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Time-Lapse Photography
by randofo on February 5, 2008 Table of Contents Time-Lapse Photography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Intro: Time-Lapse Photography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 1: Go get stuff. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 2: Open the case. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 3: Press my buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 4: Socket to me. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 5: I'm sticking with you . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 6: Close the case. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 7: Relay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 8: Plug and play . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 9: Programming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Step 10: Try it out . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Related Instructables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 2 2 3 3 4 4 4 5 5 6 7 8 8

http://www.instructables.com/id/Time-Lapse-Photography/

Author:randofo

Randy Sarafan loves you! I am the author of the book '62 Projects to Make with a Dead Computer' and Community Manager here at Instructables. I'm always sharing tons of awesome projects. Subscribing to me = fun and excitement!

Intro: Time-Lapse Photography

Hacking an old digital camera to take time-lapse picture sequences is fun and easy. All you need is some basic electronics skills and a little bit of patience. I am using an Arduino (Atmel168 development board) as the time-lapse controller, but you can use any micro controller. This was originally made for Day 5 of Thing A Day.

Step 1: Go get stuff.

You will need: 1 - digital camera 1 - small 2-pin socket 1 - 5V relay 1 - Arduino (or other micro controller)

http://www.instructables.com/id/Time-Lapse-Photography/

Step 2: Open the case.

Carefully open the case. Be sure not to break or unplug anything.

Step 3: Press my buttons

Locate the button you press to take a picture. Notice the little metal tabs to each side of it. Begin connecting these tabs with a short piece of wire until you take a picture.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Time-Lapse-Photography/

Step 4: Socket to me.

Once you determine which two pins will take a picture when connected, connect a wire to each pin. Then connect these two wires to your socket. It is important to leave enough wire so that your socket can reach to the edge of the case. Make sure when placing your socket that you have enough room for both the case to close and to rip a hole in the side of the case to poke the socket through.

Step 5: I'm sticking with you

Carefully glue the socket in place. Make sure not to glue down anything that should not be. Also, don't get glue in the socket.

Step 6: Close the case.

Yes, close the case. If you have done everything right it should close and you should still be able to get to your socket to plug wires into them.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Time-Lapse-Photography/

Step 7: Relay
Take your relay and solder wires to each pin. The color doesn't matter too much.

Step 8: Plug and play

Now is the time to plug it all in. Plug the relay coil pins to Pin 7 of the Arduino and ground on the Arduino. The relay coil pins are the two pins that aren't towards the ends of the tube. The two pins towards the end of the long tube go into the socket pins in the camera. It does not matter which wire goes in which socket pin.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Time-Lapse-Photography/

Step 9: Programming
Now is time to program the Arduino and test your setup. Follows is my code: /* Time-Lapse Camera Controller -----------------* Hits a camera shutter at a set interval for time-lapse photography. The rate of the delay can be manipulated for unique effects. * Created 5 February 2008 by Randy Sarafan http://www.randysarafan.com * */ int camPin = 7; // sets the camera shutter pin int stupidvar = 30000; // sets the delay between pictures void setup() { pinMode(camPin, OUTPUT); // defines pin as an output } void loop() { digitalWrite(camPin, HIGH); // presses the button delay(5000); // waits digitalWrite(camPin, LOW); // release the button delay(stupidvar); // delay between pictures // stupidvar = stupidvar + 1000 // increments delay by one second for unique effect. }

http://www.instructables.com/id/Time-Lapse-Photography/

Step 10: Try it out

Take a couple of pictures in sequence and see that it works.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Time-Lapse-Photography/

Related Instructables

Time Lapse Photography the lazy way! by fridgehead

Time Lapse via 'Photo Booth' by anonymouse197

Detachable car mount for time lapse camera. by cateddy

Time Lapse Intervalometer for SLRs with 555 timer IC by eagleapex

Quick and Easy Electronic Time Lapse by trebuchet03

Time lapse enclosure for smart phones by Krizbleen

Comments
50 comments Add Comment view all 77 comments

Ryutso says:
So how's it work? Turn the Arduino on, Turn the camera on and it just starts snapping pictures like mad?

Nov 26, 2010. 9:45 AM REPLY

randofo says:

Nov 27, 2010. 9:34 AM REPLY Pretty much, the Arduino just keeps running at whatever interval you set. Simply connect them together and turn them both on.

purpulhaze says:

Oct 13, 2010. 7:07 PM REPLY I followed your instructable but I don't think it's stable. For some reason when I set the picture delay more than 30000 it's acts sketchy. Even if it does work eventually will not stay sync. Can you tell me whats going on here?

randofo says:
What do you mean by acts sketchy or won't stay sync? There should be no problem with setting it over 30 seconds, as far as I know.

Oct 13, 2010. 10:47 PM REPLY

If the delay is too long for some reason, you could try making a for loop that delays the chip for 1000 milliseconds at a time and then have that repeat for as many seconds as you need it to wait between pictures.

purpulhaze says:

Oct 14, 2010. 3:07 AM REPLY Maybe there's something wrong with my arduino. At first when I set to 75 seconds it worked for maybe 10 or more minutes then for some reason would end up eventually triggering every 10 seconds.

tinstructable says:
instead of using an arduino, couldn't you use a 555 timer?

Jul 21, 2010. 3:51 AM REPLY

http://www.instructables.com/id/Time-Lapse-Photography/

randofo says:
Sure.

Jul 21, 2010. 8:37 AM REPLY

ChickenGrylls says:

Jul 9, 2010. 3:40 PM REPLY I made this Instructable and it's totally awesome. I too (like someone else in the comments) used this for Kite Aerial Photography. I want to make the rig lighter though and get rid of the Arduino board and it's powerpack. Could I use a 555 timer chip and leach power off the camera? I know this is plausible. I just have no idea how to begin!

randofo says:
They do this in an old volume of Make magazine. http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2006/03/how_to_kite_aerial_panogr.html

Jul 10, 2010. 10:42 AM REPLY

Single-Use Digicam for Kite Aerial Photography by Limor Fried in DIY: Imaging. A simple, lightweight timer circuit triggers a shot every minute. MAKE 02 - Page 130.

Rmal says:
source for the 5v relay?

May 13, 2010. 7:06 AM REPLY

randofo says:
Radioshack or Jameco.com

May 13, 2010. 12:35 PM REPLY

p13m4n says:
This is very wasteful for what it is - why not just use a 555 timer?

Feb 10, 2010. 3:13 PM REPLY

randofo says:
Why is it wasteful?

Feb 10, 2010. 8:11 PM REPLY

smb says:

Dec 20, 2009. 10:06 PM REPLY Nice Thing A Day. I didn't see this tutorial and inadvertently rediscovered the technique when hacking around with $10 keychain cameras from drug stores. So, if you don't mind me cross-posting: For folks who see this who are hesitant to break open their fancy cameras, you can do pretty much the same procedure with an off-the-shelf keychain camera by following along with my Instructable here: Hacking a keychain digital camera for arduino control That said, I opted for transistors and not relays - in part because I was less worried about messing up the camera if I didn't get the levels right. ;)

Now that I've seen this, you've given me the courage to find a really nice camera cheaply and see if I can't crack it open to do the same thing with a relay. (I probably wouldn't have had the guts to try it if I hadn't seen you do it here. :P) Thanks! :)

ReCreate says:
Why Isn't this featured?

Jul 8, 2009. 10:35 AM REPLY

Dandeman321 says:

May 19, 2009. 8:42 AM REPLY What is the relay for? Is it to create a large enough voltage for the camera's switch to be tripped to make the camera take a picture?

randofo says:

May 19, 2009. 9:09 PM REPLY The relay is so you can trigger the camera's switch using a micro controller circuit that is electrically isolated from the camera's circuit. Basically, it allows you to use one circuit to control another without their separate power supplies ever meeting.

Dandeman321 says:
Ahh Ok Ok. Makes sense. Do you need the relay? could you do this without it?

May 20, 2009. 8:30 AM REPLY

ReCreate says:
Well, The relay is like the ardurino's "capture" button...So it is necessary...

Jun 24, 2009. 9:32 PM REPLY

http://www.instructables.com/id/Time-Lapse-Photography/

Dandeman321 says:

May 20, 2009. 3:36 AM REPLY Yeah I understand that, I was just wondering what the relay was needed for? Doesn't the microcontroller put out a 5 volt high? Isn't that enough for it to trigger the camera button?

andrew101 says:

Aug 15, 2009. 5:36 PM REPLY see that isnt really the issue. the camera button is pressed by closing the curcuitbetween those 2 points. the way it does so will vary from camera to camera. and you would risk damaging the camera to apply more voltage to it in some cases. if you really cant find a relay, it would be possible with an NPN transistor i added a picture

Dandeman321 says:
Thanks! I'll have to check it out. I may be getting a broken camera soon. May try this.

Aug 16, 2009. 8:01 AM REPLY

andrew101 says:

Aug 15, 2009. 5:38 PM REPLY you would need a multimeter to test wich way the voltage is trying to travel. and this would work similar to a relay. when a voltage is applied it allows current to go from the collecter to the emitter. note, you need to add a resistor between the base and the 1/0 pin, otherwise you risk burning out the pnp transistor.

randofo says:

May 20, 2009. 3:19 PM REPLY The camera is operating on 2 AA batteries at 3V. I didn't want to try sending a 5V signal into what is probably a 3V circuit. It's just easier to keep them separated.

ReCreate says:
Wow, this i great, I don't see Why it is not features, I understand everything, Even the Code, For once :P

Jun 24, 2009. 9:31 PM REPLY

kholdsworth27 says:
did the camera have any problems auto focusing? good work on all fronts

May 25, 2009. 6:40 PM REPLY

randofo says:
No, but I never shot anything close/small enough where that would really become an issue.

May 25, 2009. 8:01 PM REPLY

Radioactive_Legos says:

May 24, 2009. 12:50 PM REPLY If you didn't want to modify your camera, couldn't you put a servo into +5V, Ground, and one of the PWM-supporting digital pins and then have the servo push the button? I am hoping to pick up an Arduino Duemilanove at the Maker Faire this upcoming weekend and want to try this without sacrificing an innocent camera :-)

randofo says:

May 24, 2009. 11:27 PM REPLY You should be able to trigger it with a servo how you described. However, you would have to reverse the motor polarity for it to let go of the button and the response to do this will be relatively slow. Stop by the Instructables booth!

Radioactive_Legos says:

May 25, 2009. 9:06 AM REPLY Thanks! Will do! One more question: is it critical to "press" the button for 5 seconds, like your program shows? Could it be for less time, say 500ms? Thanks again!

randofo says:

May 25, 2009. 3:26 PM REPLY 500 ms might be a bit short. I forget what the exact timing is on my camera, but you can get an idea of what will work for your camera by pressing down the trigger and counting until it takes a picture. If it's a Canon camera, check this out: http://chdk.wikia.com/wiki/CHDK_in_Brief

http://www.instructables.com/id/Time-Lapse-Photography/

halfblinddado says:
This is great I made something similar and used it as a kite camera (Kap) http://forums.parallax.com/forums/default.aspx?f=21&m=331526

May 1, 2009. 11:52 AM REPLY

jhorton says:

Jun 9, 2008. 2:14 PM REPLY Dumb question, but what part number did you use for the relay? Or what search terms can I plug into Mouser or Digi-Key? They have a bazillion different relays with vague or cryptic descriptions. Thanks!

randofo says:

Jun 9, 2008. 5:47 PM REPLY It would be easier to just go to Radioshack and buy a 5V reed relay. You'll spend more on shipping costs than the relay buying it online.

jhorton says:

Jun 10, 2008. 8:53 AM REPLY Well, there is a Radio Shack next door, but since I'm planning on placing a big order with Digi-key soon, figured I could add a few relays to my order.

Derin says:
You could try searching for "5V reed relay"

Mar 23, 2009. 2:47 AM REPLY

Lithium Rain says:

You have a lot of hair.

Dec 29, 2008. 11:24 AM REPLY

randofo says:

Dec 29, 2008. 12:15 PM REPLY That's not me. And yes, yes she does. We actually might cut most of her hair off tonight as over the course of the last month it has turned into a untangleable mess. Instructable to follow (she willing).

Lithium Rain says:

Oh! Lol. =D Sorry about that.

Dec 30, 2008. 1:44 PM REPLY

firehazrd says:

Dec 28, 2008. 9:15 PM REPLY This is a cool project I'd like to build. There are, however some problems that could probably be addressed. I would like it to be much slower maybe once an hour over a period of days. Most cameras turn off automaticly after a few mins. Maybe I could add a second relay for the power switch and add some code to turn the camera on first and off when done. This would also help save battery power. Can't wait to get my boardino in the mail so I can start playing.

randofo says:

Dec 28, 2008. 9:21 PM REPLY When I used this, I wired a DC transformer onto the battery terminals and powered it off the wall. A second relay hooked up to the power button sounds like it should do the trick if your camera turns off by itself.

fkuk says:
how to you expect the battery to last a long time?

Dec 4, 2008. 1:54 PM REPLY

randofo says:

Dec 4, 2008. 3:27 PM REPLY I did not expect them to. When I actually used this to make time lapse videos I hard-wired the battery terminals to a standard 3V wall transformer (not shown).

randofo says:
You could also use the 3V source from the Arduino if you have a deicimilla

Dec 4, 2008. 3:30 PM REPLY

Newblit says:

Nov 12, 2008. 9:46 AM REPLY I wonder if you could use the digital cameras drugstores sell that are disposable, then use the hack to take infinite pictures with them or however many you can store and then use it with your post that would be really cool.

keefurxxcore says:
I am attempting this with a kodak c340, with a change to D battery. Will post when I'm done.

Oct 13, 2008. 1:29 PM REPLY

http://www.instructables.com/id/Time-Lapse-Photography/

therandomperson says:
Very good instructable! 5/5

Sep 28, 2008. 12:18 PM REPLY

mortaldoom780 says:
Can this be done with a TIP120 Darlington transistor? 2N222 transistor? 2N3904 transistor? Thanks

Apr 27, 2008. 9:30 AM REPLY

randofo says:

Apr 27, 2008. 4:17 PM REPLY You could probably use some sort of switching transistor. At the very least, it probably won't hurt too much to try. If you did it that way, you would probably just need to take note of the polarity of the switch... and also, you probably need to share ground... Relay would the easiest.

collard41 says:

Aug 13, 2008. 4:24 AM REPLY the darlington transistor and and the others would 'amplify' the current and might damage the circuit if you got the voltage wrong. a relay would simply act as a switch and it would not matter if you got the voltage wrong

view all 77 comments

http://www.instructables.com/id/Time-Lapse-Photography/