DSLR Intervalometer with 1/10 sec intervals

It depends. If the storm has consistency, then I use an intervalometer, if it is not so consistent but very dark, then I may simply use "BULB" mode and keep the shutter open until something exciting happens. But never more than 5 minutes as the sensor gets quite hot.

Thanks for the responses... my thought in wanting this is that rather than doing 4 sec exposures at 5 sec intervals is that if I could do 4.8 sec exposures at 5 sec intervals I could have less non-exposure times between frames for a smoother time lapse... interesting responses... thanks!

0.2 sec? I believe the camera needs 1 sec to process and move the file.

wideweb, I agree, the camera does need some "breathing time" (as vadervideo also pointed out), so the task of limiting the time in-between exposures ~4.8secs long might not be possible on most DSLRs.

vadervideo, great timelapses. I noticed the intersection lights in some of your shots are creating "ghosts" (Not sure what to call them). I assume you left your UV filter on for these shots, and if you did, I wanted to let you know that you can avoid such light "ghosting" by removing any such filters before you shoot directly at a light source next time. Or you can blow a bunch of money on a non-reflective B&W filter :-) .

Yes, I left the UV filter on. But as an afterthought, I think it kinda of gives it a more dramatic feel. Abstract in nature. I am even thinking about messing around with some additional flaring. Particularly when the clouds flash.

Best lens flaring ever = most recent Star Trek.

Yup, they used some Andrew Kramer's tools, which i just happen to have as well. :)

WIdeweb, I know I can do less than half second process time on the canon7d. I'm just wanting to see how far I can push it.

All this interest in time-lapse...wow!

There is a difference between smoothness of motion vs the speed of motion in a time-lapse video's subject matter.

Smoothness of Motion - This has more to do with whether the subject's motion is regular and constistent and if the capture rate (lapse time) is also consistent. If the intervals between frames is inconsistent, then naturally the video will be jerky.

3:2 pulldown is an example of inconsistency, since adding 6 duplicated frames per second tends to result in a stuttering of the motion in time-lapse. (common when converting a 24 fps video to 29.97 fps).

Speed of Motion - is affected directly by the frame rate or lapse time. For instance if clouds are moving across the sky, shooting more frames will slow down their motion. Shooting fewer frames will cause the movement of the clouds to appear to speed up.

Shooting more frames per minute or fewer frames per minute affects the speed of the subject's movement, not the smoothness. (except in extreme cases, such as a lightning bolt which might appear in only one or two frames).

Let the math guide the selection of a lapse time rate. Shooting time-lapse for an hour at lapse 6 seconds will result in 600 frames. Cutting that to a fractional lapse time of 5.9 seconds will result in only 10 additional frames. Even cutting the lapse time interval to 5.5 seconds would only increase the speed of motion by about 10% which is still below the perception of the average viewer.

Time_lapse, I'm not sure if your post was an explanation for me, but I guess I should be more specific... when doing a timelapse of traffic headlights, the time in between exposures breates a gap in the headlights. The less non-exposure time I have, the better, and more smoother the motion... does that make sense?