Ok, first off, what exactly is an intervalometer? It’s a cool thingy you can use to take time lapse photos on your DSLR. OR, according to my trusty dusty dictionary on my Mac;

intervalometer (intərvəˈlämitər)
noun: Photography
An attachment or facility on a camera that operates the shutter regularly at set intervals over a period. On a movie camera the device is used for time-lapse photography.

Now that we know WHAT an intervalometer does, how can you get your DSLR camera to take advantage of this techie stuff? Enter the TI-83+. By entering in a few lines of simple code, users can then connect their DSLR to the TI-83+ and take as many interval-ed pictures as you want. Here is a rundown of what you need.

1: A DSLR camera with a 2.5mm I/O port. This port is typically used to attach a wired remote shutter switch.

2: A TI-83+ WITH the included 2.5mm cord. The cord will be used to connect the TI to your DSLR.

Here is what you do now:
1) Turn on your TI
2) Press the PRGM key
3) Navigate to the “New” option
4) Press ENTER
5) Enter in a name you would like this lil program to bear (Camera, TimeLapse, etc)

Now enter the code below:

: Prompt A
: While 1
: For (H,1,A,1)
: End
: Send(A)
: End

I did not come up with this code. I got it a while back off some website. If I run across the site again I’ll post the link here.

After entering the code, connect your DSLR to the TI and run the program. To do so, turn on your TI and press PRGM. Navigate to the program you made then press Enter. Up comes a prompt that should look like this: A=?. The TI is now ready for you to tell it what do to (which is enter an amount of time. From my ‘testing’, if you enter in 100 your shutter should snap every second. Watch the write speed of your card though, you may want to bump this number up a bit depending on what you’re wanting to shoot. ANYWAY, enter in your desired value then hit Enter and watch your unit go.

To quit the program simply hit Enter again. Once you have all the photos you want. Now it’s time to make the video. Using QT, import all the images as an ‘Image Sequence’ then you’re done. Easy Breezy!

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