Time-lapse Plan Calculator

Capture plan

Check the shooting plan

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Motion preset:

Start from clouds, sunset, traffic, stars, construction, plant growth, or product turntable timing.

Planning mode:

Use a known interval, hit a target clip length, plan around frames, or derive the shoot duration needed.

Shoot duration:

Set the available capture window on location.

Capture interval: {{ formatDurationShort(intervalSeconds) }}

{{ solve_mode === 'duration' ? 'Set the intervalometer spacing used to derive the required shooting window.' : 'Adjust the intervalometer spacing; exposure plus write buffer must fit inside it.' }}

Target clip length: {{ formatDurationShort(targetClipSeconds) }}

Set the edit length you need; frames equal target seconds times playback fps.

Target frame count: {{ formatInteger(targetFrameCount) }} frames

The calculator derives the capture interval and final clip length from this count.

Playback frame rate:

24, 25, 30, and 60 fps are common delivery targets.

Photo file profile:

Choose JPEG, RAW, RAW plus JPEG, or enter your own camera average.

Average file size:

Use a recent RAW or JPEG average from your camera.

MB/frame

Card capacity:

The plan flags whether the shoot fits one card or needs a swap.

Battery runtime:

Use a tested runtime for your camera, intervalometer, heater, or external pack.

hours

Exposure time:

The readiness table checks exposure plus write buffer against the interval.

Write buffer:

Keep a small gap to avoid missed frames when writing large RAW files.

Reserve margin: {{ reserveMarginPercent }}%

A 10-25% margin is practical for unattended shoots.

Start time:

Leave blank when finish time is not needed.

Max frames per clip:

Use 0 when your camera or edit workflow has no known segment limit.

frames

Opening frame:

Keep enabled for practical intervalometer setup.

Plan item	Value	Details	Copy
{{ row.item }}	{{ row.value }}	{{ row.details }}

Load item	Value	Readiness	Copy
{{ row.item }}	{{ row.value }}	{{ row.readiness }}

Subject	Interval range	Fit	Planning note	Copy
{{ row.subject }}	{{ row.range }}	{{ row.fit }}	{{ row.note }}

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A time-lapse sequence samples a long event at regular moments, then plays those captured frames at a normal video frame rate. The compression can be gentle, such as clouds moving faster across a skyline, or extreme, such as a week of plant growth becoming a short clip. The plan depends on three linked choices: how long the camera runs, how far apart the captures are, and how many frames per second the finished video uses.

Small changes in those choices can have large practical effects. A shorter capture interval makes motion smoother and records more stills, which raises storage use and battery demand. A longer interval saves files but can make traffic, shadows, crowds, or cloud edges jump from position to position. Playback frame rate also matters because the same 720 stills become 30 seconds at 24 fps, 24 seconds at 30 fps, or 12 seconds at 60 fps.

The interval must also leave room for the exposure and the camera's own write time. Night-sky work may need 15 to 30 second exposures, so a 20 second interval can fail even if the frame count looks right. Fast daylight scenes have the opposite problem: a very short exposure may freeze each frame so sharply that the final motion feels staccato unless the interval is shortened or motion blur is added with shutter speed and neutral-density filtration.

Core time-lapse planning terms
Term	Plain meaning	Why it changes the plan
Capture interval	Seconds between recorded frames.	Shorter spacing records more frames and usually smoother motion.
Frame count	Total stills captured for the sequence.	Drives clip length, card use, edit load, and segmentation risk.
Playback frame rate	Frames shown per second in the final video.	Higher frame rates shorten the clip for the same still count.
Exposure gap	Interval time left after exposure and write buffer.	A negative gap means skipped frames are likely on real hardware.

Planning cannot remove field uncertainty. Card formatting, camera model limits, autofocus behavior, exposure smoothing, temperature, condensation, screen use, external power, and lens heaters can change the outcome. A short test sequence with the same exposure, card, focus mode, and power setup is still the most reliable way to confirm that the numbers will survive the actual shoot.

How to Use This Tool:

Start with the value you already know, then let the calculator derive the missing part of the capture plan. Every preset is only a starting point, so adjust the fields to match your camera and location.

Choose a Motion preset for a typical scene such as cloud drift, sunset, traffic, stars, construction progress, plant growth, or product turntable work. Use Custom when you want to enter the whole plan yourself.
Set Planning mode. Known interval derives frames and clip length from a chosen interval. Target clip length derives the interval from a desired playback duration. Target frame count works backward from a fixed still count. Required shoot duration derives how long the camera must run.
Enter the real capture window, interval, target clip length, or target frame count requested by the selected mode. Keep units straight when switching between minutes, hours, and days.
Select the Playback frame rate you expect to use in the edit. The 24, 25, 30, and 60 fps options change the final clip length and target frame count.
Choose a Photo file profile or enter a custom average file size from recent JPEG, RAW, or RAW plus JPEG captures. Then set card capacity, battery runtime, and reserve margin for the gear you will actually use.
Enter exposure time and write buffer. If the warning says exposure plus write buffer is longer than the computed interval, increase the interval, shorten the exposure, reduce write overhead, or test a faster capture setup.
Open Advanced for an estimated finish time, a maximum frames-per-clip segmentation check, or the opening-frame convention needed to match your camera menu or editing spreadsheet.

Interpreting Results:

Frames to capture, Capture interval, and Final clip length should be read together. A plan can produce the requested number of frames and still be wrong for the scene if the interval is too coarse for the motion or the clip is too short for the edit.

Storage with reserve estimates card use from frame count, average file size, and reserve margin. Battery sets estimates how many tested battery runtimes are needed after applying the same reserve. These are planning checks, not guarantees, because real cameras may write larger files, spend extra power on screens or heaters, or stop early because of menu limits.

Card fits means the reserved storage estimate is below 85% of one selected card.
Card tight means the plan uses at least 85% of one card, so test frames and file-size variation matter.
Cards needed means the reserved estimate exceeds one selected card.
Interval clear means exposure time and write buffer leave a practical positive gap inside each interval.
Interval tight means the remaining gap is below 0.5 seconds or below 10% of the interval, whichever is larger.
Interval shortfall means exposure time plus write buffer is longer than the interval and the plan should be changed before capture.

Technical Details:

Time-lapse arithmetic connects a real-time sampling process to a playback process. The camera records only whole frames, so frame counts use rounding rules. The edit then plays those frames at a selected frame rate, so clip duration is the frame count divided by playback frames per second.

The opening-frame convention is important because many camera and intervalometer plans include a capture at the start of the shoot. With that convention enabled, a 45 minute shoot at a 3 second interval records one frame at time zero and then one frame for each complete interval. Disabling the opening frame matches a stricter duration-divided-by-interval count.

Formula Core:

The formulas below use seconds for duration and interval, frames for still count, megabytes for average still size, and gigabytes for storage. One-frame target plans avoid division by zero: a derived interval uses the entered shoot duration, while a required-duration plan is never shorter than one interval.

\begin{matrix} F_{known} & = & \max (1, floor (\frac{D}{I}) + O) \\ F_{target} & = & ceil (C_{target} * R) \\ I_{derived} & = & \frac{D}{F - O} \\ D_{required} & = & \max (I, I * (F - O)) \\ C & = & \frac{F}{R} \\ X & = & \frac{D}{C} \\ S & = & \frac{F * M}{1024} * (1 + \frac{P}{100}) \\ G & = & I - E - W \end{matrix}

Time-lapse formula symbols
Symbol	Meaning	Related field or result
`D`	Real shoot duration in seconds.	Shoot duration or Required shoot duration.
`I`	Capture interval in seconds.	Capture interval.
`F`	Captured still-frame count.	Frames to capture.
`O`	Opening-frame adjustment, 1 when included and 0 when disabled.	Opening frame.
`C` and `R`	Final clip seconds and playback frames per second.	Final clip length and Playback frame rate.
`X`	Real-time compression ratio.	Speed-up factor.
`M` and `P`	Average MB per still and reserve margin percent.	Average file size and Reserve margin.
`E`, `W`, and `G`	Exposure time, write buffer, and remaining interval gap.	Exposure and write gap.

For a 45 minute cloud sequence at a 3 second interval with the opening frame included, the known-interval frame count is floor(2700 / 3) + 1, or 901 frames. At 24 fps, the final clip is 901 / 24, or about 37.5 seconds. The speed-up factor is 2700 / 37.5, or about 72x.

Readiness Rules:

The readiness labels combine arithmetic with practical guardrails for memory cards, timing, motion blur, and long-sequence handling.

Time-lapse readiness rules
Check	Rule	Interpretation
Card fit	Reserved storage divided by selected card capacity.	Below 85% fits one card, 85% or more is tight, and more than one card needs a swap or larger card.
Battery sets	Shoot hours divided by tested battery runtime, multiplied by reserve, then rounded up.	Long unattended captures need enough batteries or external power for the reserved runtime.
Exposure and write gap	Interval minus exposure time minus write buffer.	A negative value is a conflict. A very small positive value should be tested before the real shoot.
Motion blur read	Exposure time divided by interval.	Below 10% can look crisp or staccato, 45% to 70% is near a smooth blur target, and above 85% risks skipped frames.
Clip segmentation	Frame count divided by maximum frames per clip, rounded up.	Use this when a camera or edit workflow splits very long sequences after a known frame count.

Interval Guide:

Subject speed is the main creative input the arithmetic cannot infer by itself. The guide compares the current interval with common starting ranges.

Time-lapse interval guide ranges
Subject	Interval range	Planning note
Fast clouds or traffic	1 to 3 seconds	Short spacing helps rolling motion read smoothly.
Slow clouds or crowds	3 to 8 seconds	Moderate spacing reduces files without losing broad motion.
Sunrise or sunset	5 to 15 seconds	Gradual light changes still need exposure and flicker testing.
Stars on a fixed tripod	15 to 30 seconds	Long exposures need enough remaining interval for card write time.
Construction progress	300 to 1800 seconds	Long intervals fit changes that happen over days or months.
Plant growth	300 to 3600 seconds	Stable light and fixed framing usually matter more than short spacing.
Product turntable	0.5 to 2 seconds	Dense frames help controlled rotation appear continuous.

Sampling the plan across elapsed shoot time shows why frame count and reserved storage rise in steps rather than as a smooth line. Each sample applies the same interval, opening-frame convention, file-size average, and reserve margin as the main plan.

Accuracy and Privacy Notes:

The calculation is a planning estimate based on the numbers entered on the page. It does not measure real card write speed, inspect camera firmware, test autofocus, confirm exposure smoothing, or assemble a video file.

Use recent sample files from the same camera, compression setting, and image format when setting average file size.
Test the shortest planned interval with the same exposure, card, autofocus mode, image review setting, and noise-reduction behavior planned for the real shoot.
Cold weather, screen brightness, wireless connections, lens heaters, and long standby periods can reduce battery runtime.
No photos are uploaded or analyzed. The page calculates from numeric capture, storage, power, exposure, and playback settings.

Worked Examples:

Cloud drift with a known interval. A 45 minute shoot at a 3 second interval, 24 fps playback, 28 MB RAW files, a 64 GB card, 2.5 hours of battery runtime, 0.5 second exposure, 0.4 second write buffer, and 15% reserve records 901 frames. The final clip is about 37.5 seconds, the speed-up factor is about 72x, reserved storage is about 28.3 GB, and the exposure gap leaves about 2.1 seconds inside each interval.

Sunset planned to clip length. A 90 minute sunset intended to become a 12 second clip at 24 fps needs 288 frames. With the opening frame included, the derived capture interval is about 18.8 seconds. At 32 MB per RAW still and 20% reserve, the storage estimate is about 10.8 GB before extra test shots or rejected frames.

Reverse-planning a field window. A 10 second deliverable at 24 fps needs 240 frames. If the interval must stay at 5 seconds and the opening frame is included, the required shooting window is about 19.9 minutes before card, battery, and exposure checks are considered.

Long construction progress. A 10 day construction sequence captured every 600 seconds at 30 fps produces 1,441 frames and a final clip near 48.0 seconds. With 8 MB JPEG files and 20% reserve, storage is modest at about 13.5 GB, but battery planning can dominate because each 12 hour runtime set covers only part of the 10 day window.

Short interval warning. A 20 minute traffic test at a 1 second interval and 30 fps produces about 1,201 frames and a 40.0 second clip. If exposure is 0.8 seconds and the write buffer is 0.4 seconds, the interval is short by 0.2 seconds before the next frame. The plan should be changed or tested with a faster exposure/write setup.

FAQ:

Which planning mode should I choose first?

Use Known interval when the interval is the creative decision. Use Target clip length when the edit has to hit a duration. Use Target frame count when a camera, intervalometer, or workflow has a fixed still count. Use Required shoot duration when the interval and final clip length are fixed but the real capture window is unknown.

Why does the opening frame option change the interval?

Including the opening frame counts a capture at the start of the shoot. Target-based plans then divide the real duration across one fewer gap than the frame count. Disabling the opening frame uses a simpler duration divided by frames convention.

Is the 180-degree shutter target required?

No. It is a motion-blur reference that sets exposure near half the capture interval. It can look smoother for moving subjects, but daylight work may need neutral-density filters, and long exposures must still leave enough time for writing the file before the next frame.

Does the calculator create the final video?

No. It plans the capture sequence and reports frames, interval, clip length, storage, battery, exposure gap, interval-guide fit, chart data, and structured export data. A camera or editing app still has to record or assemble the movie.

Are photos uploaded for analysis?

No photos are uploaded or inspected. The calculation uses numeric settings such as shoot duration, interval, playback frame rate, file size, card capacity, battery runtime, exposure time, write buffer, and reserve margin.

Glossary:

Capture interval: The time between scheduled frame captures, measured in seconds.
Intervalometer: A camera feature or accessory that triggers captures at a chosen interval.
Playback frame rate: The number of frames shown per second in the final video, such as 24, 25, 30, or 60 fps.
Speed-up factor: The real shoot duration divided by the final clip length.
Reserve margin: An added storage and power buffer for file-size variation, test frames, retries, cold weather, and setup uncertainty.
Exposure and write gap: The remaining time inside each interval after exposure time and write buffer are subtracted.

References:

Best practices to create a time-lapse video, Adobe Help Center.
EOS R6 Mark II Time-Lapse Movies, Canon Product Manual.
Top Tips for Capturing Time Lapse Video with a DSLR, Nikon USA.
D850 Time-Lapse Movie Techniques, Nikon Professional Services.
Interval Timer Shooting, Nikon Camera Control Pro 2 Help.