Timelapse Calculator
Planning a timelapse means balancing three things: how long you shoot, how often you take a frame, and how fast the result plays back. This calculator ties them together. Enter the total shooting time, the interval between shots, the playback frame rate, and the average file size per frame, and it returns the number of frames captured, the final clip length, and the estimated storage required. Every relationship is a clean ratio, so the answer is exact. File size is an editable input because it depends on your camera and format.
Timelapse formula
Shooting seconds = shooting minutes * 60
Frames = shooting seconds / interval
Clip seconds = frames / frame rate
Clip minutes = clip seconds / 60
Storage GB = frames * file size MB / 1024
Frames and clip length are simple ratios of time and counts. Storage uses 1,024 megabytes per gigabyte. No measured constant is assumed; file size is your own input.
Planning your shoot
- More frames mean a longer clip but more storage and battery use.
- Short intervals capture fast motion; long intervals compress slow change.
- At 24 fps you need 24 frames for every second of finished video.
- RAW files dwarf JPEGs, so set the file-size input to match your format.
- Always carry more card capacity and battery than the estimate suggests.
Timelapse: frequently asked questions
How long will my timelapse clip be?
Clip length in seconds equals the number of frames captured divided by the playback frame rate. The number of frames is the total shooting time divided by the interval between shots. So a 2-hour shoot at one frame every 5 seconds gives 1,440 frames, which at 24 fps plays for 60 seconds.
How do I choose the interval?
Shorter intervals suit fast subjects like traffic or clouds; longer intervals suit slow subjects like sunsets or construction over days. A common starting point is 2 to 5 seconds for clouds and 1 to 2 seconds for busy scenes. Enter your interval and the calculator handles the rest.
How much storage will the timelapse use?
Estimated storage is the number of frames multiplied by the average size of one image file. RAW frames are far larger than JPEGs. Because file size depends on your camera and settings, it is a user-editable input here rather than an assumed value.
What frame rate should the final clip use?
Common playback rates are 24, 25, or 30 frames per second. Higher rates need more captured frames for the same clip length but play more smoothly. The calculator lets you set any playback rate to match your project.
Why is the relationship exact?
Every figure is a simple ratio of time and counts: frames equal shooting time over interval, and clip length equals frames over frame rate. There is no measured constant, so the result is exact arithmetic for the inputs you provide.
Official sources
- National Institute of Standards and Technology: unit conversion reference (time and data units).
- Library of Congress: Sustainability of Digital Formats (image file sizes).
Reviewed by the CalculatorHub team, edited by James Graham, 16 June 2026. See our methodology.