Comments on: TI-83 intervalometer

By: Mike

Mike — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 00:18:03 +0000

To not have to convert the calculator’s iterations into seconds in your head, use this program (below). The multiplier of 300 makes each entered second you put onto the calculator as a second in time for the shutter (approximately… will vary with calc’s battery power). ie… type in 26 to get 26 seconds between each picture instead of 10,000 on the calculator screen to get 26 seconds between each picture.

: Input (“Seconds? “, A )
: (A*300)->A
: While 1
: For (H,1,A,1)
: End
: Send(A)
: End

By: andy

andy — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 22:32:07 +0000

What you did provides something you can’t buy on the market. Thank you for sharing! I’m using this technique now as a great cheap alternative for astrophotography. An essential exercise in using a DSLR for astro imaging requires ‘locking up the mirror’ and pausing to eliminate vibration before shutter release, and then also allowing a delay for in-camera processing such as dark frame subtraction. None of the commercial auto timers support this, for $80-$140 bucks all you get a simple exposure timer. Kudos!

By: MP

MP — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 08:26:36 +0000

Only one problem: it doesn’t work with Nikon…

By: MasterFX

MasterFX — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 18:12:27 +0000

You can do the same (and a lot more) with almost all Canon Cameras using the CHDK (Canon Hacker's Development Kit). Easy to install and doesn't modify the Firmware: http://chdk.wikia.com/wiki/CHDK

By: andrew

andrew — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 06:15:34 +0000

i’m almost certain this has been on hackaday before…

By: Hello1024

Hello1024 — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 00:32:12 +0000

#3: You could always wire it direct to the shutter button – as long as you check what signals it’s expecting and what comes out of the TI it should be fine.

By: nephroth

nephroth — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 00:17:20 +0000

@calcprogrammer1
Well that’s unfortunate, looks like I missed out on a better generation of calculator.

I really did enjoy programming them, it gave me something fun to do in my frequently boring classes.

By: static

static — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 23:29:48 +0000

Nice. Time lapsed photography can be interesting when it’s used to capture events that aren’t normally visible. But it’s use in the provided samples is just plain boring, INMO. I have no doubt that, the photographer and subjects get a kick out of viewing the results, though.

By: Chris

Chris — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 22:33:33 +0000

haha i love the ti 83

By: CalcProgrammer1

CalcProgrammer1 — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 21:47:29 +0000

The TI-84 Plus and 84 Plus SE both have a real time clock that you can read using the getTime and getDate functions. You can use a while loop and check this clock using the getTime function (returns a list, hour:minute:second) against a stored list of the previous time. Count the number of seconds using this and you’ll have an accurate timer. This seems like a good use of the data connection, but my camera doesn’t have a port to connect with.

By: paolo

paolo — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 20:57:08 +0000

one for canon eos and a hp 49G http://www.instructables.com/id/Disparador-autom%c3%a1tico-y-manual-para-Canon-Eos-con-/

my cousin did it for me... its awesome.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/p_a_n/2403696792/

By: Nephroth

Nephroth — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 19:32:39 +0000

Yeah, I wrote a lot of programs for the TI83 back in high school, and I always lamented its lack of an RTC. Neat idea though.