What’s the easiest software to turn a folder of still images into a time-lapse video?
Asked 7/23/2010
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2 answers
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I’m shooting time-lapse image sequences on a Nikon D700 and need software to assemble the resulting stills into a video. I’m interested in both the easiest workflow and the best-quality workflow, even if those are different. Open-source options are a plus, but commercial tools are fine too. I’ve tried Picasa’s movie-making feature and found it too limited. What software works well for importing an image sequence, setting frame rate, cropping/resizing, and exporting a finished time-lapse?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
16y ago
2 Answers
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If you are on a Mac, one of the best ways is using Automator, which you can use to do basic cropping/editing and conversion to video (although this part usually requires Quicktime Pro).
There is a good walkthough here: How to Make a Time-Lapse Video from Stills
Also, a great open source solution is to use ffmpeg, but it is a much more technical path to take, so keep that in mind. There are lots of examples out there.
Originally by user67. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user67
16y ago
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Good options depend on your platform and how much control you want:
- Mac: Automator can handle basic batch processing, and with QuickTime Pro you can turn the stills into a video. It’s relatively approachable for simple jobs.
- Open source / advanced: ffmpeg is a strong choice for assembling image sequences into video, but it’s more technical and command-line driven.
- Lightroom workflow: Lightroom + LRTimelapse is a popular option if you want easy batch editing, cropping, and more advanced time-lapse control such as deflickering and gradual adjustments. Note that the free use may be limited for longer sequences.
- Windows: VirtualDub is free and open source. If your images are numbered in order with no gaps, you can open the first image and it will load the sequence. From there you can set frame rate, apply resize/crop filters, choose compression, and export.
If you want the simplest polished workflow, Lightroom/LRTimelapse is a strong choice. If you want free tools, VirtualDub (Windows) or ffmpeg are solid.
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