This timelapse calculator works out the shooting interval, the number of photos, the playback speed-up and the card space you need from the length of the event and the length of the clip you want. It is built for photographers planning sunsets, cloud and star sequences, construction projects and GoPro or phone time-lapses.
Photos = clip seconds × frame rate; interval = event length ÷ photos. Fill in hours, minutes or both; a blank time box counts as zero. Storage uses 1 GB = 1,000 MB and appears once you enter a file size. RAW files are often 20-60 MB and JPEGs 5-15 MB depending on the camera; check a test shot. Your shutter speed must be shorter than the interval.
How the Timelapse Calculator Works
A time-lapse plays back many still photos at normal video speed, so every second of finished footage needs as many photos as the frame rate: 30 photos for one second at 30 fps. Start from the clip length you want, multiply by the frame rate to get the photo count, and spread those photos evenly across the event. That spacing is your interval. The timelapse calculator also multiplies the photo count by file size to estimate card space, so it doubles as a timelapse storage calculator.
Formula: Photos = Clip length (s) × Frame rate. Interval (s) = Event length (s) ÷ Photos. Storage (GB) = Photos × File size (MB) ÷ 1,000. Speed-up = Interval × Frame rate. Real time per clip second = Event length ÷ Clip length.
- Event length (hours) and Plus minutes — how long the thing you are filming lasts, from first frame to last.
- Final clip length — how many seconds of finished video you want from this sequence.
- Playback frame rate — the frame rate of your editing timeline: 24, 25, 30 or 60 fps.
- File size per photo (optional) — the average size of one image in megabytes from your camera or phone. Leave it blank if you only need the interval; storage then shows a dash.
Example Scenarios
| Subject | Event | Clip | FPS | File size | Photos | Interval | Storage | Speed-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clouds over a valley | 2 h | 20 s | 30 | 25 MB | 600 | 12 s | 15.00 GB | 360x |
| Sunset | 30 min | 10 s | 24 | 25 MB | 240 | 7.5 s | 6.00 GB | 180x |
| Workday on a building site | 8 h | 30 s | 30 | 8 MB | 900 | 32 s | 7.20 GB | 960x |
| Full day and night | 24 h | 15 s | 25 | 25 MB | 375 | 230.4 s | 9.38 GB | 5,760x |
| Busy street, smooth playback | 1 h | 10 s | 60 | 30 MB | 600 | 6 s | 18.00 GB | 360x |
Time Lapse Interval Calculator Tips
The interval controls how motion looks on screen, so choosing it by subject is as important as the arithmetic. Fast clouds and city traffic look good at 1 to 3 seconds; sunsets and slow clouds at 3 to 10 seconds; stars at the length of the exposure plus a second; plants and construction at minutes. If the timelapse calculator suggests an interval far outside the typical range for your subject, shorten the event or change the clip length.
- How many photos for a timelapse? Ten seconds at 30 fps needs 300. Add 10% spare frames so you can trim the start and end.
- Use it as a timelapse shooting time calculator in reverse: if you only have 45 minutes, enter that and see whether the interval suits the subject.
- Check batteries. Long sequences of hundreds of exposures can drain a camera battery, so plan for external power on all-day shoots.
- Lock exposure, white balance and focus to avoid flicker between frames, and use manual mode where you can.
- Card write speed matters with short intervals and RAW files. Test that the camera keeps up before the real shoot.
For background on the technique and its history, see Wikipedia’s article on time-lapse photography.
Timelapse Calculator FAQ
How do I calculate a timelapse interval?
Multiply the clip length you want by the playback frame rate to get the number of photos, then divide the event length in seconds by that number. A 2 hour event turned into a 20 second clip at 30 fps needs 600 photos, so you shoot one every 12 seconds.How many photos do I need for a 30 second timelapse?
At 30 fps you need 900 photos; at 24 fps you need 720, and at 60 fps 1,800. The event length does not change the photo count, only the interval between shots. The timelapse calculator shows both, along with how much memory card space the photos will use.Does the timelapse calculator work for GoPro and iPhone?
Yes. GoPro and phone time-lapse modes ask for an interval or a speed-up factor, and the calculator gives both. Some built-in phone modes choose the interval automatically, so use the numbers mainly when your app or camera lets you set the interval manually.What frame rate should I use for a timelapse?
Match your editing timeline. 24 fps gives a filmic look, 25 fps suits PAL regions and 30 fps is the common online choice. 60 fps looks smoother but doubles the number of photos, which halves the interval for the same event and doubles storage.How much storage does a timelapse need?
Photos times file size. 600 RAW files of 25 MB each take 15 GB, while the same sequence in 8 MB JPEGs needs under 5 GB. Bring a card with plenty of spare room, since file sizes vary with scene detail and high ISO noise.What is the speed-up factor?
It tells you how much faster than real life the clip plays. Shooting every 12 seconds and playing at 30 fps compresses 360 seconds of real time into each second of video, a 360x speed-up. Larger factors make slow subjects like plants or shadows visibly move.Related Calculators
Need to convert file sizes? The data storage converter for MB, GB and TB helps you pick a card. For long shoots, the time calculator for adding hours and minutes and the hours to minutes converter make it easy to plan start and stop times around the timelapse calculator results.