If you want to take a time lapse with your camera, it may be helpful to use an intervalometer. It is an attachment or facility on a camera that operates the shutter regularly at set intervals over a period, in order to take time lapse series or take pictures after a set delay.
Daniel Knezevic had developed a custom made intervalometer for DSLR cameras. Dintervalometer (Deni’s intervalometer) enables cameras to shoot time lapses and allows shutter speeds longer than the 30s.
The Dintervalometer is built with an Atmega328P clocked at 10MHz, a PCD8544 84×48 pixel monochrome LCD display with a backlight, a 3.5mm male jack connector, and two tactile push buttons all combined together on a small PCB.
Dintervalometer Features
- Intervalometer: It is used for time-lapse photography. It controls how often, how long and how many shots are taken.
- Bulb mode: It allows to take time exposures longer than 30s.
- Backlight
- Charging via USB
The Display & Backlight
The PCD8544 LCD display can be powered using 3V3 and it draws very small amounts of power (around 200uA) making it extremely good for use in battery powered devices. It is typically used in Nokia 5110/3310 phones, and it interfaces to microcontrollers through a serial bus interface (SPI).
A custom made backlight were designed to allow using the Dintervalometer in the dark without an additional lamp. It operates like a backlight of a cell phone: it is active for 10 seconds when the user presses a button or the Dintervalometer finishes some job.
The backlight consists of these materials:
- A sheet of white paper
- A piece of transparent plastic
- A double-sided tape
The first layer of the backlight is a sheet of white paper. Its main function is to reflect the light of the LEDs. Then it comes the piece of transparent plastic. The top of the plastic is sanded with a fine sandpaper to diffuse the light. Finally, the LCD comes on the top. The layers are glued together with a double-sided tape.
Powering & Charging
Dintervalometer’s circuit is powered using a LiPo battery and a very low drop 3V3 voltage regulator (TPS79933). A MAX1555 Li+ battery charger IC is used to charge the battery, which also can be powered via USB
Read More: Dintervalometer, A Custom Made Intervalometer For DSLR Cameras