A time lapse video consists of a series of pictures taken at regular intervals. It can help you capture dynamic processes and slow actions in accelerated videos. With the time lapse feature, you can condense long-term changes like sunrise or snowfall into film-like short videos that reveal breathtaking beauty. This article will show you how to set up the time lapse function of your camera.

Applies to: Which Reolink Products Support Time Lapse

Reolink has two types of time lapse features: one for existing recordings and one for future events.

1. For Future Events

Currently, only cameras and the Home Hub support this feature.

All cameras, except for Reolink Lumus, Reolink Duo PoE, Reolink Duo WiFi, Reolink Duo (battery), Reolink Duo 4G, and Reolink cameras with hardware versions IPC_513/IPC_515/IPC_517, support this feature.

Here are the operational instructions for the Reolink App and Reolink Client that support setting up this feature.

  • Via Reolink App

    Here is a video for your reference:

    Step 1. Launch Reolink App and go to Device Settings > Time Lapse.

    Note: If you cannot find Time Lapse in your App, please check if your App is the latest version and if your camera supports Time Lapse.

    tap the setting button Time Lapse

    Step 2. Tap Try Now and select a scene for time lapse capture.

    Note: Reolink battery-powered cameras do not support the Event/People/Traffic scene.

    try now scene

    Step 3. Tap Customize. Then you can customize settings for the scene you choose.

    customize

    • Capture Starts at: you can set the start time for the capture.
    • Duration: from 1 minute to 830 days.
    • Interval: from 2 seconds to 6 hours for PoE or DC-powered cameras and from 10 seconds to 6 hours for battery cameras. 
    • Quality: clear or fluent. Some cameras have a "balanced" option.
    • File Type: store the capture as a photo series or a compressed video. A camera can save max. 10000 photos per day when the time-lapse capture is to be stored as a photo series. If you want to enable the time-lapse for a long period, you are recommended to set a longer interval or store the capture as a video. 
    • Estimated video length & estimated file size: The captures will be stored on the SD card inserted into the camera. If the file size is so large that exceeds the available storage, you are recommended to set up a shorter capture duration, a longer capture interval, or a lower video quality. 

    Note 1: Tap Duration. You can also switch off the Finish Capture Automatically option and the capture will stop when the storage is full. If the Overwrite Time Lapse Files option is enabled, the camera will overwrite previous time lapse files when storage is full.

    Finish Capture Automatically Overwrite Time Lapse Files

    When you disable Finish Capture Automatically, you can manually set the Daily Schedule as your needs.

    Customize settings

    Note 2: There are recommended interval settings for your reference.

    interval settings

  • Via Reolink Client

    Step 1. Launch the Reolink Client, log in to the camera, and click the Time Lapse button on the live view page.

    Time Lapse

    Step 2. Click Create Now and select a scene for time-lapse capture.

    Note: Reolink battery-powered cameras don't support the Event/People/Traffic scene.

    click create now

    create new time lapse capture

    Step 3. Customize settings for the scene you choose.

    customize settings for the scene

    • Duration: from 1 minute to 830 days, or no limit.
    • Daily Capture Period: available when the duration is more than 1 day.
    • Interval: from 2 seconds to 6 hours for PoE or DC-powered cameras and from 10 seconds to 6 hours for battery cameras. There are recommended settings for your reference.
    • Quality: clear or fluent. Some cameras have a "balanced" option.
    • Format:  store the capture as a photo series or a compressed video. A camera can save max. 10000 photos per day when the time-lapse capture is to be stored as a photo series. If you want to enable the time-lapse for a long period, you are recommended to set a longer interval or store the capture as a video. 
    • Estimated video length & estimated file size: The captures will be stored on the SD card inserted into the camera. If the file size is so large that exceeds the available storage, you are recommended to set up a shorter capture duration, a longer capture interval, or a lower video quality. 

    Note: You can enable the Overwrite Time-Lapse Files option to allow the camera to overwrite previous time-lapse files when storage is full.

    time lapse setting

    Overwrite Time Lapse Files

    Step 4. You can download and delete the time-laps files after generated.

    download and delete the time lapse files
    Step 5. Click the download button in the upper right corner to check the downloaded files.
    click the download button

2. For Existing Recordings

This feature is only supported by Reolink NVRs.

All Reolink NVRs, except those with hardware version H3MB02/H3MB06/H3MB16, support this feature.

Currently, only cameras and the Home Hub support this feature.

Here is the operational instruction for the Reolink NVR that support setting up this feature.

  • Via Reolink NVR (new UI)

    Applies to: RLN8-410 (hardware version N7MB01/N3MB01/N2MB02/H3MB18), RLN16-410 (hardware version N6MB01/H3MB18), RLN36, and RLN12W.

    Before you begin:

    1. Prepare a USB drive. 

    2. Ensure the Reolink NVR has available continuous HDD recordings.

    3. Connect the Reolink NVR to a monitor via HDMI/VGA. (NVR's time-lapse setup is only available on the monitor.) 

    4. Check if the NVR's firmware is v3.3.0.282 or later. If not, find the latest firmware for the NVR in Download Center – Reolink and manually upgrade it following How to Manually Update Firmware for Reolink Devices

    Get started:

    Step 1. Log in to the Reolink NVR on the monitor, right-click on the screen, and go to the Playback page.

    go to the Playback page

    Step 2. Select the Camera/Channel you desire, and click Apply. 

    select a camera

    Step 3. Select a date with recordings (marked by a blue dot).

    Step 4. Insert a USB drive into the NVR, and click the Time Lapse button. 

    select date

    Step 5. Customize the Start Time, End Time, and Interval, then click OK. 

    Note: Ensure there are continuous HDD recordings available during the selected period for time-lapse video generation.
    time lapse

    Step 6. Click Start to back up the time-lapse file to your USB drive. (By default, the video format is MP4. Unselect Back Up MP4 File(s) to save it in H.264/H.265 format.)

    start

    Step 7. Click Success when the backup process is done to exit the current session. 

    backup

    Step 8. Play or Delete button the newly-created footage on the monitor as needed. Or connect the USB drive to your PC to view or delete the time-lapse file.

    play or delete

Note: If both your camera and NVR support the time lapse feature, and camera is connected to the NVR:

1. When the camera is directly connected to the NVR, only the time lapse feature on the NVR can be used, which means you can only create time lapses from existing recordings.

2. When the camera is added to the NVR over LAN (in the same local network):

  • If it’s a plug-in camera, both time lapse features can be used.
  • If it’s a battery-powered camera, only the time lapse feature on the NVR can be used.

Related Articles:

Why Is My Time-lapse not Loading

Reolink Time Lapse FAQ

Introduction to Reolink Time Lapse

How to Download/Delete Time Lapse Captures via Reolink Software

If you have any other questions, please contact Reolink Support.