A few months back, I got an email from a freelance landscape photographer named Jake. He’d been following our Digital Time Timers for a while and wanted to know if our devices could work for his latest project: a 7-day time-lapse of the sunrise over the Grand Tetons, stitched together from hundreds of 40-second exposures. “My old intervalometer craps out when the battery dies mid-shoot,” he wrote. “And I can’t always be there to restart it. Do your timers help with that?” Digital Time Timer
That question stuck with me, because it’s not one we’d gotten from our core audience: classroom teachers using Digital Time Timers to help students manage test prep, or office teams running focused work sprints. But it made total sense. Time-lapse photography—whether it’s capturing the shift of a city skyline, the blooming of a rose, or even the construction of a new building—relies on consistent, reliable intervals. Miss a shot because your camera’s internal timer cuts out, or have uneven gaps between frames that ruin the final video, and all that time waiting outside in the cold or setting up gear for hours is wasted.
So, let’s break this down straight: Yes, a Digital Time Timer absolutely can be used for photography time-lapse. But to get the best results, you have to understand how our device works, how it pairs with camera gear, and what small adjustments photographers need to make to sync the two. As a supplier, I’ve spent the last six months testing this with hobbyists and professional shooters, and it’s become one of the most practical, underrated use cases for our timers.
First, let’s get clear on what a Digital Time Timer actually is, for anyone who’s only familiar with the classroom or office side. Our core device is a countdown timer with a bright, easy-to-read LED display that counts down to zero, plus optional audio and visual alerts when time’s up. Most models run on long-lasting AA or rechargeable lithium-ion batteries, can be programmed for any interval between one second and 99 hours, and have a simple output port—either a USB-A or a 3.5mm jack, depending on the model—to trigger external devices. That port is the key for photography.
Intervalometers, the standard tool for time-lapse photography, work by sending a small signal to your camera at set intervals, telling it to take a photo, then wait, then take another, and so on for the duration of your shoot. Our Digital Time Timer can replicate that exact signal. The trick is matching the timer’s interval range to your camera’s needs, and setting up the connection between the two.
I tested this myself last spring, when I tried to capture the melting of a small glacier in the Rockies over three weeks. My goal was one photo every 10 minutes, which would create a smooth, 30-second time-lapse at 15 frames per second. My Canon EOS R5’s internal intervalometer only let me set intervals as short as one second and as long as 99 minutes—so 10 minutes was technically possible, but I’d have to manually reset it every hour, which I couldn’t do because the glacier is only accessible via a six-mile hike. Our Digital Time Timer, on the other hand, can be programmed for intervals up to 99 hours, so I set it to 10 minutes exactly, and used the 3.5mm jack output to connect to my camera’s remote trigger port. The result? 3,024 perfectly timed photos, no missed frames, no mid-shoot battery deaths. When I stitched them together, the glacier’s slow retreat looked seamless—way better than the few test shots I’d taken with my phone’s timer, which had gaps every few hours.
But it’s not just for long, slow shoots like glacier time-lapses. I’ve heard from a wedding photographer who uses our Digital Time Timers to capture the setup of a venue. She sets the timer to take a photo every 15 seconds over a two-hour window, and since the timer doesn’t depend on her camera’s battery (wait—more on that in a second), she can leave it running while she helps the bride get ready. For food photographers, it’s perfect for capturing the rise of sourdough or the melting of a chocolate ganache, with intervals as short as one second and as long as an hour, all controlled by the same device that’s simple to program, even for people who aren’t tech-savvy.
Now, let’s talk about the limitations, because I don’t want to oversell this. Our Digital Time Timer isn’t a replacement for a professional intervalometer, not exactly. Most intervalometers have built-in features like exposure bracketing (taking multiple shots at different exposures for high-dynamic-range time-lapses) or GPS sync to match your location’s sunrise and sunset times automatically. Our timer doesn’t do that—yet. But for photographers who need a reliable, low-cost, no-fuss way to set fixed intervals for long shoots, it’s a game-changer.
The biggest misconception I hear is that the timer will drain your camera’s battery fast. That’s not true, because the trigger signal from the timer is only a few milliseconds long—hardly any power at all. When I tested my glacier shoot, my camera’s battery lasted 18 days on a single charge, which is actually longer than it would have if I’d been using my camera’s internal intervalometer, which runs a small power draw the entire time it’s active. The only battery you have to worry about is the timer’s, and our Digital Time Timer runs on AA batteries that last up to 6 months of continuous use, even when it’s triggering a camera every few seconds. That’s way longer than most camera remote triggers or intervalometers, which often die mid-shoot because they run off the same battery as your camera.
Another thing to note: pairing the timer with your camera is simple, but you do need an adapter for some setups. Most DSLRs and mirrorless cameras use a 2.5mm remote trigger port, while our Digital Time Timer uses a standard 3.5mm jack. A $5 audio adapter from any electronics store fixes that, no special tools or software required. For photographers who use their smartphones for time-lapse (not professional gear), you can even connect the timer to your phone’s headphone jack, using free apps to map the trigger signal to your camera app. I tested this with an iPhone last month, setting up a time-lapse of a construction site for a local real estate developer, and it worked perfectly—no lag, no missed shots, for less than $20 total for the timer and adapter.
I should also mention that the visual alerts on our Digital Time Timer come in handy for photographers, even when they’re not using the audio. If you’re setting up a time-lapse and need to check in occasionally, the bright LED display counts down visibly, so you can see at a glance how much time is left in your interval or your entire shoot. You can also program multiple timers, if you’re shooting a project that requires different intervals for different parts—like a time-lapse of a building construction, where you want one interval for the foundation work and a shorter interval for the final roofing phase. That flexibility is something most dedicated intervalometers don’t offer at a price point that’s accessible to hobbyists.
Don’t just take my word for it. Last quarter, we sent test timers to a group of 15 amateur photographers through a photography blog, and 12 of them used them for projects ranging from plant growth time-lapses to family event montages. One 16-year-old high school student in Ohio used our timer to capture the growth of his tomato plants over 2 months, and told me that he’d missed half his shots when he used his camera’s internal timer because he’d forgotten to reset it every few hours. “With your timer, I set it once on day one, and didn’t touch it again until harvest,” he wrote. “The time-lapse I made for my science fair project got me first place.” That’s the kind of feedback that makes me glad we started testing this use case—we never expected to help a high schooler win a science fair, but that’s the benefit of a tool that’s flexible enough for anyone, from teachers to photographers.
Now, if you’re a photographer thinking about trying this, here are a few quick tips to get started: First, test your setup before you head out to your shoot. Take 10 to 15 test shots to make sure the timer is triggering your camera correctly, that the interval is set right, and that the connection is stable. Nothing’s worse than getting to your location, setting up your gear, and realizing the timer isn’t working. Second, bring spare batteries. Even though our timers last a long time, it’s never a bad idea to have a pair of AA batteries in your gear bag, just in case. Third, if you’re doing a very long shoot (weeks or months), check in periodically to make sure nothing’s shifted—your tripod could get bumped, or the timer could get covered by debris, so a quick check every few days will save you from losing all your shots.
For professional photographers, the use cases are just as compelling. I worked with a commercial photographer last year who was hired to capture the construction of a new airport terminal over 10 months. He used a dedicated intervalometer for the first few weeks, but it died twice, costing him two days of shots and delaying his delivery to the client. He switched to our Digital Time Timer, and ran it on a single set of AA batteries for the entire 10 months. “I’ve never had a tool this reliable for time-lapse work,” he told me. “It’s simple, it’s affordable, and I don’t have to worry about it failing when I need it most.”
At the end of the day, photography time-lapse is all about consistency and reliability. You set up your gear, wait hours, days, or even weeks, and you need every shot to be there. That’s exactly what our Digital Time Timer delivers. We built our timers to make time management simple for classrooms and offices, but we’ve been blown away by how many other industries—including photography—find them just as useful.
If you’re a photographer, whether you’re a hobbyist testing your first plant growth time-lapse or a professional working on a long commercial project, and you want to learn more about how a Digital Time Timer can work for your shoots, reach out to our team to discuss your needs and find the right model for your setup. We’re always happy to answer questions, offer tips, and help you make the most of your time-lapse projects.
Baby White Noise Machine References
- "Time-Lapse Photography: A Guide to Intervals and Intervalometers," Digital Photography School, 2023.
- "Battery Life of Trigger Devices for Remote Photography," Professional Photographers of America, 2022.
- "Flexible Timing Solutions for Creative Projects," Tech for Creatives, 2024.
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