What to look for in an intervalometer?

Question

What should I look for as a remote activated intervalometer? I am interested in experimenting with time lapse and interval photography.

I use a canon 550D.

I have briefly experimetned with the Hahnel Giga T Pro II. This was interesting but I had very little time to try more.

Answer 1

I don't know how fancy you want to get, but the one you mentioned has many features than I ever needed with my intervalometer.

It seems to me that if you don't know what to look for, your needs will be pretty simple, like my needs - you just need to take photos on a predefined interval. And I think almost all devices will satisfy this need perfectly.

One feature that I like is the ability to manually release the shutter 'during' an automated session. I found it useful when I wanted to include more photos of a particularly interesting moment during making a time lapse of a trip.

SO if it is not the set of features, what else is important?

1. Battery life - most devices offer satisfactory battery life, but on a remotely triggered model it may be shorter than on a cable model. Can the batteries be replaced? What size does it use? How easy it is to charge / replace batteries?

2. Quality of build. Are the contact points metal or plastic? Are connectors solid and will they not break due to frequent use?

3. Does it get a lot of bad reviews online? Are there known issues that people frequently report?

4. Make sure you are not paying too much for a brand model. I use a cheapo intervalometer that I got for ~$30 bucks and I have made many time-lapses with it. It never failed.

Answer 2

You may want to consider the Camera Axe, its far more than just an intervalometer and not too expensive.

http://www.cameraaxe.com/

You can use it to trigger based on time, or an event such as a sound or lightning bolt.