Interval Timer Shooting

G button UC photo shooting menu

Take photographs at the selected interval until the specified number of shots has been recorded. When using the interval timer, select a release mode other than self-timer or high-speed frame capture +.

Option	Description
[Start]	Start interval timer shooting. Shooting will begin either after about 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. Select [Now] to start shooting immediately, [Choose day/time] to start shooting at a chosen date and time.
[Interval]	Specify the interval between shots in hours, minutes, and seconds.
[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.
[Interval priority]	[ON]: Enable interval priority to ensure that frames shot in modes P and A are taken at the chosen interval. Flash photography is disabled. Release priority is enabled regardless of the options selected for Custom Settings a1 [AF-C priority selection] and a2 [AF-S 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]: Disable interval priority to ensure that photos are correctly exposed.
[Focus before each shot]	If [ON] is selected, the camera will focus between shots. Select [OFF] to focus at a fixed distance.
[Options]	Combine interval-timer photography with other options. [AE bracketing]: Perform exposure bracketing during interval-timer photography. [Time-lapse video]: Use the photos taken during interval-timer photography to create a time-lapse video with an aspect ratio of 16:9. The camera saves both the photos and the time-lapse video. Selecting [1:1 (24×24)] for [Image area] > [Choose image area] in the photo shooting menu disables the shutter release. Videos created using [Time-lapse video] 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 options and press J or 2 to select (M) or deselect (U). [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.

Interval-Timer Photography

Before Shooting

Take a test shot at current settings.
Before proceeding, select [Time zone and date] in the setup menu and make sure that the camera clock is set to the correct time and date.
To ensure that shooting is not interrupted, use a fully-charged battery, the supplied charging AC adapter, or an optional AC adapter and power connector.

Highlight [Interval timer shooting] in the photo shooting menu and press 2.
Adjust interval timer settings.
- Choose the 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]. Choose the date and time and press J.
- Choose the interval between shots.
  
  Highlight [Interval] and press 2.
  
  Choose an interval (in hours, minutes, and seconds) and press J.
- 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 single frame release mode, the photographs for each interval will be taken at the rate for continuous high-speed release mode.
- Enable or disable exposure smoothing.
  
  Highlight [Exposure smoothing] and press 2 to select [ON] or [OFF].
  - Selecting [ON] allows the camera to adjust exposure to match the previous shot.
- Choose an interval priority option.
  
  Highlight [Interval priority] and press 2 to select [ON] or [OFF].
- Choose whether the camera focuses between shots.
  
  Highlight [Focus before each shot] and press 2 to select [ON] or [OFF].
  - If [ON] is selected for [Focus before each shot], the camera will focus before each shot according to the option currently selected for focus mode.
- Choose additional options.
  
  Highlight [Options] and press 2.
  
  Highlight [AE bracketing] or [Time-lapse video] and press J.
  - If you selected [AE bracketing], choose values for [Number of shots] and [Increment]; if you selected [Time-lapse video], choose settings for [Video file type], [Frame size/frame rate], and [Destination].
- Choose starting folder options.
  
  Highlight [Starting storage folder] and press 2.
  
  After highlighting the desired options and pressing J to turn them on (M) or off (U), press 4.
Highlight [Start] and press J.
- If [Now] was selected for [Choose start day/time] in Step 2, shooting will start after about 3 s.
- Otherwise shooting will start at the time selected for [Choose start day/time] > [Choose day/time].
- The display turns off during shooting.
- Shooting will continue at the selected interval until all shots have been taken.

During Shooting

A 7 icon is displayed in the control panel during interval timer photography. If [Time-lapse video] is selected for [Options], a 8 icon will also be displayed.
If the display is turned on by pressing the shutter-release button halfway, the message [Interval timer shooting] will be displayed and the 7 icon will flash. If [Time-lapse video] is selected for [Options], a 8 icon will also be displayed.

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 video] is selected for [Options], pressing J between intervals will end interval-timer photography.

Resuming Interval-Timer Photography

Interval timer shooting can be resumed as described below.

To resume shooting immediately:

Highlight [Restart] and press J.
To resume shooting at a specified time:

Highlight [Restart option] and press 2, then 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 [Interval timer shooting] in the photo shooting menu, highlight [Off], and press J. 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.

Cautions: 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 needed 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 “Bulb” or “Time”, the [Interval] is [00:00'00"], or the start time is in less than a minute—a warning will be displayed.
If [Time-lapse video] is selected for [Options], the standby timer will not expire during interval-timer photography, regardless of the option selected for Custom Setting c3 [Power off delay] > [Standby timer].
If [Time-lapse video] is selected for [Options] at a frame size 7680 × 4320, interval-timer photography will not start if:
- [DX (24×16)] or [1:1 (24×24)] is selected for [Image area] > [Choose image area] in the photo shooting menu, or
- a DX lens is attached.
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 (0Pausing Interval-Timer Photography).
Depending on memory card performance and shooting conditions, shooting may end before the selected number of shots have been taken or the selected number of intervals is complete.
Interval timer shooting 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), or
- self-timer or high-speed frame capture + 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 display will turn off and shooting will resume a few seconds before the next shot is taken.

Interval-Timer Photography: Restrictions

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

video recording,
long time-exposures (“Bulb” or “Time”),
the self-timer,
high-speed frame capture +,
bracketing,
multiple exposures,
HDR overlay, and
focus shift.

Interval Timer Settings

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

Shooting Menu Banks

You cannot change or reset shooting menu banks while interval-timer photography is in progress.