Photography planning tool
Time Lapse Calculator
Plan a time-lapse sequence from the real capture duration. Calculate the shooting interval, number of photos, final video length, speed-up, capture rate and estimated storage.
Time-lapse formulas
When the interval is known, the calculator assumes the first photo is taken at time zero:
frames = floor(capture duration ÷ interval) + 1
video duration = frames ÷ output fps
speed-up factor = interval × output fps
When a desired video length is entered, the nearest whole-frame target is used and the interval is solved across the spaces between frames:
target frames = round(desired seconds × output fps)
interval = capture duration ÷ (target frames − 1)
Photo storage uses the entered average file size. The reserve is added after multiplying by the frame count. Rendered video size is estimated from bitrate and playback duration; it does not include audio or container overhead.
Checked example
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Real capture | 2 hours |
| Interval | 5 seconds |
| Output frame rate | 24 fps |
| Average photo | 12 MB |
| Storage reserve | 20% |
The capture lasts 7,200 seconds. Taking one photo at time zero and then every 5 seconds produces 1,441 frames. At 24 fps, the exported sequence lasts 60.0417 seconds and represents a 120× speed-up. The photos occupy 17,292 MB before reserve and about 20.75 GB after a 20% reserve.
Limits and practical checks
- Confirm whether your camera measures interval from the start of one exposure or after an exposure finishes. Long shutter speeds and write delays can limit the shortest usable interval.
- The inclusive first-frame convention can differ from a camera that waits one full interval before its first photo.
- File sizes vary with scene detail, compression, bit depth and camera settings. Test several real files before a long capture.
- Battery life, memory-card write speed, heat, weather, flicker and changing exposure are outside this arithmetic model.
- Storage uses decimal units: 1 GB = 1,000 MB and 1 TB = 1,000 GB. Device operating systems may display binary units differently.
- The tool plans a maximum of 10,000,000 frames and a capture duration of up to ten average Gregorian years.