Hi Ralph, Additionally, if Noise Reduction is turned on the camera take a second photo to evaluate camera noise. Turn off Noise Reduction when using Interval Shooting or be prepared to have a significant space between each photo. My first set of star trails looked like embroidery with large spacing between each star shot.
Thank you Ralph for this to let us know, i am planning on a stack star trail image the end of this month and my plan is to use a 15 or 20 sec exposure app. 200 shots, i want to make sure that when i come home i won't be frustrated at what can happen after seeing your clip. I am dutch and although i understand most of it i am not sure where exactly to set the right numbers, is there a slight chance that you can make a tutorial while seeing what you do on the back of your camera in the interval timer shooting menu how you set the time and all that is part of it? I surely hope so :p All the best and thanks again plus the man that helped you noticing it. Marco.
Does this one help? IS THE INTERVAL TIMER FIXED on Nikon Z Series Cameras? ua-cam.com/video/Ps9ToQsEOxo/v-deo.html For 15 seconds I would set my interval time to 17 seconds. And I’d shoot for an hour or more to get a good result. Keep your iso at 200 to draw out the colours in the startrails
Geez, I'm looking at 200 images of the sky during the Perseid shower last night. I used 30" exposures and an interval of 32" in the Interval Timer thinking that the 2" would give the camera plenty of time to write to the card and get ready for the next 30" exposure. I am bummed to discover that there is a 30" gap between the images. Now I know why. How could Nikon not figure out how to open the shutter for 30" when you ask for a 30" exposure?
Hi Ralph. Thanks for the shout out! My original reply somehow got wiped out, so trying again. It was a big revelation to me as well when I discovered it. I had never really thought about whether the shutter speeds displayed made sense with regard to them being full stop increments/decrements. As we know, to change exposure by a full stop you need to double or halve the shutter speed with the rest of the exposure triangle staying the same. I was curious as to what was the base number that the range was derived from. Was it 1/125th? 1/1000th? Or was it 1 second? My assumption was that it was 1 second as that would make the most sense and would be cleaner. I did a little research and confirmed it. Shutter Speed Actual (secs): 32, 16, 8, 4, 2, 1, 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/16, 1/32, 1/64, 1/128, 1/256, 1/512, 1/1024 Shutter Speed Marked (secs): 30, 15, 8, 4, 2, 1, 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/15, 1/30, 1/60, 1/125, 1/250, 1/500, 1/1000 As you stated, it has nothing to do with electronics. This is just a numbering convention that has been in use since at least the 1950s. I think it’s just driven by human nature in that people are more comfortable rounding a bit and saying 1/125th vs 1/128th. Or 1/500th vs 1/512th. Doesn’t matter for the fractions of a second, but as you found out, when you go to 15+ second exposures that modern digital cameras are capable of it matters. Especially when trying to control the camera with the Nikon intervalometer that needs to know the exact length of exposure for it to operate properly. This would all be a moot point if the interval was Finsh to Start instead of Start to Start (Canon and others may operate the same. Don't know). So, in some cases what the camera tells you it's going to do and what it does is slightly off, but it's doing what it's supposed.
Huh...totally not how I thought that worked. Now I'm confused... So I was shooting the Perseids the other night with my Z6III. I had a 10 second exposure set (on my 50mm f1.8, ISO 2000) and I wanted it to take a photo as quickly as possible with 1 second in between...(it kept shutting off after like a 100 shots and I couldn't figure out why). So I though the 'interval' would be 1 second (what was to be left in between each shot) not 10 (or 11 seconds)...but if I understand you, you are saying I have to account for the exposure + processing + interval and put like 12 seconds?
I am still finding this very confusing. I have purchased a new Nikon z8. I am wanting to set the Interval Timer up for , 3 minute length wth 1 sec interval and 10 shots. Can you please be more specific for this situation and also do you need to do something to stop the camera going to sleep during this process please ?
@@glenicerobinson90 so you need to add an additional 12 seconds to your total exposure length. So instead of 180 seconds think about the shot being 192 seconds (because 15 seconds of exposure is more like 16 actual seconds).
@@RalphMayhewPhotography Ralph can you please tell me what I need to enter for Interval and Intervalsxshots/interval as I am a complete beginner with this process. When you say to add the extra 12 seconds to I enter that in the normal shutter speed area or account for those extra 12 seconds in the interval timer please. I really appreciate your assistance with this. Thankyou
@@glenicerobinson90 ok. Go to the interval timer shooting menu Make sure your start date and time are when you want. If now just leave as is. Under interval you want 3 minutes (which is your 180 seconds, and then you want to add 12 seconds for the exposure length disparity) so it should have 00:03’:12” which for ten photos should easily do the job. Then under intervalsxshots/interval you add 10 x 1. So it would look like 0010x1=00010 Silent photography on, and then start 👍
How does all of this work when using the autobracketing functionality in the interval timer menu? And how can you estimate the intervals if using aperture priority mode where the shutter speed is unknown for each of the exposures in the bracket?
I’ve never used it with interval timer but you’d need to allow for the extra time by calculating it, would be my guess. There’s probably a video out there on it. With aperture priority determining it you would select interval priority, I’m pretty sure. This video might help you: ua-cam.com/video/Sq6xvqbNCC0/v-deo.htmlsi=kiYXWCiXkX7cb2DU
I never thought 15 seconds was a firm 15 seconds and it has nothing to do with my knowledge(or lack of in my case). When ever I have downloaded, updated or backed up anything it became abundantly clear to me that electronics lie like a rug. I had my Mac tell me 15 mins to complete for 2 days once! You want your mind blown?....I'll blow your mind here. Computers, cameras, hard drives or anything that has a screen lies all the time. Don't believe them and you will do fine.....Cheers.
Yeah good point. Hadn’t thought about that computer issue. The 30 second dial is a mechanical feature however so I had thought that what it said on the dial was what was programmed. However it’s consistently 32 seconds. Not hit and miss. Good old technology lol
@@RalphMayhewPhotography Thanks for the quick response, love your channel! I tried it with my z8 and it seems there was no buffer/wait time. You think because of the new processor?
Maybe. That could be good news. How long was the shoot? I find with short ones it’s ok. But getting around an hour or even 30 minutes it falls apart. Having said that I’ve not experimented with the z8 yet.
@RalphMayhewPhotography I was shooting a lightning storm and my exposure time was 8 seconds. It seems that it works without having to add an additional second or two between shots.
hey, I want to try out a timelapse to film the growth of a plant, the thing is it might be like 3 weeks long. Is it possible with my nikon z7? I got a special dummy battery to keep it running
I’ve always wondered this. I think so dummy battery is good as obviously you’ll need a longer use of power. I’d start with Interval Timer, This video might help: Nikon Z Interval Timer - YOU NEED TO KNOW THIS! You could also have a look at the Timelapse function. Do you own a Z7 yet? ua-cam.com/video/KFfaBs3a6s8/v-deo.html
Why is 15=16 sek ? - and is 120 that = 128sek?? I do not get the idea behind the Intervals x shots/ interval ??? Why is this new system better that the "good old way" that everybody know ????
So, in watching your vid and reading the comments and reply’s, my understanding is, that for every 15 seconds of exposure you need to add 1 second of time because for some reason 15 seconds doesn’t mean 15 seconds. So if I want to do star trails with a 3 minute exposure for each shot I would add 12 seconds plus 1 second for camera rest. So, set my shutter speed to 180 seconds, and f stop, iso to whatever I’m going for, then to interval settings, I’d set interval to 13 seconds and number of shots 9999 press start now and I’ll successfully shoot 3 minute exposures until I have 9999 shots or I run dry on battery. Is my understanding of your teachings correct? Thanks
Your said 15s exposure interval is 16s, 30s exposure interval is 32s. Why arbitrarily pick 15s as starting pt of your explanation. Why not 5s exp is 6s interval, then 10s exp is 12s interval, or 60s exp is 61s interval, then 120s exp is 122s interval. I'm confused why you start with 15s. Next, if 30s exp, why can't be 31s interval instead of 32s. Why must add 2sec? You replied below to one question that 15s exposure is not actually 15s but is 16s. Hence the video. Why can't be precise? Isn't it the exposure time are so precisely built. We talk about 1/3 EV. ie 0.33 s. It is that accurate. I don't get your below explanation. Tks
Hey mate. Not sure which below explanation you’re referring to but I started at 15s because I use the interval timer predominantly for Astro and 15 seconds is frequently the longest exposure setting to use before the stars move, which is important when shooting a time lapse. Also It’s at 15 seconds that the 1 second gap becalmed clear. Below that the differential is less than 1 second and so unclear for people to grasp. I needed to explain the why before I talked about the how otherwise everyone would ask about the why 🤷🏼♂️ You need a one second gap between for the camera to rest itself. If you role from one to the next it ends up compounding and stopping prematurely. Sorry I thought I said that in the video but it may have been in a different video I covered it. I could be precise but you can’t set the interval timer to less than 1 second increments. So talking about parts of a second seemed unhelpful, but it is clear from your comment that people can work it out 👍
@@RalphMayhewPhotography Tks for the quick response. Is the purpose of interval for writing or cooling the sensor? I hv a micro 4/3 Panasonic G95 with built-in time lapse. Shot star trails for 3 hrs in RAW, each exposure at 30s, totally 360 shots. Interval set to zero, ie no interval at all. Meaning is a full continuous shots with no rest. And I got all 360 shots. No problem and didn't stop prematurely. I'm also worried abt sensor burn out but was assured by members of 4/3 forum its not a problem. What gives? It can't be a Panny better design than a Nikon. Genuine question.
@@silverpassion3588 My understanding is that the Panasonics are the best at interval shooting and can handle no break in between. I also understand the Nikon (for some ridiculous reason needs a second gap to process a shot 🤷♂
Hi Ralph, Additionally, if Noise Reduction is turned on the camera take a second photo to evaluate camera noise. Turn off Noise Reduction when using Interval Shooting or be prepared to have a significant space between each photo. My first set of star trails looked like embroidery with large spacing between each star shot.
Ahh yes totally. Thanks for mentioning it :)
You are a life saver. I was wondering why my camera was not saving any images after i used the intervals
Awesome to hear 👍
More confused now !
Hmmm what’s up?
Thank you Ralph for this to let us know, i am planning on a stack star trail image the end of this month and my plan is to use a 15 or 20 sec exposure app. 200 shots, i want to make sure that when i come home i won't be frustrated at what can happen after seeing your clip. I am dutch and although i understand most of it i am not sure where exactly to set the right numbers, is there a slight chance that you can make a tutorial while seeing what you do on the back of your camera in the interval timer shooting menu how you set the time and all that is part of it? I surely hope so :p
All the best and thanks again plus the man that helped you noticing it.
Marco.
Does this one help?
IS THE INTERVAL TIMER FIXED on Nikon Z Series Cameras?
ua-cam.com/video/Ps9ToQsEOxo/v-deo.html
For 15 seconds I would set my interval time to 17 seconds. And I’d shoot for an hour or more to get a good result. Keep your iso at 200 to draw out the colours in the startrails
Geez, I'm looking at 200 images of the sky during the Perseid shower last night. I used 30" exposures and an interval of 32" in the Interval Timer thinking that the 2" would give the camera plenty of time to write to the card and get ready for the next 30" exposure. I am bummed to discover that there is a 30" gap between the images. Now I know why. How could Nikon not figure out how to open the shutter for 30" when you ask for a 30" exposure?
Yep it’s ridiculous isn’t it!?!?! Every other camera manufacturer has it sorted. 🤷🏼♂️
I put the same settings and put 100 clicks but my camera stops shooting at 50 shots
Hi Ralph. Thanks for the shout out! My original reply somehow got wiped out, so trying again. It was a big revelation to me as well when I discovered it. I had never really thought about whether the shutter speeds displayed made sense with regard to them being full stop increments/decrements. As we know, to change exposure by a full stop you need to double or halve the shutter speed with the rest of the exposure triangle staying the same.
I was curious as to what was the base number that the range was derived from. Was it 1/125th? 1/1000th? Or was it 1 second? My assumption was that it was 1 second as that would make the most sense and would be cleaner. I did a little research and confirmed it.
Shutter Speed Actual (secs): 32, 16, 8, 4, 2, 1, 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/16, 1/32, 1/64, 1/128, 1/256, 1/512, 1/1024
Shutter Speed Marked (secs): 30, 15, 8, 4, 2, 1, 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/15, 1/30, 1/60, 1/125, 1/250, 1/500, 1/1000
As you stated, it has nothing to do with electronics. This is just a numbering convention that has been in use since at least the 1950s. I think it’s just driven by human nature in that people are more comfortable rounding a bit and saying 1/125th vs 1/128th. Or 1/500th vs 1/512th. Doesn’t matter for the fractions of a second, but as you found out, when you go to 15+ second exposures that modern digital cameras are capable of it matters. Especially when trying to control the camera with the Nikon intervalometer that needs to know the exact length of exposure for it to operate properly. This would all be a moot point if the interval was Finsh to Start instead of Start to Start (Canon and others may operate the same. Don't know). So, in some cases what the camera tells you it's going to do and what it does is slightly off, but it's doing what it's supposed.
Thanks so much for this comment and your input Robert. Awesome mate, so helpful.
it´s a "Renard serie", or kind of finer "1-2-5 serie"
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renard_series
Did you know that your camera’s 30 second exposure isn’t for 30 seconds?
what was Nikon thinking... Thanks for the tip. I would have never figured it out by myself.
I know. Ridiculous isn’t it. My pleasure.
Huh...totally not how I thought that worked. Now I'm confused...
So I was shooting the Perseids the other night with my Z6III.
I had a 10 second exposure set (on my 50mm f1.8, ISO 2000) and I wanted it to take a photo as quickly as possible with 1 second in between...(it kept shutting off after like a 100 shots and I couldn't figure out why).
So I though the 'interval' would be 1 second (what was to be left in between each shot) not 10 (or 11 seconds)...but if I understand you, you are saying I have to account for the exposure + processing + interval and put like 12 seconds?
Yep 12 seconds. Because a second exposure on your camera is more than 10 seconds in real life.
I am still finding this very confusing. I have purchased a new Nikon z8. I am wanting to set the Interval Timer up for , 3 minute length wth 1 sec interval and 10 shots. Can you please be more specific for this situation and also do you need to do something to stop the camera going to sleep during this process please ?
What shutter speed are you using?
180 sec@@RalphMayhewPhotography
@@glenicerobinson90 so you need to add an additional 12 seconds to your total exposure length. So instead of 180 seconds think about the shot being 192 seconds (because 15 seconds of exposure is more like 16 actual seconds).
@@RalphMayhewPhotography Ralph can you please tell me what I need to enter for Interval and Intervalsxshots/interval as I am a complete beginner with this process. When you say to add the extra 12 seconds to I enter that in the normal shutter speed area or account for those extra 12 seconds in the interval timer please. I really appreciate your assistance with this. Thankyou
@@glenicerobinson90 ok. Go to the interval timer shooting menu
Make sure your start date and time are when you want. If now just leave as is.
Under interval you want 3 minutes (which is your 180 seconds, and then you want to add 12 seconds for the exposure length disparity) so it should have 00:03’:12” which for ten photos should easily do the job.
Then under intervalsxshots/interval you add 10 x 1. So it would look like 0010x1=00010
Silent photography on, and then start 👍
180 sec I also tried putting the shutter speed on bulb but that didn't seem to work either.
How does all of this work when using the autobracketing functionality in the interval timer menu? And how can you estimate the intervals if using aperture priority mode where the shutter speed is unknown for each of the exposures in the bracket?
I’ve never used it with interval timer but you’d need to allow for the extra time by calculating it, would be my guess. There’s probably a video out there on it. With aperture priority determining it you would select interval priority, I’m pretty sure. This video might help you: ua-cam.com/video/Sq6xvqbNCC0/v-deo.htmlsi=kiYXWCiXkX7cb2DU
I never thought 15 seconds was a firm 15 seconds and it has nothing to do with my knowledge(or lack of in my case). When ever I have downloaded, updated or backed up anything it became abundantly clear to me that electronics lie like a rug. I had my Mac tell me 15 mins to complete for 2 days once! You want your mind blown?....I'll blow your mind here. Computers, cameras, hard drives or anything that has a screen lies all the time. Don't believe them and you will do fine.....Cheers.
Yeah good point. Hadn’t thought about that computer issue. The 30 second dial is a mechanical feature however so I had thought that what it said on the dial was what was programmed. However it’s consistently 32 seconds. Not hit and miss. Good old technology lol
Thanks! But what about for lower counts like 5-6 seconds? Am I supposed to add a second for the buffer?
Yep :(
@@RalphMayhewPhotography Thanks for the quick response, love your channel! I tried it with my z8 and it seems there was no buffer/wait time. You think because of the new processor?
Maybe. That could be good news. How long was the shoot? I find with short ones it’s ok. But getting around an hour or even 30 minutes it falls apart. Having said that I’ve not experimented with the z8 yet.
@RalphMayhewPhotography I was shooting a lightning storm and my exposure time was 8 seconds. It seems that it works without having to add an additional second or two between shots.
That’s exciting if possible. I’ll do a test 👌👏👏👏
hey, I want to try out a timelapse to film the growth of a plant, the thing is it might be like 3 weeks long. Is it possible with my nikon z7? I got a special dummy battery to keep it running
I’ve always wondered this. I think so dummy battery is good as obviously you’ll need a longer use of power. I’d start with Interval Timer, This video might help: Nikon Z Interval Timer - YOU NEED TO KNOW THIS!
You could also have a look at the Timelapse function. Do you own a Z7 yet?
ua-cam.com/video/KFfaBs3a6s8/v-deo.html
You saved me:)
WOOHOO - love that!
Why is 15=16 sek ?
- and is 120 that = 128sek??
I do not get the idea behind the Intervals x shots/ interval ???
Why is this new system better that the "good old way" that everybody know ????
What people don’t realise is that a 15 second exposure on your camera isn’t actually 15 seconds at all. It’s 16 seconds. Hence the video 🤷🏼♂️
I found out the hard way … i hate nikon for that. 🤬 Thanks for the vid!
Yeah I found out the hard way too.
Okay so If I wanted to do a 20 second exposure I need to set interval to 22 seconds, and to take 30 shots, I'd have to 30x1 in the shotsx spot?
Yep
@@RalphMayhewPhotography thank you. My friend is going to be so happy I figured it out. His 850 Intervolometer is so confusing haha
So, in watching your vid and reading the comments and reply’s, my understanding is, that for every 15 seconds of exposure you need to add 1 second of time because for some reason 15 seconds doesn’t mean 15 seconds. So if I want to do star trails with a 3 minute exposure for each shot I would add 12 seconds plus 1 second for camera rest. So, set my shutter speed to 180 seconds, and f stop, iso to whatever I’m going for, then to interval settings, I’d set interval to 13 seconds and number of shots 9999 press start now and I’ll successfully shoot 3 minute exposures until I have 9999 shots or I run dry on battery. Is my understanding of your teachings correct? Thanks
Without doing all the maths again for you, which you seem to have nailed, what you put forward is definitely the gist of it 👍
Shouldn't the interval be exposure(180"+12"+1"=193")? A 13" interval would throw it for a loop.
@@RalphMayhewPhotography isn't your video showing that this thinking is exactly wrong?
silly question. why would you ever need to take more than one shot per interval?
Hmmm actually a good question. Ummmm maybe the multiple shots are in succession, rather than exactly the same shot, giving you even more shots?? 🤷🏼♂️
@@RalphMayhewPhotography I did a quick search and didn’t find an application but there must be one
Your said 15s exposure interval is 16s, 30s exposure interval is 32s. Why arbitrarily pick 15s as starting pt of your explanation. Why not 5s exp is 6s interval, then 10s exp is 12s interval, or 60s exp is 61s interval, then 120s exp is 122s interval. I'm confused why you start with 15s.
Next, if 30s exp, why can't be 31s interval instead of 32s. Why must add 2sec?
You replied below to one question that 15s exposure is not actually 15s but is 16s. Hence the video. Why can't be precise? Isn't it the exposure time are so precisely built. We talk about 1/3 EV. ie 0.33 s. It is that accurate. I don't get your below explanation.
Tks
Hey mate. Not sure which below explanation you’re referring to but I started at 15s because I use the interval timer predominantly for Astro and 15 seconds is frequently the longest exposure setting to use before the stars move, which is important when shooting a time lapse. Also
It’s at 15 seconds that the 1 second gap becalmed clear. Below that the differential is less than 1 second and so unclear for people to grasp. I needed to explain the why before I talked about the how otherwise everyone would ask about the why 🤷🏼♂️ You need a one second gap between for the camera to rest itself. If you role from one to the next it ends up compounding and stopping prematurely. Sorry I thought I said that in the video but it may have been in a different video I covered it.
I could be precise but you can’t set the interval timer to less than 1 second increments. So talking about parts of a second seemed unhelpful, but it is clear from your comment that people can work it out 👍
@@RalphMayhewPhotography Tks for the quick response. Is the purpose of interval for writing or cooling the sensor?
I hv a micro 4/3 Panasonic G95 with built-in time lapse. Shot star trails for 3 hrs in RAW, each exposure at 30s, totally 360 shots. Interval set to zero, ie no interval at all. Meaning is a full continuous shots with no rest. And I got all 360 shots. No problem and didn't stop prematurely. I'm also worried abt sensor burn out but was assured by members of 4/3 forum its not a problem. What gives? It can't be a Panny better design than a Nikon. Genuine question.
@@silverpassion3588 My understanding is that the Panasonics are the best at interval shooting and can handle no break in between. I also understand the Nikon (for some ridiculous reason needs a second gap to process a shot 🤷♂
You should have slowly gone over explaining simple things
What did you need clarification on?
@@RalphMayhewPhotography Thats not easy to answer - when one do not understand what is going on !🤔=🤐
But how do you get to interval timer?
MENU > PHOTO SHOOTING > interval timer shooting
Just say how to use it.
That’s the issue. You need the background to implement the setting otherwise it doesn’t work for you 🤷🏼♂️
Muchas gracias 😘
You’re very welcome.