How many frames will my time-lapse have?

Frame count equals the total shoot duration divided by the capture interval. A two-hour shoot at one frame every five seconds is 7200 seconds divided by 5, which is 1440 frames. The tool floors any fractional final frame, so you always get a whole number.

How is per-frame file size estimated?

Per-frame size is derived from megapixels and format using representative figures: JPEG normal around 0.3 megabytes per megapixel, JPEG fine around 0.5, and compressed RAW around 1.5. Uncompressed RAW uses the chosen bit depth directly as bytes per pixel, so a 24-megapixel 14-bit frame is about 42 megabytes.

How long will my finished video be?

Final clip length is the frame count divided by your output frame rate. 1440 frames played at 24 frames per second produces a 60-second clip. To make a longer video, capture more frames by extending the shoot or shortening the interval.

Why should I add storage headroom?

Real file sizes vary with scene detail — busy, high-contrast frames compress less and grow larger, especially in JPEG. Bracketed or HDR time-lapses also multiply the frame count by the number of exposures. Adding 15 to 20 percent headroom and carrying a spare card avoids running out mid-sequence.

Should I shoot JPEG or RAW for time-lapse?

RAW gives the most latitude for exposure and white-balance grading and smooth deflicker, at three to five times the storage of JPEG. For long unattended shoots where card space or write speed is tight, JPEG fine is a practical compromise; for hero shots, RAW is worth the space.

What is the Time-Lapse Storage Estimator?

Estimate total storage in gigabytes for a time-lapse from capture interval, shoot duration, image resolution and file format (JPEG or RAW). Shows frame count, per-frame size and the final clip length at your output frame rate so you never run out of card mid-shoot. It runs free in your browser on Gera Tools, with nothing uploaded.

Time-Lapse Storage Estimator

Name: Time-Lapse Storage Estimator
Creator: Gera Tools
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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Running out of card space halfway through a sunset time-lapse is a shoot-ending mistake. This estimator tells you exactly how much storage a sequence needs from four inputs — interval, duration, resolution and format — and also shows how long the finished clip will be, so you can plan both the card and the edit before you press start.

How it works

The calculation has two parts: how many frames you capture, and how big each one is.

Frame count is the total shoot time divided by the interval between frames:

frames = floor( (duration in minutes × 60) / interval in seconds )

Per-frame size is estimated from the image resolution and the file format. For compressed formats the tool uses representative megabytes-per-megapixel figures:

JPEG normal    ≈ 0.3 MB per MP
JPEG fine      ≈ 0.5 MB per MP
RAW compressed ≈ 1.5 MB per MP

For uncompressed RAW it computes directly from the bit depth, since each pixel stores that many bits per channel:

bytes per pixel = bit depth / 8
frame size      = megapixels × 1,000,000 × bytes per pixel

Total storage is simply frames × per-frame size, converted to gigabytes.

Worked example

A two-hour shoot at a five-second interval gives 7200 / 5 = 1440 frames. Shooting a 24-megapixel camera in compressed RAW (~1.5 MB/MP) makes each frame about 36 MB, so the sequence needs roughly 1440 × 36 ≈ 51.8 GB. Played back at 24 fps, those 1440 frames produce a 1440 / 24 = 60-second clip.

Tips and notes

Add 15 to 20 percent headroom: detailed, high-contrast scenes compress less and grow larger, especially in JPEG.
HDR or bracketed time-lapses multiply the frame count by the number of exposures per interval — factor that in by adjusting the interval or duration.
Card write speed matters as much as capacity for short intervals and large RAW files; a slow card can cause dropped frames before storage even fills.