How to use the Interval Timer function

In this tutorial, FujiGuy Dale will give you a basic understanding of time-lapse photography using the Interval Timer option built into some of our Fujifilm X series cameras.

w360_6415757_tutorialbannerfordotmailerThe Interval Timer feature built into some of our X series* cameras can be an excellent tool to express your creativity.

It can be used to capture multiple images one after the other with the knowledge that you will simply pick your favourite image later on. Or the most likely the reason you would use this feature is to create a time-lapse movie like this little Lego guy doing a dance (rather badly I might add!), or perhaps a flower bud opening up, or even the sun setting behind the horizon – the possibilities are truly endless.

animation-example
Example of time-lapse movie – The Robot Dance

In this tutorial I want to give you a basic idea of how to use the Interval Timer function to create timelapse movies. For in-depth advice on timelapse movie creation and some of the more detailed do’s and don’t’s I would strongly recommend searching ‘How do I get great timelapse results from my camera?‘ as there are so many good tutorials already out there.

The option for timelapse is found in the main menu of the X series cameras under the title ‘INTERVAL TIMER SHOOTING‘, choose this option with the menu/ok button.

From this, select the interval (the time between each shot) using the navigation buttons (up, down, left and right). Once you are happy with the intervals, you will need to choose how many shots you want in total – this is found under the title ‘NUMBER OF TIMES‘. To help with how many shots you want see the tip below:

TIP! In Europe and Canada we normally use 25fps (frames per second) also known as PAL for our movies. Below you can see examples of how many photographs you would need to take to achieve the required length of movie.

Examples for 25fps:

1 second of footage = 25 photographs
2 seconds of footage = 50 photographs
10 seconds of footage =  250 photographs
1 minute of footage = 1500 photographs

Another way to think of this is Video length = Number of pictures ÷ Frame rate

The last step is to choose when the camera actually starts taking pictures, this could be immediately, in which case you would select 0h 00m or for example 20 minutes time (0h 20m). When you are ready to shoot simply press the menu/ok button and this will start the timer.

At the end of the sequence of shots you will then need to put them into a movie making program such as Adobe Premiere Pro or similar to create the timelapse itself – for that part I’d recommend looking up a software specific tutorial, so if you use Premiere Pro try a search like ‘Create a timelapse video in Premiere Pro‘ in your favourite search engine.

TIP! I normally use YouTube for this part to see exactly what buttons the teacher is clicking / using to create the timelapse video – that should stop you getting lost along the way!

TIPS, TIPS, TIPS!

Use a tripod for best results
Use a tripod for best results

Here are some bonus tips to think about when creating a timelapse video:

  • Use a tripod – Otherwise your timelapse video will look like an earthquake is taking place!
  • Set the camera to 16:9 ratio – This will be the correct image ratio for a 1080p Full HD movie file, so you will not need to crop hundreds of images!
  • Plan ahead – If you are shooting a sunrise or sunset, know exactly where the sun is going to end up. Apps like The Photographer’s Ephemeris can really help you achieve this.
  • Think very carefully about composition – This kind of goes without saying, but I’m saying it anyway.. 😉 Take your time framing the shot, after all you are going to take hundreds of pictures of your landscape and it would be a real shame to get 300 images of the horizon all wonky!
  • Shoot Raw & Jpeg – Although Jpegs are preferable for many users, if the lighting changes dramatically whilst shooting you will find editing & correcting a RAW file much more flexible as it retains all the detail from an image rather than a compressed version.
  • Shoot manually – To ensure consistently good results always shoot fully manual – set the shutter speed, the aperture, ISO and focus yourself rather than allowing the camera to do this for you.

Below is an example of a timelapse movie shot on the X-T1 and played back at 25FPS. The movie consists of 150 shots.

I hope this has inspired you to go out and give it a go! It can be truly rewarding and really fun too!

Happy Snapping! 🙂

*The Interval Timer feature is available for the FUJIFILM X-T1, X-T10, X100T and X30.

 

Author: Dale Young

Dale works at Fujifilm UK HQ in the marketing department. He is an amatuer photographer & musician that loves to be creative and expand his own skills. With all that he learns he tries to give back to the creative community.

17 thoughts on “How to use the Interval Timer function”

  8. I’m using the internal interval timer on my Fujifilm X-E2 which is working good but the lcd remain on at every shot, there’s a way to turn off the lcd screen in order to save the battery life?

    1. Hi jesseje, not sure if you have had a reply separately this from Fujifilm or anyone or not but the interval is the time in between the different shots so this cannot be set to zero as it would be taking at the same picture rather than at a different time. For the number of photos again this cannot be set to zero as this simply wouldn’t take a photo.

      If you wish to cancel the interval timer set up before starting it simply press the back button or the shutter release to cancel.

      To stop the interval timer once it has started press the ok button when the camera is on (this was on an X-E2 so might potentially be different on an XT-10). If you have only set 1 or 2 photos on the interval timer it will automatically go back to standard mode once these shots have been taken – the interval time should only start again if you go back into the menu and set it up again.

      Hope this helps.

    1. Hi Phil, not sure if you have had a reply separately this from Fujifilm or anyone or not.

      If you wish to cancel the interval timer set up before starting it simply press the back button or the shutter release to cancel.

      To stop the interval timer once it has started press the ok button when the camera is on (this was on an X-E2 so might potentially be different on an XT-10). If you have only set 1 or 2 photos on the interval timer it will automatically go back to standard mode once these shots have been taken – the interval time should only start again if you go back into the menu and set it up again.

      Hope this helps.

  14. I am becoming very disappointed in fuji, I have been very happy with this camera, but when is’s functional controls will not work, and the company can’t help the product is not worth much.