Timelapse camera

thingiverse

This is fifth iteration of a camera for time-lapse based on a Raspberry-pi. The base is constructed from a framework of 9x9mm oak sticks that provide excellent rigidity. The bottom part of the base features two places for magnets to secure the camera on metallic surfaces like the roof of the car. There's also room for a nut to mount the camera on a photo-tripod. A 1/2" nut is required, which can be somewhat challenging to find in Europe. Above this is a place for a USB-power bank. I selected the largest available 44000mAH from Amazon. It holds 24 hours of power for the time-lapse, providing ample comfort. Then comes the stage for the Raspberry Pi. Initially it was a RPi v2 with a wifi dongle but it has been upgraded to a RPi v3 at the second iteration. The Raspberry pi board is under-clocked for more battery lifetime. A usb stick is used for photo storage. On the Raspberry pi board, a PWM controller is mounted for the servo-motors and a RTC clock are interfaced in I2C. On top of the base is the servo-motor for panoramic movement. For the movement: A panorama servo-motor provides rotation to the right or left on the top of the base. The DSS-M15S from DFRobot offers a rotation over 270°. The tilt movement (up and down) is provided by a MG92s from TowerPro, but cheaper SG90 and MG90 also fit. You will need in addition a 608 ball-bearing facing the tilt-servo for ensuring a proper movement of the head. For the camera: I use a raspberry-pi camera (version 1) with a CS-mount and a 4mm lens. Additional feature: there is room for an MMA8451 accelerometer to measure the orientation of photography in the head of the camera. This information is crucial for assembling the time-lapse video to keep the horizon level.