Canon's Interval Timer

[jjbinx]

A minor annoyance with the interval timer is that whenever my exposure is longer then the interval and I need to change the exposure I need to recalulate and reset the interval.

A better way to set this thing up would have been for the 'interval' to be the time delay between shots and then the shutter speed (exposure time) could be independently set

I was recently using my Canon and Olympus cameras side by side on my Astro mount taking long sequences of 10 to 30 second exposures with a 1sec delay between shots (I use that 1 sec to give the camera plenty of time to write the image file to the card)

With the Olympus I could freely change the exposure time from say 10 sec to 20 sec without needing to change anything else, but with my R7 I needed to add the inter-frame delay to the exposure time to calulate the Interval and then change the interval setting.

Just one more thing to forget to do or to get wrong when shooting late into the night

jj

 

[Andy01]

I have not used interval timer on my R8, but with 6D ii it was a bit odd. And yes, I did have LENR turned off.

In spite of the 6D ii being able to shoot at 6fps (or whatever it was) and having a Extreme Pro SD card, I still seemed to need around 2-4 seconds between shots (ie. interval for a 20 second exposure needed to be around 23 seconds). Whereas obviously if I just shot manually by pressing the button, no "delay" was required - I could never understand that.

I found that if I went for a shorter interval, it invariably skipped shots - for example, if I wanted 10 shots at 20 seconds each, and set interval to, say, 20 seconds, I would get maybe 2-3 images of the 10. If I set interval to, 21 seconds, I might get around 7 images. If it was 22 seconds I might get 9 or even 10 images, and 23 or longer I would get the full 10 images. Once you know how it works it is OK, but it did take me a while to figure out why I kept missing shots from the sequence.

I really don't understand the need for the interval to be any longer than the exposure - that is what buffers are for.

 

[Sittatunga]

...

In spite of the 6D ii being able to shoot at 6fps (or whatever it was) and having a Extreme Pro SD card, I still seemed to need around 2-4 seconds between shots (ie. interval for a 20 second exposure needed to be around 23 seconds). Whereas obviously if I just shot manually by pressing the button, no "delay" was required - I could never understand that.

I found that if I went for a shorter interval, it invariably skipped shots - for example, if I wanted 10 shots at 20 seconds each, and set interval to, say, 20 seconds, I would get maybe 2-3 images of the 10. If I set interval to, 21 seconds, I might get around 7 images. If it was 22 seconds I might get 9 or even 10 images, and 23 or longer I would get the full 10 images. Once you know how it works it is OK, but it did take me a while to figure out why I kept missing shots from the sequence.

I really don't understand the need for the interval to be any longer than the exposure - that is what buffers are for.

It's exactly the same with an external interval timer plugged into the remote release socket of my R8 and my R. That's why I tend to use H+ continuous and lock the cable release down for astro.

 

[Marceppy]

A minor annoyance with the interval timer is that whenever my exposure is longer then the interval and I need to change the exposure I need to recalulate and reset the interval.

A better way to set this thing up would have been for the 'interval' to be the time delay between shots and then the shutter speed (exposure time) could be independently set

I was recently using my Canon and Olympus cameras side by side on my Astro mount taking long sequences of 10 to 30 second exposures with a 1sec delay between shots (I use that 1 sec to give the camera plenty of time to write the image file to the card)

With the Olympus I could freely change the exposure time from say 10 sec to 20 sec without needing to change anything else, but with my R7 I needed to add the inter-frame delay to the exposure time to calulate the Interval and then change the interval setting.

Just one more thing to forget to do or to get wrong when shooting late into the night

jj

I have the R7 and you can’t set an interval timer when focus bracketing either. I complained to Canon CPS but no firmware update to resolve it, needed for using a flash to recharge between shots. There is a device, CamRanger, that can program a timer for focus bracketing but you’d need to check to see if it would resolve your issue.

 

[drsnoopy]

A minor annoyance with the interval timer is that whenever my exposure is longer then the interval and I need to change the exposure I need to recalulate and reset the interval.

A better way to set this thing up would have been for the 'interval' to be the time delay between shots and then the shutter speed (exposure time) could be independently set

I was recently using my Canon and Olympus cameras side by side on my Astro mount taking long sequences of 10 to 30 second exposures with a 1sec delay between shots (I use that 1 sec to give the camera plenty of time to write the image file to the card)

With the Olympus I could freely change the exposure time from say 10 sec to 20 sec without needing to change anything else, but with my R7 I needed to add the inter-frame delay to the exposure time to calulate the Interval and then change the interval setting.

Just one more thing to forget to do or to get wrong when shooting late into the night

jj

I have the R7 and you can’t set an interval timer when focus bracketing either. I complained to Canon CPS but no firmware update to resolve it, needed for using a flash to recharge between shots. There is a device, CamRanger, that can program a timer for focus bracketing but you’d need to check to see if it would resolve your issue.

Focus bracketing uses the fully electronic shutter and so flash cannot be used. Unless you are describing something different, such as an automated focus rail.

 

[Marceppy]

A minor annoyance with the interval timer is that whenever my exposure is longer then the interval and I need to change the exposure I need to recalulate and reset the interval.

A better way to set this thing up would have been for the 'interval' to be the time delay between shots and then the shutter speed (exposure time) could be independently set

I was recently using my Canon and Olympus cameras side by side on my Astro mount taking long sequences of 10 to 30 second exposures with a 1sec delay between shots (I use that 1 sec to give the camera plenty of time to write the image file to the card)

With the Olympus I could freely change the exposure time from say 10 sec to 20 sec without needing to change anything else, but with my R7 I needed to add the inter-frame delay to the exposure time to calulate the Interval and then change the interval setting.

Just one more thing to forget to do or to get wrong when shooting late into the night

jj

I have the R7 and you can’t set an interval timer when focus bracketing either. I complained to Canon CPS but no firmware update to resolve it, needed for using a flash to recharge between shots. There is a device, CamRanger, that can program a timer for focus bracketing but you’d need to check to see if it would resolve your issue.

Focus bracketing uses the fully electronic shutter and so flash cannot be used. Unless you are describing something different, such as an automated focus rail.

No, you are right, flash is limited in the current focus bracketing mode, is why I suggested CamRanger might offer a workaround for the OP.

 

[JasonMulvern]

taking long sequences of 10 to 30 second exposures with a 1sec delay between shots (I use that 1 sec to give the camera plenty of time to write the image file to the card)

This specific case is easier done with a remote release cable, locked "on" and let the camera take continuous shots. You don't need to give any time to write the file, the buffer would never get full.

But otherwise, yes the interval timer on Canons is quite basic compared to others. On my Nikon I get a start time, options to prioritise interval or exposure (if they clash), exposure smooth on/off (no option on Canon, but it seems to exposure smooth by default), option to take multiple images on each interval, and intervals down to half a second.

Also, on my R7, I cannot for the life of me get the LCD to shut off when doing timelapses, unless I switch it off completely and use the viewfinder which is not always convenient. Whatever power saving and LCD shut off option is used, each image wakes the screen up. On my Nikon it shuts off LCD/viewfinder after the first image and only wakes up if you need it to. This has big implications on battery life.

All of this can be fixed with some firmware updates.

 

[jjbinx]

taking long sequences of 10 to 30 second exposures with a 1sec delay between shots (I use that 1 sec to give the camera plenty of time to write the image file to the card)

This specific case is easier done with a remote release cable, locked "on"

and let the camera take continuous shots. You don't need to give any time to write the file,

the buffer would never get full.

But then I’d have reduced control over how many images are captured and ending a sequence must be done manually

With the Interval control I can set the number of shots

Also, I often use Long Exposure Noise Reduction (in-camera dark frame subtraction) and that results in shutter shake. So I like to leave a 1sec gap between frames

But otherwise, yes the interval timer on Canons is quite basic compared to others. On my Nikon I get a start time, options to prioritise interval or exposure (if they clash), exposure smooth on/off (no option on Canon, but it seems to exposure smooth by default), option to take multiple images on each interval, and intervals down to half a second.

Also, on my R7, I cannot for the life of me get the LCD to shut off when doing timelapses, unless I switch it off completely and use the viewfinder which is not always convenient. Whatever power saving and LCD shut off option is used, each image wakes the screen up. On my Nikon it shuts off LCD/viewfinder after the first image and only wakes up if you need it to. This has big implications on battery life.

All of this can be fixed with some firmware updates.

 

[Sittatunga]

taking long sequences of 10 to 30 second exposures with a 1sec delay between shots (I use that 1 sec to give the camera plenty of time to write the image file to the card)

This specific case is easier done with a remote release cable, locked "on"

and let the camera take continuous shots. You don't need to give any time to write the file,

the buffer would never get full.

But then I’d have reduced control over how many images are captured and ending a sequence must be done manually

With the Interval control I can set the number of shots

Also, I often use Long Exposure Noise Reduction (in-camera dark frame subtraction) and that results in shutter shake. So I like to leave a 1sec gap between frames

Were I to use LENR for astro I would need to leave a 32 second gap between frames.

But otherwise, yes the interval timer on Canons is quite basic compared to others. On my Nikon I get a start time, options to prioritise interval or exposure (if they clash), exposure smooth on/off (no option on Canon, but it seems to exposure smooth by default), option to take multiple images on each interval, and intervals down to half a second.

Also, on my R7, I cannot for the life of me get the LCD to shut off when doing timelapses, unless I switch it off completely and use the viewfinder which is not always convenient. Whatever power saving and LCD shut off option is used, each image wakes the screen up. On my Nikon it shuts off LCD/viewfinder after the first image and only wakes up if you need it to. This has big implications on battery life.

All of this can be fixed with some firmware updates.