Time-Lapse Interval Calculator

A time-lapse works by shooting far fewer frames than the final video plays back, so this calculator starts from your target Output Length and Output Frame Rate to find Total Frames needed (their product), then divides your real-world Event Duration by that frame count to get the Shoot Interval -- how many seconds should pass between each shutter press. A 2-hour event compressed into a 30-second, 24 fps clip needs 720 total frames, so the camera fires roughly every 10 seconds. Speed-up Factor restates the same relationship as a multiplier -- how many times faster the footage plays back than it was shot -- and Est. Storage (RAW) gives a rough capacity estimate at about 25 MB per RAW frame, useful for picking a memory card before you start shooting rather than running out mid-event.

Total Frames and Est. Storage depend only on Output Length and Output Frame Rate, not on Event Duration at all -- a 1-hour event and a 10-hour event compressed to the same 30-second, 24 fps output need the identical frame count and card space, since both are purely properties of the video you want out, not the event you're filming. What this doesn't account for: battery life over the shoot, exposure changes across a long event (sunrise to sunset needs manual or ramped exposure, not a fixed interval), and the fact that very short intervals on some cameras are limited by shutter speed, buffer, or write speed rather than by this calculator's math.