2. D780 Online Manual
  3. Other Shooting Options
  4. Taking Photos at a Set Interval (Interval Timer Shooting)

Taking Photos at a Set Interval (Interval Timer Shooting)

Video Tutorial: Interval-Timer Photography

Use the [Interval timer shooting] item in the photo shooting menu to take photographs at a selected interval until a specified number of shots has been recorded. Select a release mode other than E and Mup when using the interval timer.

Interval Timer Shooting Options

Option

Description

[Start]

Start interval-timer photography, either after 3 s ([Now] selected for [Choose start day/time]) or at a selected date and time [Choose day/time]. Shooting will continue at the selected interval until all shots have been taken.

[Choose start day/time]

Choose a start option. To start shooting immediately, select [Now]. To start shooting at a chosen date and time, select [Choose day/time].

[Interval]

Choose the interval (hours, minutes, and seconds) between shots.

[Intervals×shots/interval]

Choose the number of intervals and the number of shots per interval.

[Exposure smoothing]

Selecting [On] allows the camera to adjust exposure to match the previous shot.

  • Large changes in subject brightness during shooting may result in apparent variations in exposure. This can be addressed by shortening the interval between shots.

  • Exposure smoothing will not take effect in mode M if [Off] is selected for [ISO sensitivity settings] > [Auto ISO sensitivity control] in the photo shooting menu.

[Silent photography]

Select [On] to silence the shutter and eliminate the vibrations it produces during shooting.

  • Selecting [On] does not completely silence the camera. Camera sounds may still be audible, for example during autofocus or aperture adjustment, in the latter case most noticeably at apertures smaller (i.e., at f-numbers higher) than f/5.6.

[Interval priority]

  • [On]: Select [On] to ensure that frames shot in modes P and A are taken at the chosen interval.

    • Flash photography is disabled.

    • The number of shots is set to 1, even if the number of shots chosen for [Intervals×shots/interval] is 2 or more.

    • If AF-S is selected for autofocus mode, or if AF-A is selected and photographs are being taken using AF‑S, select [Release] for Custom Setting a2 [AF-S priority selection]. If AF-C is selected, or if AF-A is selected and photographs are being taken using AF‑C, select [Release] for Custom Setting a1 [AF-C priority selection].

    • If [On] is selected for [ISO sensitivity settings] > [Auto ISO sensitivity control] and the time chosen for [Minimum shutter speed] is longer than the interval, the time selected for the interval will take priority over the selected shutter speed.

  • [Off]: Select [Off] to ensure that photos are correctly exposed.

[Focus before each shot]

If [On] is selected, the camera will focus before each shot after the first.

[Options]

Combine interval-timer photography with other options.

  • [AE bracketing]: Perform exposure bracketing during interval-timer photography.

  • [Time-lapse movie]: Use the photos taken during interval-timer photography to create a time-lapse movie with an aspect ratio of 16:9. The camera saves both the photos and the time-lapse movie.

    • Selecting [1:1 (24×24)] for [Image area] > [Choose image area] in the photo shooting menu disables the shutter release.

    • Movies created using [Time-lapse movie] are recorded in the [sRGB] color space, regardless of the option selected for [Color space] in the photo shooting menu.

  • [Off]: Do not perform additional operations during interval-timer photography.

[Starting storage folder]

Highlight either of the following options and press 2 to select or deselect:

  • [New folder]: A new folder is created for each new sequence.

  • [Reset file numbering]: File numbering is reset to 0001 whenever a new folder is created.

Before Shooting

  • Before beginning interval-timer photography, take a test shot at current settings.

  • Select [Time zone and date] in the setup menu and make sure that the camera clock is set to the correct time and date.

  • We recommend using a tripod and disabling lens vibration reduction (VR). Mount the camera on a tripod before shooting begins.

  • To ensure that shooting is not interrupted, be sure the camera battery is fully charged. If in doubt, charge the battery before use or use an AC adapter and power connector (available separately).

  • When taking photos with your eye from the viewfinder and [Off] selected for [Silent photography], remove the rubber eyecup and cover the viewfinder with the supplied eyepiece cap to prevent light entering via the viewfinder interfering with photographs and exposure (Cover the Viewfinder).

Interval-Timer Photography

  1. Highlight [Interval timer shooting] in the photo shooting menu and press 2.

  2. Adjust interval timer settings.

    Adjust interval timer settings as described below.

    • To choose a start day and time:

      Highlight [Choose start day/time] and press 2.

      Highlight an option and press J.

      • To start shooting immediately, select [Now]. To start shooting at a chosen date and time, select [Choose day/time], then choose the date and time and press J.

    • To choose the interval between shots:

      Highlight [Interval] and press 2.

      Choose an interval (hours, minutes, and seconds) and press J.

    • To choose the number of shots per interval:

      Highlight [Intervals×shots/interval] and press 2.

      Choose the number of intervals and the number of shots per interval and press J.

      • In S (single frame) mode, the photographs for each interval will be taken at the rate for

        Ch
        release mode.

      • When [Off] is selected for [Silent photography], the maximum number of intervals will vary with the number of shots per interval.

    • To enable or disable exposure smoothing:

      Highlight [Exposure smoothing] and press 2.

      Highlight an option and press J.

    • To enable or disable silent photography:

      Highlight [Silent photography] and press 2.

      Highlight an option and press J.

      • If [On] is selected, the only time the sound of the shutter or mirror will be heard is when the mirror is raised or lowered at the start and end of shooting.

    • To choose an interval priority option:

      Highlight [Interval priority] and press 2.

      Highlight an option and press J.

    • Choose whether the camera focuses before each shot after the first:

      Highlight [Focus before each shot] and press 2.

      Highlight an option and press J.

    • To choose additional options:

      Highlight [Options] and press 2.

      Highlight [AE bracketing] or [Time-lapse movie] and press 2.

      • Choose the [Number of shots] and [Increment] ([AE bracketing]) or the [Frame size/frame rate] and [Destination] ([Time-lapse movie]).

    • Choosing start folder options:

      Highlight [Starting storage folder] and press 2.

      Highlight options and press 2 to select or deselect. Press J to proceed.

  3. Start shooting.

    Highlight [Start] and press J. The first series of shots will be taken at the specified starting time, or after about 3 s if [Now] was selected for [Choose start day/time] in Step 2. Shooting will continue at the selected interval until all shots have been taken.

Interval-Timer Photography

  • Choose an interval longer than the time needed to take the selected number of shots at the predicted shutter speed. Note that during actual interval-timer photography, the camera must not only take shots at the selected interval but must also have sufficient time to complete the exposures and perform such tasks as processing the photographs. If the interval is too short to take the selected number of photos, the camera may skip to the next interval without shooting.

  • If the interval is too short, the total number of shots taken may be less than that selected for [Intervals×shots/interval].

  • If you are using a flash, choose an interval longer than the time need for the flash to charge. If the interval is too short, the flash may fire at less than the power needed for full exposure.

  • If shooting cannot proceed at current settings—for example, if shutter speed is set to A (Bulb) or % (Time), the interval is [00:00'00"], or the start time is in less than a minute—a warning will be displayed in the monitor.

  • If [On] is selected for [Silent photography] or [Time-lapse movie] is selected for [Options], the standby timer will not expire during interval-timer photography, regardless of the option selected for Custom Setting c2 [Standby timer].

  • If the memory card is full, the interval timer will remain active but no pictures will be taken. Insert another memory card and resume shooting (Pausing Interval-Timer Photography).

  • Interval-timer photography will pause if:

    • The camera is turned off and then on again (when the camera is off, batteries and memory cards can be replaced without ending interval-timer photography)

    • E or

      Mup
      is selected for release mode

  • Changing camera settings while the interval timer is active may cause shooting to end.

Release Mode

Regardless of the release mode selected, the camera will take the specified number of shots at each interval.

Adjusting Settings Between Shots

Pictures can be viewed and shooting and menu settings adjusted between shots. Note, however, that the monitor will turn off approximately 2 s before the next shot is taken.

Interval-Timer Photography: Restrictions

Interval-timer photography cannot be combined with some camera features, including:

  • Live view

  • Movie recording

  • Long time-exposures (bulb or time photography)

  • The self-timer

  • Bracketing

  • Multiple exposure

  • HDR (high dynamic range)

  • Focus shift

  • The negative digitizer

When [On] Is Selected for [Silent Photography]

Selecting [On] for [Silent photography] disables some camera features, including:

  • ISO sensitivities of Hi 0.3 through Hi 2

  • Flash photography

  • Exposure delay mode

  • Long exposure noise reduction

  • Flicker reduction

Interval Timer Settings

Turning the camera off or selecting a new release mode does not affect interval-timer photography settings.

During Shooting

During interval-timer photography, the memory card access lamp will flash. Immediately before the next shooting interval begins, the shutter speed display will show the number of intervals remaining, and the aperture display will show the number of shots remaining in the current interval.

  • Between shots, the number of intervals remaining and the number of shots in each interval can be viewed by pressing the shutter-release button halfway.

  • If [Time-lapse movie] is selected for [Options], the memory card access lamp will remain lit during interval-timer photography.

Pausing Interval-Timer Photography

Interval-timer photography can be paused between intervals by pressing J or by selecting [Interval timer shooting] in the photo shooting menu, highlighting [Pause], and pressing J. Note that the menus may not be displayed when the G button is pressed if the time selected for [Interval] is very short.

  • If [Time-lapse movie] is selected for [Options], pressing J between intervals will end interval-timer photography.

Resuming Interval-Timer Photography

Shooting can be resumed using the [Interval timer shooting] item in the photo shooting menu. The procedure is as follows:

To resume shooting immediately:

Highlight [Restart] and press J.

To resume shooting at a specified time:

For [Restart option], highlight [Choose day/time] and press 2.

Choose a starting date and time and press J.

Highlight [Restart] and press J.

Ending Interval-Timer Photography

To end interval-timer photography before all the photos are taken, select [Off] for [Interval timer shooting]. Note that the menus may not be displayed when the G button is pressed if the time selected for [Interval] is very short. In this case you will need to press J to pause interval-timer photography and then select [Interval timer shooting] in the photo shooting menu, highlight [Off], and press J.