====== Basic Intervalometer ======
Jun 2017
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So here is a command line to use gphoto2 as a basic intervalometer. You can type this in at the terminal, or you could use a python script to generate this command line based on user input.
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gphoto2 --interval=10 --frames=10 --capture-image-and-download
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So in this example, we are going to capture 10 frames, at an interval of 10 seconds, and download each file.
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Time-lapse mode enabled (interval: 10s).
Capturing frame #1/10...
Waiting for next capture slot 9 seconds...
New file is in location /store_00020001/DCIM/100CANON/IMG_5934.CR2 on the camera
Downloading 'IMG_5934.CR2' from folder '/store_00020001/DCIM/100CANON'...
Saving file as IMG_5934.CR2
Deleting file /store_00020001/DCIM/100CANON/IMG_5934.CR2 on the camera
Deleting 'IMG_5934.CR2' from folder '/store_00020001/DCIM/100CANON'...
Capturing frame #2/10...
Waiting for next capture slot 9 seconds...
New file is in location /store_00020001/DCIM/100CANON/IMG_5935.CR2 on the camera
Downloading 'IMG_5935.CR2' from folder '/store_00020001/DCIM/100CANON'...
Saving file as IMG_5935.CR2
Deleting file /store_00020001/DCIM/100CANON/IMG_5935.CR2 on the camera
Deleting 'IMG_5935.CR2' from folder '/store_00020001/DCIM/100CANON'...
Capturing frame #3/10...
Waiting for next capture slot 9 seconds...
New file is in location /store_00020001/DCIM/100CANON/IMG_5936.CR2 on the camera
Downloading 'IMG_5936.CR2' from folder '/store_00020001/DCIM/100CANON'...
Saving file as IMG_5936.CR2
Deleting file /store_00020001/DCIM/100CANON/IMG_5936.CR2 on the camera
Deleting 'IMG_5936.CR2' from folder '/store_00020001/DCIM/100CANON'...
etc..
It can be see that after the image is downloaded, it is deleted also. If you don't want the files deleted, use the following syntax.
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gphoto2 --interval=10 --frames=10 --capture-image-and-download --keep
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Here are the 10 files I captured
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IMG_5934.CR2 IMG_5936.CR2 IMG_5938.CR2 IMG_5940.CR2 IMG_5942.CR2
IMG_5935.CR2 IMG_5937.CR2 IMG_5939.CR2 IMG_5941.CR2 IMG_5943.CR2
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WARNING!!! If you pick a short interval (say 3 or 4 seconds) then the Raspberry Pi may not be able to write the files fast enough, and you may end up with dropped frames (if you use the --keep switch, they will still be on the camera memory card though).
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If you need a relatively short interval, then just use the following syntax to capture the files, then download them at the end of the capture.
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gphoto2 --interval=3 --frames=10 --capture-image
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Here you can see the files are captured, but not copied or deleted (you don't have to use the --keep switch if you are not downloading at the same time).
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Time-lapse mode enabled (interval: 3s).
Capturing frame #1/10...
Waiting for next capture slot 2 seconds...
New file is in location /store_00020001/DCIM/100CANON/IMG_5964.CR2 on the camera
Capturing frame #2/10...
Waiting for next capture slot 2 seconds...
New file is in location /store_00020001/DCIM/100CANON/IMG_5965.CR2 on the camera
Capturing frame #3/10...
Waiting for next capture slot 2 seconds...
New file is in location /store_00020001/DCIM/100CANON/IMG_5966.CR2 on the camera
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