Time lapse or interval shots

I'd like to find a digital camera (or else a camera/laptop or camera/programmable shutter release combination) that will allow me to take full-res photos at some user-definable intervals, from a couple of seconds up to a couple of minutes. Most of the cameras I've checked out have a movie time-lapse function, but generally only at 640x480 maximum, and designed specifically for creating a time-lapse movie. I want to photograph a sequence of pictures to tell a story, either unattended or where I might be in the pictures as well. I understand that Nikon used to have some software that could be loaded on a laptop with a connection to the camera that might meet this need, but haven't seen it on their current offerings. Besides, I'd much rather have a self-contained unit. Oh yeah, just to complicate matters - it'd be nice if this were available on a moderately-priced camera, not one of the professional SLRs. Any ideas?

Dave Houlette

 

Hi Dave,
I'm not aware of any compact cameras that come bundled with this feature. For that matter, other than a couple of the Nikons and the old Olympus E-10/E-20, I'm not aware of any SLRs that do either. Obviously, that doesn't mean they're not out there, but this isn't a common feature, especially on moderately priced cameras.

One solution that some pros use is a dedicated shutter remote designed to do time lapse. The one I'm familiar with is called the Pclix, I believe. These remotes cost about as much as a cheap compact camera, however, and you then need a supported DSLR to actually take the shots.

Hopefully others around here know something that I don't...

dr

 

I did forget to mention that you can currently pick up a used E-10, which is a pretty decent camera all around, on everyone's favorite auction site for under $200 most of the time. It's only a 4 MP camera, but the shots would be fine for most uses.

It's an SLR-style camera, and may in fact be a true SLR, but it does have a fixed lens as I remember, so no need to buy a separate lens.

dr

 

There is a company that sells software for Canon cameras to allow them to shoot time lapse photos;

http://www.granitebaysoftware.com/Default.aspx

They have a link showing all the models supported.

[Edit]
I found another software application that can be used with Canon cameras, esp. the newer ones; PSRemote.

http://www.breezesys.com/PSRemote/features.htm

 

Thanks for the information - found a used E-20 online that I'm considering!

dave

 

Thanks for the info! I'll check this out - I was actually looking for a smaller form factor, higher resolution and self-contained time lapse capability - and the Canon solution addressed 2 of the 3, so it may be the best I can do. Thanks again.

dave

 

Check out the Ricoh Caplio Line R3-7 or the GX GR models

They all have time Lapse built-in for Pictures Not movies.

Not heavily sold in US
But You can find some used in Ebay.

 

Looks like the Canon SD1000 and G9 both have built in time lapse capabilities.

I'm not certain of other Canon models.

[Edit] I was mistaken, this is through the movie mode at 640x480, which you don't want. :-(

 

Did some research on Ricoh's line, found the R8 due in early March, it's EXACTLY what I've been looking for! Got a 28mm-200mm equivalent lens, 10mp, interval shooting from 5 seconds to 3 hours in f5 second intervals (!!), lots of "prosumer" features. I'd never have found this on my own - Ricoh's not been sold widely over here for a while. Thanks for the assist!!!

dave

 

Great info on the R8. This looks to be an excellent camera from all accounts, so it sounds like it should serve you well.

dr