Camera for Time Lapse Pictures Made Easy.

I was checking out one of the other Instructables about making time lapse movies. He pretty well covered the movie part. He told about the free software that you could download to make the movies. I said to myself, I think that I will see if I can make my camera into a time lapse camera. I have wanted to do the time lapse thing. First I had to think about all the good junk that I have lying around. I remembered the video camera that I took apart. It had some nice parts in it. One thing that I needed from it at this time was one of the motors that ran the lens. I got out the motor and checked it with a 9 volt battery. It worked really nice. With the gear reduction that it had, I thought it would be just what I needed. After checking that out, I had to do a little thinking. I just got out all my tools and went at it. I am hoping that you will be able to see the test run that I made after I got it put together. It is the first picture.

Here is a link to the video that I have on YouTube; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6-Kz_LSUlA

Note: (You will need the Firefox browser to view the site. IE will not let you open the pictures right or make comments on what you see. Thanks for viewing the site.)

A word of two on safety; anytime you are working with any kinds of metal, you need safety glasses and other safety type equipment. Gloves are also helpful. I can not be responsible for any harm that might come to you if you try to build this instructable for yourself.

Step 1: Parts List and Equipment Used.

1. Drill and bits.
2. Grinder
3 Files
4. Saws
5. Safety glasses.
6. Gloves.
7. Metal cutters
8. Pliers
9. Needle nose pliers
10. Vice gripes
11. Hammer
12. Small screw driver set.
13. Regular screw driver

Material
1. Small motor
2. Battery 9 volt.
3. Small pieces of tin
4. A few screws.
5. Duct tape.
6. Pill bottle
7. Camera

Step 2: Getting Started.

Below you can see the metal that I used to make the one end plate. I had to fold the metal over on the edge to make it strong enough to do the job.

Step 3: More Material Used.

Below, in the picture, you can see the other metals that I used. I cut off part on the one piece to make the hinge. It went on the long bronze rod that I found. I used a nail for the hinge. The rod I used as a lever to push the button down to take the pictures.

Step 4: Hinge on End Plate.

Step 5: Another Look at the End Plate.

Step 6: Lining Up Up the End Plate.

Step 7: More Tools on the Table.

You can tell by looking at this picture, I am starting to get with it.

Step 8: Moving Into Action.

Step 9: Still Working on Alignment.

. I put a bolt in to push the button down.

Step 10: Mounting the Motor.

The motor mount is made out of a piece of metal that you saw in one of the earlier pictures. That was the piece of metal that I had left. The motor that you see is out of a video camera that I tore apart.

Step 11: More Alignment.

Here is another look at the alignment of the camera lever.

Step 12: Cover for Motor.

This is the cover that I made to cover the motor.

Step 13: Mounting the Bracket.

I still need to drill the hole for the mount. Just one screw holds the bracket on. The cover on the motor is a pill bottle.

Step 14: Looking at Motor.

Another good shot of the motor.

Step 15: Lever for Motor

Here you can see the little lever used to trip the camera. The end plate is still not mounted at this point.

Step 16: The Whole Thing.

This is a shot of the whole project. The end plate has the screws in to hold the end plate on.

Step 17: Just Another Good Picture.

A good shot of everything lined up.

Step 18: Another Angle

I thought that I had better put a lot of picture so that you would be able to see every step that I took to build this project.

Step 19: The Back of the Camera.

A look at the back.

Step 20: Another Picture Showing the Finished Project.

This is a picture looking at the front. You can see the little lever that trips the camera to take the picture. That part, I made out of a prong from an electrical cord. Also you can see the little bolt that I used to push the button on the camera down. It was at this point that I put the last screw in to hold the end plate on.

Step 21: Closing Statement.

All that is left, is to put the battery on and give it a try. It worked really well as you can see by the pictures that I have taken.

In closing, I have other plans for this camera so you might check back from time to time. One thing that I want to do is to put a resistor on to control the speed. A variable one is what I am looking for. I think that somewhere in all my junk that I might just have one. Another thing is to go back to the other person's site and get the information that I need to make a movie of the pictures that I am taking. Thank you for viewing my instructable. Leave a comment of two. Good or bad, what the heck.

Here is a link to the person that has the site that tells you about making time lapse movies.
https://www.instructables.com/id/Time-lapse-movies/

Step 22: