will be increased. Extend the interval as necessary.

Answer 2

As @Rafael said, what you'd want is something to keep stray light out, similar to this:

You could even MacGyver it out of a funnel, or better yet, get crafty and tape some carboard to the oven in order to accomodate the GoPro's wide angle.

Other than that, it's just a question of keeping the oven door as clear as possible and shooting from an angle where the horizontal lines aren't as much of a distraction.

Happy baking!

Answer 3

I do not have a go pro and I do not have a bakery.

Do all those people have heat resistant equipment?

I doubt there are heat resistant cameras, normally what you have is an enclosure to protect the camera and its components, from water, from heat. In this case, the protection would be the glass door of the oven, but additionally, you probably need to protect the camera against Infra-Red radiation. Wrap it with foiled aluminum with the shiny side outside.

A wide-angle lens camera is a bad idea because it needs to be next to the oven. A longer focal length allows you to put the camera further away from the heat.

If the other time-lapses you have seen do not show the lines is probably because the door does not have the black lines, or they have a different camera than a GoPro. It is really hard to say without an example.