Time-lapse Capture and Storage Calculator
Estimate frames, playback duration, capture finish and storage from start-to-start intervals.
YOUR CALCULATION
Result
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Calculation steps
Work through one step at a time or reveal the complete calculation. The steps use your current inputs.
How to calculate
Place the first frame at time zero and include every frame whose start is at or before the window end. Playback uses one output frame per captured image; storage multiplies images by entered file size.
Frames=floor(window/start interval)+1; playback=frames/fps; finish=(frames−1)×interval+exposure
Worked example
A 1-hour start window and 5-second interval include 721 frames, including time zero and 3600 seconds. At 30 fps playback is 24.0333 seconds; 10 MB images total 7.21 GB.
Assumptions and input details
The interval is start-to-start, not a delay after exposure. The last exposure may finish after the start-time window. Exposure cannot exceed the interval; camera write, readout and scheduling overhead are not modeled. Storage assumes identical entered image size, excludes video exports, and distinguishes decimal from binary units. Speed ratio uses first-to-last frame-start span divided by playback duration.
Unit definitions
Unit selection is independent of language. Each selector contains only units for its physical quantity. Calculations use defined base units internally.
One byte is eight bits. Decimal prefixes (k, M, G, T, P, E) use powers of 1000. Binary prefixes (Ki, Mi, Gi, Ti, Pi, Ei) use powers of 1024. Transfer rates are per second.
Using this calculator
Can I enter my own problem?
Yes. Replace the example values with your own inputs. The result, calculation steps, tables and applicable diagrams update from those inputs. Blank or invalid values clear the result; example values are never silently substituted for missing inputs.
Are the results exact?
Results use floating-point arithmetic and displayed rounding. Read the formula, assumptions and any stated data precision before interpreting the result.
Is my input uploaded?
The calculation runs in your browser. No account, file upload or external AI service is required. Inputs are not saved between page reloads.
Convert frame counts, elapsed seconds and timecode, or measure a start/end timecode span. Select exact fractional rates and an explicit drop-frame convention.
Find transfer time, required nominal speed or data size. Distinguish bits, bytes, decimal and binary units and include an explicit effective-throughput percentage.
Find an equivalent shutter time, aperture or ISO, or compare two camera settings. Separate the light-exposure ratio from the ISO-adjusted brightness index.
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