Timelapse movie mode or interval timer - which should you choose on your Canon camera?

Canon EOS SOS
The interval timer was used here to capture individual images of the clouds to provide the most editing flexibility (Image credit: Brian Worley)

Timelapse movies and the interval timer are quite similar, in that they capture a series of still images at a preset time interval. Capturing images over extended periods of time is a great way to show progression – such as a large building project or the transition from daytime to nighttime – and is primarily used for movies, but not exclusively. 

The interval timer function is available when shooting still images, the interval between shots can be configured from 10 seconds to 99 hours, 59 minutes and 59 seconds. You can select a specific number of images up to 99 or leave the camera to run until the card fills up or the battery runs out. Once the sequence starts, the camera will save images as RAW or JPEG still frames based on your camera settings and with the resolution you choose. 

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Brian Worley

Brian is a freelance photographer and photo tutor, based in Oxfordshire. He has unrivaled EOS DSLR knowledge, after working for Canon for over 15 years, and is on hand to answer all the EOS and photographic queries in Canon-centric magazine PhotoPlus.

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