PiPiece UI

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Timelapse View ​

Overview ​

The Timelapse View enables automated time-lapse photography with the Raspberry Pi HQ Camera. Capture a series of images at set intervals over a specified duration.

Features ​

  • Configurable interval and duration
  • Real-time status monitoring during capture
  • Live preview of latest captured frame
  • RGB histogram overlay on the latest frame preview
  • Histogram control embedded in the lower-right of the overlay (click "Hist" to collapse/expand)
  • Custom filename prefix
  • Advanced camera settings (gain, exposure, white balance)
  • Settings persistence (restores last used values)
  • Automatic photo counting
  • Estimated photo calculation

Timelapse View Screenshot =400x240

Access the Timelapse View at /timelapse.

Settings ​

Interval (ms) ​

  • Time between captures in milliseconds
  • Default: 2000ms (2 seconds)
  • Determines capture frequency

Duration (s) ​

  • Total duration of timelapse in seconds
  • Default: 60s
  • Controls how long the timelapse runs

Prefix ​

  • Custom filename prefix for timelapse images
  • Default: "timelapse"
  • Results in filenames like timelapse_001.jpg

Camera Settings ​

Same as Preview View:

  • Gain: Sensor sensitivity (default: 1.0)
  • Exposure (s): Exposure time in seconds (default: 0.005s)
  • Exposure presets: 0.001, 0.01, 0.1, 0.2, 0.5, 1, 2, 3, 5, 10, 15, 20, 30, 60, 120, 180, 300
  • Red Gain: White balance red channel (default: 1.49)
  • Blue Gain: White balance blue channel (default: 1.55)

Usage ​

Starting a Timelapse ​

  1. Configure interval and duration
  2. Set custom prefix (optional)
  3. Adjust camera settings
  4. Click "Start Timelapse"
  5. Recording indicator appears (● RECORDING)
  6. Monitor status information in real-time

Active Timelapse Display ​

When recording, the sidebar shows:

  • Elapsed time (formatted as minutes and seconds)
  • Interval setting
  • Duration setting
  • Estimated total photos
  • Current photo number
  • Live preview of latest frame

Stopping a Timelapse ​

  1. Click "Stop Timelapse" button
  2. Timelapse ends immediately
  3. All captured images saved to photos directory

Status Monitoring ​

Real-time information displayed during capture:

  • Elapsed: Time since start (e.g., "2m 30s")
  • Interval: Milliseconds between captures
  • Duration: Total planned duration in seconds/minutes
  • Est. Photos: Calculated number of photos
  • Current Photo: Current capture number

Settings Persistence ​

  • Last used settings automatically saved
  • Settings restore on view load
  • Stored via /api/camera/settings/timelapse endpoint
  • Saved to ~/pipiece/config/timelapse.json

Technical Details ​

  • Image resolution: 4056x3040 (default)
  • Backend manages timing and capture
  • Polls status every 1 second during active timelapse
  • Images saved with sequential numbering
  • Live preview refreshes automatically based on sensor timestamp
  • Histogram data is loaded from sidecar files using <image>.histogram_table.txt

Error Handling ​

  • Displays errors in sidebar
  • Allows stopping timelapse on error
  • Validates settings before starting
  • Provides user-friendly error messages

Calculation Examples ​

  • Interval: 2000ms, Duration: 60000ms = 30 photos
  • Interval: 5000ms, Duration: 300000ms = 60 photos
  • Interval: 1000ms, Duration: 3600000ms = 3600 photos (1 hour)