Time-Lapse Webcam Recorder - Interval Capture in Browser

How time-lapse works

A time-lapse compresses a long event (like a sunset, plant growth, or cloud movement) into a short video by capturing frames at a regular interval - say, every 5 seconds - and then playing them back at 24 fps. This means every second of video represents 2 minutes of real time.

Choosing your interval

• 1–2 seconds - fast-moving clouds, traffic, crowds.
• 5–10 seconds - sunrises/sunsets, construction work.
• 30s–1 min - plant growth, ice melting, slow processes.

How to use this tool

1. Click Start - your browser will prompt for camera permission.
2. Set your capture interval using the interval selector.
3. Click Record to begin capturing frames.
4. When finished, click Stop to end the session.
5. Review the captured frames and use Export to download the result.

Keep the browser tab visible and the screen on during recording. Some browsers throttle background tabs, which may cause missed frames.

Storage and frame count

Frames are stored temporarily in browser memory. Here is a quick reference for how many frames you collect and how long the resulting video will be:

Long recording sessions at short intervals may consume significant memory. If the browser warns about memory pressure, consider exporting intermediate batches.

Handling changing lighting conditions

Outdoor time-lapses face a common challenge: the scene transitions from day to night (or vice versa), causing extreme exposure variation between frames:

• Auto-exposure (easy): let the camera adjust automatically. The result will flicker as the scene changes, but individual frames are well-exposed.
• Manual exposure ramp (advanced): gradually adjust ISO and aperture during the recording to create a smooth "Holy Grail" transition from day to night without flicker. This requires manual camera control not available in browser-based tools.

Privacy

All frames are stored only in your browser session. Nothing is transmitted to any server.