I've been looking for a way to control the camera -- in my case, either a Canon 7D or 5D Mark 3 -- other than the usual intervalometer. It seems like someone would have by now written software that incorporates an intervalometer function with other camera controls that can be used while tethered to a computer.

The main benefit of this would be the ability to either program an entire sequence by changing shutter speed, aperture, and/or ISO over time, or at least enable the operator to change these on-the-fly without touching the camera. (I've found that the slightest movement when adjusting exposure can move the camera slightly which obviously makes post-processing a challenge.)

The main problem with the various solutions available, whether a wired intervalometer or one of the several apps that have appeared recently -- Triggertrap, Trigger Happy, etc. -- is that they only control shutter speed. In many cases, the ideal variable to adjust would be ISO, especially when modern DSLR's can perform well in a four or five stop range, e.g., 100 to 1600. ISO is the only setting that doesn't affect motion blur or deprth-of-field. Sometimes one might want to control a combination of shutter speed, aperture, and ISO to best use the available light with the greatest flexibility.

The Canon EOS Utility seems to be very limited. I can't even get the timer function to work! (The little stopwatch is grayed-out all the time.) Lightroom tethering is also limited (and does not yet work with the 5D3). I've looked at Breeze System's DSLR Remote Pro and that seems very rudimentary and limited in function.

Does anyone know of camera control software that would actually be of use to time-lapse shooters??

I agree. Best would be a Smartphone App. The problem is, they all work with the remote control interface of the cameras and that doesn't allow for other changes than controlling the Shutter-Time. To implement such a solution you would have to use another interface to the camera (i.e. USB) but I fear every camera manufacturer uses their own protocols and I'm not sure either if they are open and documented.
Currently I don't know of any solution for this but maybe some of the other readers do!

This post was last modified: 2012-07-27, 12:36 by leandroprz.

Google GBTimelapse or Promote Control. There's also an upcoming Timelapse+ intervalometer that looks promising.

Google GBTimelapse or Promote Control. There's also an upcoming Timelapse+ intervalometer that looks promising.

Thanks. Those all look interesting. Granite Bay seems to have gone everywhere but the last step, i.e., being able to program a sequence with all parameters. Like, "at 6:47pm increase ISO to 800", or "after shot x change aperture to 5.6 and shutter speed to 1/20th" etc. No Mac version, however. After 25 years of only owning PC's, I've just transitioned to Macs, but this software might be worth the purchase of a cheap Windows netbook...

If I end up getting any of these, I'll post information.

Thanks. Those all look interesting. Granite Bay seems to have gone everywhere but the last step, i.e., being able to program a sequence with all parameters. Like, "at 6:47pm increase ISO to 800", or "after shot x change aperture to 5.6 and shutter speed to 1/20th" etc. No Mac version, however. After 25 years of only owning PC's, I've just transitioned to Macs, but this software might be worth the purchase of a cheap Windows netbook...

If I end up getting any of these, I'll post information.

I'm using GBtimelapse for a 15 month contruction time-lapse (can't believe I'm five months in already, wow!) and I've been really pleased with Granitbay's support, the guy's some sort of retired computer programmer/engineer, and does this in his free time, he always has gotten right back to me.

I sure thought GBtimelapse had an auto-ramping feature that sounded a lot like what you wanted, did you look into that at all to see if it could be massaged to meet your needs at all?

Thanks. Those all look interesting. Granite Bay seems to have gone everywhere but the last step, i.e., being able to program a sequence with all parameters. Like, "at 6:47pm increase ISO to 800", or "after shot x change aperture to 5.6 and shutter speed to 1/20th" etc. No Mac version, however. After 25 years of only owning PC's, I've just transitioned to Macs, but this software might be worth the purchase of a cheap Windows netbook...

If I end up getting any of these, I'll post information.

I'm using GBtimelapse for a 15 month contruction time-lapse (can't believe I'm five months in already, wow!) and I've been really pleased with Granitbay's support, the guy's some sort of retired computer programmer/engineer, and does this in his free time, he always has gotten right back to me.

I sure thought GBtimelapse had an auto-ramping feature that sounded a lot like what you wanted, did you look into that at all to see if it could be massaged to meet your needs at all?

Thanks. I did look at GBTimelapse but it's Windows-only and I became a Mac-only guy about a year ago...

Thanks. I did look at GBTimelapse but it's Windows-only and I became a Mac-only guy about a year ago...

You could either use bootcamp to put windows 7 on your mac to run it natively, or even use parallels or something similar to fire up a virtual machine from within mac OS to get you windows without having to make that your daily driver. Just an FYI in case you run out of other options. Not a lot of software out there that does this kind of thing, unfortunately.

Thanks. I did look at GBTimelapse but it's Windows-only and I became a Mac-only guy about a year ago...

You could either use bootcamp to put windows 7 on your mac to run it natively, or even use parallels or something similar to fire up a virtual machine from within mac OS to get you windows without having to make that your daily driver. Just an FYI in case you run out of other options. Not a lot of software out there that does this kind of thing, unfortunately.

I've been avoiding running Windows on my Macs but you're the 4th or 5th person to suggest it (for various software) so I might just try it. Thanks again.