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GALLERIES TIMELAPSE BLOG CONTACT ABOUT

featuring the blog w here you learn from m y m istakes…

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Lapse Pi – Motorised Time-lapse Rail with Raspberry Pi

BY DAVEH | PUBLISHED MAR 07 2013
SUBSCRIBETOBLOGVIAEMAIL
Page 1 – The plan and some construction shots and info Enter your email address to subscribe to
Page 2 – More Construction this blog and receive notifications of new
Page 3 – The Circuits, the Code, plus a video of the rig in action posts by email.

Here’s a side view. You can see in the picture below the way the skate bearings are bolted
onto the dolly tubes and sit on the rails. The 45 degree angle of the bolts into the tubes
allows easy mounting onto a 3/4″ or 1″ rail. And you can always use longer bolts for thicker
rails. Thicker pipes give you the possibility of longer, more stable rails. Anyone for a 10
metre time lapse rail? Seriously though, my local hardware store has 21ft gas pipes, I’m
thinking about it!

And a closer look. Underneath you can see the timing belt with bearings on the left with the
motor, then the box with circuits in the middle, and battery pack on the right. I used 6-pin
mini-din connectors from the Pi’s GPIO, as it gave an adequate number of pins in a nice
neat form factor.

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©2014 David Hunt – All Rights Reserved | Powered by Photocrati

Another view from underneath .Velcro is great to keep everything attached!

Here you get a look at the timing pulley in that dark cavity above the motor. That’s what pulls
the dolly along the rail via the timing belt. Sending a pulse of 12v for 150ms to the motor
drives the dolly about 3mm. Perfect for those slow pans. It’s important that the timing pulley
is correctly matched with the timing belt. The motor is a 15RPM.

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And finally, a nice low angle shot. I must clean up that Velcro. Not the prettiest solution, but it
sure works nicely. You can also see the switch which I’ve used to reverse the direction of
the motor. That simply reverses the polarity coming from the transistor to the motor,
depending on it’s position. A motor driver (such as the one I used in the Macro Pi blog
article) would allow me to switch direction in software, but the switch is OK for the moment, I
don’t change direction too often.

An add-on to this project that is not detailed here is my DIY dew heater. I found that during
night time shoots, the camera lens can very easily get fogged up, especially that we have
such damp nights in Ireland. The dew heater wrapped around the lens brought it’s
temperature up a degree or two, just enough to keep the dew from forming on the glass. The
build instructions for the heater are very well documented on Steve Maddison‘s blog,
at http://www.cosam.org/astronomy/equipment/dewheater.html. After a few failed attempts at
a night-time lapse, I built the heater, and I was amazed at how well it worked. Zero dew on
the lens in very similar conditions to the previous attempts.

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Here’s a few images of the rig in operation.

In this image, you can see where I covered the viewfinder, as the sunlight entering the
camera from the back was washing out the initial images.

A couple of rocks in each end of the rail to settle it down a bit. It was a bit windy that day.

I don’t mind people walking through the time-lapses much, I think it adds a bit of interest.

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Next, the circuits.

Page 1 – The plan and some construction shots and info
Page 2 – More Construction
Page 3 – The Circuits, the Code, plus a video of the rig in action

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THIS ENTRY WAS POSTED IN COMPUTER STUFF, PHOTOGRAPHY, TUTORIAL.

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56 Comments

Gareth Jones
March 7, 2013 at 9:59 pm #

Great work – must admit I’m in the process (and may be for some time)
of building the same thing -taken some inspiration from the focus
stacking project, and got the stepper motor bit working. Now need to
build the hardware, though I’m planning to invest in an Igus rail – I
presume you’ve seen the Chronos project….

Colby
March 11, 2013 at 11:42 pm #

This is incredibly neat! I just have a few questions: What program did
you use to render the video? I presume ffmpeg?

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Also, how many shots per minute did you take? Thank you!

daveh
March 12, 2013 at 9:11 am #

The frames were stitched together using VirtualDub, which is a

great little program for this type of thing.
All sequences were planned for 24 frames per second, so that
makes 1440 shots per minute. However, there are a couple of
HDR sequences in there, so I did 3 shots for every frame, so
that’s 4320 shots per minute. Kinda hard on the DSLR’s mirror
mechanism!

trampa
March 12, 2013 at 2:28 pm #

very good, will try to make some myself, may use a threaded rod
instead of a belt, we’ll see
where did you get the legs? (I’m in Dublin in case you could share
where you got them)
did you say where you got the motor from? just curious

Divelikeastone
November 29, 2013 at 4:51 pm #

If you use threaded bar for this, then when rewinding the dolly, the
nut on the threaded bar can overheat and seize, unless you cool it,
bit too troublesome that with oil or coolant getting everywhere.
Been there.

daveh
March 12, 2013 at 4:18 pm #

Legs were in woodies, but they only had 2 left where I got them. Looked
like some kind of wall hangers. €1 each!
And eBay for the motor.

mike
March 13, 2013 at 2:27 pm #

Great writeup…where did you get the chrome ‘pipes’?

daveh
March 13, 2013 at 2:30 pm #

Mike, Local hardware store, shower curtain rails!

Dave.

Brian Williams
March 13, 2013 at 2:56 pm #

Hello,
I’m thinking that most of the parts you used are familiar to professional
photographers, because nearly all of them are a mystery to me! I would
love to build one of these, but I don’t have a clue about what these parts
are or where to buy them:

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skate bearings
dolly tubes
timing belt
mounting plate
Would it be possible to make a list of parts with their original purpose
and where you got them from please? Just a wee bit more detail?

daveh
March 13, 2013 at 4:54 pm #

Brian,
None of those terms are photographic terns!
I sourced most stuff from my local DIY store. mounting plate is
simply a rectangular piece of steel, which I drilled myself. Tubes
are pieces of pipe, timing belt from auto shop, skate bearings from
ebay. Research, research, research!
Dave.

Brian Williams
March 13, 2013 at 9:22 pm #

Thanks Dave,
in that case, would it be possible to get a few more pictures of e.g.
where the timing belt is connected at each end? (And what is a
timing belt when it isn’t used for this job please?)
Thanks!
Brian

daveh
March 14, 2013 at 1:25 pm #

Brian,
I’ll try and get a picture of the timing belt clamps. It’s all made
with what I had available to hand, or available in the local
hardware store.
Wikipedia has a very good explanation of what a Timing Belt
is.
Regards,
Dave.

Emanuele Santoro
March 13, 2013 at 3:40 pm #

Hi!
Some of the images are just beautiful!
Is it possible to get them in digital format to use them as desktop
wallpaper ?
Thanks in advance,
–
Emanuele

daveh
March 16, 2013 at 9:59 am #

Emanuele, let me know which scene, and the resolution you want,
and I’ll send you one!

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Texy
March 13, 2013 at 6:26 pm #

Fantastic work again Dave.

As the timing for the shutter isn’t quite as critical as for the water drop
shots, you could use gphoto2 to control the camera via usb.
Cheers,
Texy

Jake
March 14, 2013 at 4:54 am #

Thanks for sharing this, I feel inspired to try this myself and am
wondering if you had considered trying curved pipes? I know that getting
two pipes curved the same might require some metal fab equipment.
But imagine the shot you could get as the time elapse pans over a shot
with another axis in play.

Texy
March 14, 2013 at 1:32 pm #

Hi,
for the toothed pully and belt, try looking at the 3d printer spare parts on
eBay.
They are usually T5 pitch and can be bought together.
At least, that’s my plan ,lol
Texy

Bob Pack
March 14, 2013 at 3:44 pm #

I’m wondering if any of your shots used the whole length of the rail and if
so, how long it takes to run the complete sequence. Obviously it would
depend on shutter speed, but what would be a ballpark figure for a
daylight shot vs a night shot?
I’m also guessing you have to take your laptop with you to start the pi
off and adjust the variables according to conditions?
Would really like to put something like this together myself so just trying
to figure out everything that’s involved.
Thanks for the excellent post though!

daveh
March 14, 2013 at 4:19 pm #

Bob,
Rail length is 1.8m, so if you want 240 shots (10 seconds at
24fps), you’d move 1.8m divided by 240, or 7mm each frame. It
doesn’t actually depend on shutter speed.
If you’re doing 240 shots in day-time, and using 3 seconds
between shots, that’s 12 minutes.
If you’re doing 240 shots at night-time, and using 30 seconds
between shots, that’s 120 minutes (2 hours).
If you want to do a lapse with more frames, reduce the distance
moved between each frame. 3.5mm will allow you to shoot twice
the number of frames.
Rgds,
Dave.

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Bob Pack
March 14, 2013 at 5:07 pm #

I’m still a little confused. Does this mean you’re just using the
camera in bulb mode and controlling the shutter with the Pi?
Or is the camera setup, and the Pi just triggers the shutter and
waits until it’s done?
I would have thought if the GPIO pin was set high for a certain
length of time, this would be controlling the shutter.
And how do you configure it on location?
Sorely tempted to swing by Maplin and B&Q on my way home
tonight

daveh
March 14, 2013 at 5:20 pm #

Bob, Camera is triggered, and then waits. Then moves

the camera, and triggers again. You need to be careful
that the delay is longer than the shutter speed. Have a
read of the Python code, and it might be a bit clearer.

scott m
March 14, 2013 at 4:43 pm #

Thank you – what an outstanding project! very nice tutorial!

Simon D
March 15, 2013 at 2:49 pm #

Love it.
By changing the track system you can have one with sleepers. This
means that your track can be as long as you want. If you make it in
sections then you can make a whole Hornby system and run it where
you will.

JimmyD
March 17, 2013 at 5:55 pm #

I’m planning on having the rPi trigger my camera as well, but it is a

VERY long time since I last played around with electronics. Could you
provide what transistor and resistor you have used?
Thanks

daveh
March 18, 2013 at 5:43 pm #

Jimmy,
I pulled the transistor from an old PC PSU, so I don’t exactly know.
It’s a beefy enough one, though. As for the resistor, I think I used
1K.
Dave.

Isaac Rowberry
March 18, 2013 at 1:51 am #

Was there any welding required?

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daveh
March 18, 2013 at 5:44 pm #

Isaac,
I don’t have a welder. All nuts and bolts!
Dave.

Liam Welford
March 18, 2013 at 5:58 pm #

Can you provide any more details about the motor. Is this a stepper
motor, or just a standard dc motor?
If its a DC motor does it have to have a certain RPM, or does it need to
be geared down, how are you making it turn (and then move the rig) an
accurate amount.

daveh
March 18, 2013 at 6:29 pm #

12V DC motor @ 15RPM. Pulse 12V to it each shot. Have a look

at the code to see the pulse sequence.

Kasper Holst
March 20, 2013 at 9:13 pm #

This is a very nice time lapse rig. I’m impressed by the build quality.
In the Shutter Release circuit, what is the purpose of the NPN
transistor? Is it used as switch?

daveh
March 20, 2013 at 9:35 pm #

Yes, Kasper. It’s a switch. Thanks for the comment!

Clive
March 21, 2013 at 8:09 am #

Thank you so much for sharing this build, I just stumbled across it
chatting with someone at work. As I see it you are only restricted to the
pole size and timing belt length for Hzl movement? This has really
inspired me, thanks once again from Brisbane QLD, Australia.

Darcade
May 26, 2013 at 12:17 pm #

Wonderful photos I will build it for me too

Thx so much !

DBanerjee
July 2, 2013 at 5:39 pm #

Hello David,
I recently came across your blog and loved each one of the entries. I
especially loved the things that you did with the Raspberry Pi. Awesome
stuff! Now I am inspired to get on for myself and try the moving

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timelapse rig and the Drop Pi. I have a question: How did you wirelessly
connect your PC to the Raspberry Pi.Did you use a wireless USB
adapter? If so, then can you use it outside your home network?

daveh
July 2, 2013 at 10:54 pm #

Thanks! Yes, wireless USB dongle, set up as a hotspot, so I can

connect in with laptop, phone, tablet, etc.

DBanerjee
July 2, 2013 at 10:57 pm #

I am not sure I understood completely. Do you use a wifi

adapter to connect the pi to the home network. And then do
you ssh to the pi? Sorry about asking so many questions!

daveh
July 2, 2013 at 11:16 pm #

No home network. Wifi in pi in master mode, then ssh

direct to pi from laptop. Sorry short comments, on phone
here.

DBanerjee
July 2, 2013 at 11:18 pm #

Got it. Thanks!

DBanerjee
July 2, 2013 at 10:59 pm #

Also, where did you buy the timing belt and the pulley from? I
am trying to look up that item, not sure what width I would
need. When you keep the dolly slanted, what keeps it from
rolling down the rail? Is it a geared motor, or is the teeth of the
timing belt is strong enough to hold it.

daveh
July 2, 2013 at 11:18 pm #

Pulley from eBay. 9mm wide should do. Geared motor,

plenty of torque, but also a weight on a pulley to
counterbalance camera.

Olly
July 9, 2013 at 3:22 pm #

Hi Dave,
Great work mate, I love your precision and your neatness. Also, I
admire your patience with replying to everybody’s questions and
enquiries.
Talking of which, I have one regarding your timing belt and cog combo,
do you know the pitch of the belt you used and the diameter / no. of
teeth in the cog? Or was it just a matter of grabbing a belt and finding a
cog that fitted?

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Cheers.

daveh
July 9, 2013 at 6:34 pm #

Htc 5mm pitch 9mm wide 14 tooth. Had to drill the hole for grub
screw myself with a tap & die kit to attach pulley on to motor shaft
properly. Short message, writing on phone.

Olly
July 11, 2013 at 8:30 am #

Awesome, rail in progress will report back with findings and

results.
THANK YOU!!

Olly
July 17, 2013 at 5:10 pm #

Hi David,
I’ve just hacked the remote for the 5d and obviously it has 3 wires, red,
white and green (presumably +, – & GND) I’ve figured out that touching
red and white together triggers the shutter. So that’s what I’ll be using in
my circuitry but what should I be doing with the green wire??
I’ve noticed that if green’s wrapped around red then there’s no
noticeable difference but if wrapped around white then the camera
doesn’t show a preview of the shot on the rear lcd screen.
If left out of the equation altogether, again, no noticeable difference.
Thanks

daveh
July 17, 2013 at 8:42 pm #

White is most likely ground, with red and green being shutter
release and focus respectively. You don’t really need the focus for
typical timelapses, as your lens will most likely be on manual focus.
Rgds, Dave.

laurent
August 14, 2013 at 2:04 am #

Great David, thanks for all the tips.

I m trying to control my Nikon through a cronjob calling gphoto2 every
minute but I have to perform a USB reset after each shot. Would you
have an easy solution at hand for this matter?
thanks in advance
Laurent

daveh
August 14, 2013 at 8:14 am #

Laurent, the latest version of gphoto2 has fixed this problem,

version 2.5.2. Are you comfortable compiling the libs and binary
from source ?

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Texy
August 14, 2013 at 8:50 am #

Actually there is a very easy pain-free method of installing and

compiling the latest version of gphoto here :
https://github.com/gonzalo/gphoto2-updater
Hope this helps,
Texy

daveh
August 14, 2013 at 10:12 am #

Nice one, Texy! I’ll give that a go!

Marcus Kösters
October 14, 2013 at 10:49 am #

Hey Dave,
I really find your work pretty inspiring and fantastic.
I am definately planning on building a timelapse-rig myself but since you
pointed out that your’s is heavy and awkward to transport I will make
slight changes to your setup.
First of all, I’d prefer more security for my camera to prevent the dolly
from falling of the rail. I was planning on adding some kind of
security-catch or an additional set of skate-bearings under the rails, so
that it’s impossible for the dolly to fall off when assembled.
for the rails, i have too have the feeling that carrying around 2 tubes of
2m length is a bit too much. BUT I am happy to own one of these
backdrop-systems: Walimex Background System
they consist of 2 tripods and 5 connectable tubes of 90cm length each .
Using 4 tubes would make 2 rails with 180cm length each. Plus: If you
work clever, you could still use them als backdrop-kit.
What kind of dc motor do you use? Can you perhaps name the model?
Cheers,
Marcus

daveh
October 14, 2013 at 10:59 am #

Marcus,
Thanks for the comment! It’s a good point about the rail, I was
thinking of getting some pipes that screw together so I can
transport easier. But finding pipes that are smooth when
assembled are hard to find. Do yours give a smooth surface at the
join?
On the motor, it’s a 12V DC reversible 15RPM model, very cheap
on eBay. http://www.ebay.ie/itm/12V-DC-HIGH-TORQUE-
High-power-Reversable-Electric-Motor-15-RPM-Gear-Box-
/141087624043
It’s not powerful to move the camera when the rail is at an angle,
so I use a weight and pulley as a counterbalance.
Regards,
Dave.

Marcus Koesters
October 14, 2013 at 5:59 pm #

Hey Dave,

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I am pretty sure that they are pretty smooth (but not 100%)
when assembled but doubt that there should be any problems
with the dolly. I can try and send you closeup picture of those
pipes assembled, as well a pic of the stuff used to put the
pipes together.
Thanks for the specs of the motor! Have you ever thought of
using a steppermotor to get accurate steps?

daveh
October 14, 2013 at 7:14 pm #

Steppers require constant current for “holding” position,

whereas in the DC motor there’s enough holding force to
hold the position without current, so uses a lot less
battery.
It would be great to see a close up of the pipe you’re
using. I might get one myself, as I could do with a portable
backdrop as well!

Marcus Koesters
October 16, 2013 at 3:52 pm #

I uploaded some pictures of the pipes and the

connectors as well.
Backdrop-System
a big plus is, that the pipes already have holes drilled
in, so that you can non-destructively build a rail out of
them.

tommy
October 25, 2013 at 4:09 am #

Hey I am trying to build the same thing I am using this other guys
website but I don’t really understand how the circuits are supposed to
look can you plz email me a picture of them or something? and not the
circuit that’s already on here because I don’t understand it. thanks

daveh
January 6, 2014 at 10:00 am #

Great write up on an alternative version of the electronics for this by

Per Magnusson here:
http://axotron.se/blog/electronics-for-the-lapse-pi-motorised-
time-lapse-rail/
Thanks Per!

5 Trackbacks

By Slo-Pi [...] Dave je na svoj blog napisal tudi vodič kako sestaviti takšno
on March napravo in dodal nekaj fotografij ter diagramov. Podobno zadevo pa so
13, 2013 izdelali tudi pri SaratogaWeather, kjer so uporabili statično kamero, ki jo
je upravljal RPi, tako da je zajel sliko vremena gore Mount Timpanagos
at 8:38 pm
v Utahu. Dinamične sistemi, kot je oblikovanje oblakov je pravzaprav
težko preučiti v dejanskem času, vendar pri takšni hitrosti vzorci in strukture postanejo
bolj jasne, tako da jih je veliko lažje analizirati. [...]

By [...] Op zijn website heeft David Hunt de bouw van de gemotoriseerd

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DISKIDEE Dolly gedocumenteerd. Je kan er nalezen hoe je deze DIY cameradolly

on March zelf kan bouwen, met inbegrip van diagrammen en Python
14, 2013 programmeercode. Hunt is niet aan zijn proefstuk toe, want vorig jaar
bouwde hij een Raspberry Pi bordje in in de batterijgreep van een
at 2:53 pm
Canon camera. [...]

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่ า http://davidhunt.ie/?p=2822 [...]
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22, 2013
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