Time -Lapse Mode

Use "Time Lapse" mode to take a number of pictures separated by a preset time interval with an optional delay before starting the sequence. The resulting pictures can be used to create a fast motion video.

The Time-Lapse mode will use your camera exposure settings. If you use an optional shutter cable (see Connections section), you can optionally set your camera to Bulb mode and instruct Promote Control to time an arbitrary exposure. Using a shutter cable is highly recommended when using Time-Lapse mode with interval shorter than 2 seconds.

Connections - in-camera exposure settings

1.Switch your Promote Control to the "Time-Lapse" mode.

2.Set your camera to any desired exposure mode other than Bulb exposure.

Connections - arbitrary exposure times in hours, minutes, seconds

1.Set your camera to Bulb exposure mode.

2.Make sure "Time-Lapse exposure setting mode" Promote Control Setup setting is set to "Arbitrary (Bulb mode)".

3.The shutter cable is required for this mode. Connect the shutter cable as described in Connections section. USB cable is not required.

4.Set your desired exposure in HH:MM:SS format.

Usage

1.Use "Interval" setting on Promote Control to specify how often a picture should be taken. The interval is specified in hours, minutes, seconds and tens of second. IMPORTANT: your camera may not be able to take images as fast as the interval setting may suggest. The maximum frame rate is determined by the image type/size selected in the camera, memory card speed, presence of shutter cable and other factors. If your camera cannot keep up with the Time-Lapse interval you set, some images may be skipped. Using a shutter cable is highly recommended for any intervals shorter than 2 seconds.

2.Specify how many "Frames", or images should be taken in total.

3.Use "Start In" setting if you wish to delay the beginning of the Time-Lapse image sequence. This setting uses HH:MM:SS format (Hours:Minutes:Seconds).

4.Press "Start" button on Promote Control. If you specified a start delay above, a countdown will begin, otherwise Promote Control will take the first image and continue with the sequence as programmed.

5.While Time-Lapse is running, if at any moment you need to take a number of images inside the preset interval, simply press "Center" button on your Promote Control. Every time you press "Center" button, Promote Control will take an picture. This may be useful if you see certain action in your Time-Lapse scene that you need recorded, but you do not want to stop the Time-Lapse program in order to do so.

NOTE: An optional AC adapter is recommended when performing long Time Lapse sequences in order to avoid depleting Promote Control batteries before the sequence finishes.

Time-Lapse mode can be optionally used to create High Dynamic Range Time-Lapse sequences. This mode will take several images instead of at each Time-Lapse interval. See High Dynamic Range Time-Lapse section for more information.

Repeated Time-Lapse

By default a Time-Lapse sequence can be delayed - but your use case may favor starting the Time-Lapse immediately, and then repeating in after a certain time has elapsed. In that case set "Enable Time-Lapse schedule/repeat" Setup setting to "Yes". You will then be able to run Time-Lapse sequences e.g. every 24 hours, or any other period expressed in HH:MM:SS, just like your Time-Lapse start delay. Note that when you enable repeated Time-Lapse, the "Start in" setting in Time-Lapse mode screen changes to "Rpt each", so you cannot delay the start of Time-Lapse sequence - it will always start immediately, and then restart every HH:MM:SS as set in your Time-Lapse mode screen. For example, if you set your "Rpt each" to 24:00:00 (24 hours), and start your first Time-Lapse at 9:00am, your Promote Control will finish the Time-Lapse sequence you just started, and then restart the same sequence next day at 9:00am.

With Time-Lapse schedule/repeat enabled, Promote Control will repeat Time-Lapse sequences until you stop it. Stopping a repeated Time-Lapse is done the same way as with any other sequence - hold down the "Power" button on your Promote Control, and then confirm sequence cancellation.

Please note that Time-Lapse will not repeat if you choose "Infinite" for the number of frames for your Time-Lapse. An Infinite Time-Lapse never finishes until stopped manually, and thus cannot be repeated.

Optimizing Power Management

Your camera battery may not be able to withstand a long term Time-Lapse without being powered by an AC adapter. However, you can minimize camera power draw by enabling automatic meter-off timeout in your camera settings. The camera will then go to sleep between Time-Lapse sequences. When needed, Promote Control will wake it up and continue its work. However, for that feature to work, it is important to use the shutter cable connection (having enabled shutter cable in your Promote Control settings). Some cameras cannot be pulled out of sleep mode via USB, and thus a shutter cable connection is needed. With a properly chosen camera meter time-out, you may be able to run hundreds of frames through your camera before its battery is depleted.

NOTE: If you plan on running repeated Time-Lapse sequences for more than a day, you may want to power your Promote Control from an optional AC adapter. Unlike camera, your Promote Control cannot afford to sleep between Time-Lapse sequences, and thus requires a source of external power for long Time-Lapse sessions.