How to use this timelapse planner
- Choose the two values you know: shoot window and interval, target playback length and interval, or target playback length and window.
- Set the playback frame rate and confirm how your intervalometer treats a shot exactly at the shoot-window end. The first frame is assumed at time zero; count and final-shot start are shown separately.
- Check the slowest exposure plus a measured writing/processing allowance against the proposed interval. Then use a sample photo’s actual file size and your card’s free space to check storage.
- Test the camera, power, and memory card before leaving a long capture unattended. Camera-specific shot limits and missed shots are not enforced here.
Frame and timing formulas
A shot occurs every selected interval starting at t=0. For a stop window that excludes a shot at its exact end, photo count is ceil(window ÷ interval). If a shot at the exact end is allowed, count is floor(window ÷ interval) + 1. The last shot starts at (count − 1) × interval. For a target clip, the minimum whole-photo count is ceil(target seconds × playback fps); actual playback is count ÷ exact fps. This uses one still image per output video frame, with no holds, dropped frames, or transitions.
The interval solver picks the longest whole-millisecond interval that places the final required shot inside the selected window boundary. A longer interval would miss the final frame. For a target clip and fixed interval, the planner’s recommended stop boundary is after the last-shot tick if “exclude end” is selected, or exactly at that tick if “include end” is selected. Check how the camera or external intervalometer defines stop time.
Photo space and exposure limits
Source-photo bytes = photo count × average file bytes. The ± range is applied to the per-photo estimate; card reserve is taken from entered free space. “Within” means only that the high estimate is below that planning budget, not that every photo or card will behave that way. The rendered movie, sidecars, backups, bracketing, and on-camera duplicate formats are outside this estimate. MB/GB are decimal bytes; MiB/GiB are binary bytes. See NIST’s byte-prefix definitions.
The interval needs to allow the slowest exposure and camera processing. Nikon’s interval-timer guidance uses interval × shots to plan clip length and recommends checking exposure against the interval. Nikon’s night-sky guidance notes that exposure, processing, and card writing all occupy capture time. This arithmetic does not model any camera’s skipped-shot or overlap behavior.
Frequently asked questions
Why are there 900 frames but the final shot is before 30 minutes?
At 2-second intervals with a 30-minute stop window that excludes the endpoint, the first shot is at zero and the 900th starts at 29:58. A 901st would begin exactly at 30:00 and is excluded. Select “include” if your capture includes that endpoint.
Why is the calculated clip a little longer than my target?
Photo counts are whole frames. The planner rounds the needed count upward and then divides by the selected exact playback rate. Editing out one frame or changing playback fps changes the result.
Can the storage estimate tell me how many batteries I need?
No. Idle drain, exposure time, temperature, display behavior, and camera power-saving settings can dominate a long shoot. Use a reliable power source and test the actual setup. A shot-count rating alone is not a timelapse runtime guarantee.
Does a sample-photo selection upload my image?
No. The browser reads only its file-size property. One sample may not represent brighter/darker scenes or a RAW+JPEG capture. Measure several representative frames for a tighter estimate.