Ever felt that familiar scenario when you’re all in for a project, only to have something more important pop up unexpectedly?
For myself, I realized, it’s not the best idea to start blogging when you have to move in between flats and you suddenly realize you have to do the job as a constructor too. That’s why it took this long in between my first post and this one.
But I realized that planning a shooting and planning construction work is not so different, except that I know much more about shootings than construction work, so I had to do my homework.
If you are doing your homework right you have to do a lot of research, which brings me to today’s topic.
My first Timelapse project (The old)
A few years back, I had to set up a timelapse for a project of the Institute of Green Civil Engineering of the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna, with a timeline of 1-2 years, depending on project progress. Opting for a DSLR timelapse, I bought the necessary parts, wrote a script for a Raspberry Pi, build a case for the cameras and the Raspi, mounted them, connected them to the Internet, fine tuned everything, configured a backup to a server with rsync and after some time, of course, I ran into some problems….
One of the cameras decided to become picky and was shutting down sometimes without a reason. It was sent in for a service and officially the mainboard of the camera was changed, but nothing changed…
I found a workaround with a network power plug, where I could remove the power and turn it on again. This did the trick for me (most of the times).
![](https://tomrossipaul.at/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/IMG_20201114_173708-768x1024.jpg)
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Despite the challenges, the end result was successful, capturing important project moments. Check it out here:
Timelapse with Cam-Do (The new)
This time again with the Institute of Green Civil Engineering , I had to settle for a single outdoor timelapse box. So, I looked for an all-in-one solution, possibly GoPro-based, with a backup battery and remote accessibility. That’s when I came across Cam-Do, a company specializing in time-lapse boxes and a cloud platform. Essentially, it’s a module with a battery and a camera, simplifying the process I had once painstakingly configured.
![](https://tomrossipaul.at/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/PXL_20230804_100211104-771x1024.jpg)
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Once I got the hang of it, the process became straightforward. A user-friendly web interface facilitated time-lapse and upload configurations.
Check the Link here to see what it can do: https://cam-do.com/pages/cloudx-time-lapse-platform
There are various payment plans for the Cloud Service: https://portal.cam-do.com. We opted for the FTP option, a one-time payment. Enabling it required reaching out to support, and after a firmware update check, connecting to our FTP server was smooth.
I’m currently content with this solution. It’s well-documented, and the manuals are easy to follow.
Downsides
However, no solution is perfect. One downside is the inability to upload raw camera files. While I prefer the flexibility of raw files in post-production, the GoPro surprised me with how well it handles information in JPEGs.
Wifi and 4G Outdoor Router
For a construction site timelapse, you’ll need the ability to upload data, which means you need a router. After some research, I settled on an outdoor router that’s weatherproof and has all the necessary features for the project. A handy feature is the network cable connection to the power plug, allowing you to link devices without Wi-Fi.
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Consider this article a guide. If you’re setting up a timelapse or need help with your project, feel free to reach out to me!
Disclaimer: I don’t get paid by Cam-Do, nor did I receive anything from them. I am using their product and right now I am pretty happy with the results!