Silent Shooting, Timers and Time-Lapse

The house lights are down and a soloist holds a balance in a single pool of light, in a hall so still that every click of a mechanical shutter carries. The Z6III can take that picture without the click, at the price of flash, long-exposure noise reduction and photo flicker reduction (p. 846).

The same corner of the menus holds the camera's timers: the self-timer, exposure delay, and the interval timer and time-lapse video, which take hundreds of frames by themselves and reward a little arithmetic first. Page numbers in parentheses point to Nikon's Z6III Reference Guide (RG), edition 09.

01.Where the Noise Comes From

The mechanical shutter is a pair of thin curtains in front of the sensor, one moving aside to begin the exposure and the other following to end it, and their sudden motion makes a sound and a small jolt that Nikon calls shutter shock (p. 846). The electronic shutter has no moving parts. The sensor starts and stops gathering light row by row, so nothing clicks, but fast subjects come out bent, an effect called rolling shutter that Shutter Types, Rolling Shutter and Flicker explains. Custom Setting d6 Shutter type chooses among Auto, Mechanical shutter, Electronic front-curtain shutter and Electronic shutter, and Auto is the default (pp. 624, 668).

The camera also makes noises on purpose: an artificial shutter sound when the electronic shutter fires, and beeps for the self-timer, focus and touch controls (p. 844). The lens is the third source, since no sound setting silences its focus motor or aperture blades, which may still be heard (p. 846).

02.Silent Mode

Silent mode has two positions, ON and OFF, and ships at OFF (p. 806). ON makes the camera use the electronic shutter whatever d6 says, removing curtain noise and shutter shock together, and it mutes the beep speaker and the artificial shutter sound whatever Camera sounds says (pp. 845-846). Nikon calls the result quieter rather than silent, since focusing and aperture changes can still be heard, the aperture most noticeably past f/5.6 (p. 846).

The costs are all printed on the same page (p. 846):

• A flash unit on the camera will not fire (also pp. 415, 966).
• Long exposure NR and Photo flicker reduction stop working (also p. 484). NR means noise reduction, here for exposures slower than 1 s (p. 475), and the second item counters flicker from fluorescent and mercury-vapour lamps (p. 483).
• The frame advance rate, the frames per second (fps) a burst reaches, may drop in some situations.
• The electronic shutter's artefacts become possible: banding or flicker under fluorescent, mercury-vapour or sodium lamps, distorted moving subjects (or a distorted frame if the camera moves), jagged edges, colour fringes, bright spots, moiré (false wavy patterns in fine detail), and bright bands from flashing signs or strobes.
• The standby timer, which turns the displays off after 30 s of idleness by default (pp. 89, 624), still makes a sound as it starts and runs out, unless c3 Power off delay > Standby timer is set to No limit.

When Custom Setting a13 Maximum aperture Lv is On, the release can also be delayed slightly, more often with Silent mode on (p. 646).

The gain is speed. The RG's frame-rate table treats Silent mode as the electronic shutter, so continuous high-speed release (CH) reaches about 15.3 fps for NEF, Nikon's raw format, and 16 fps for the JPEG and HEIF formats, and CH (extended) about 20 fps, against about 8.1 and 14 fps with the mechanical shutter (pp. 153-154).

Silent mode can also go in either i menu (pp. 701, 746) or on a button through Custom Settings f2 and g2 (pp. 710, 751).

03.Camera Sounds

Shutter sound applies only when d6 is set to Electronic shutter. It holds a Shutter sound switch, a Volume and a Type, with defaults of ON, 3 and Type A (pp. 806, 844), and the RG names no other type. Beep offers On, Off (touch controls only) and Off, with its own Volume and a Pitch of High or Low, and the defaults are Off, 2 and Low (p. 806).

With On it beeps for the self-timer, at the end of focus shift, pixel shift, interval and time-lapse runs, when focus is found for a still, and for touch, though not for focus in continuous autofocus (AF-C) or when Custom Setting a2 is at Release (p. 844). Off (touch controls only) drops just the touch beep, and video mode never beeps (p. 914).

04.Silence in a Theatre

I shoot stage dance with a Tamron 70-180mm f/2.8 lens in theatres where the audience is close. Silent mode goes on before the house lights go down, on a button through f2 so that at a dress rehearsal I can return to the mechanical shutter in a second if the lighting bands. I also set c3 Standby timer to No limit, since a camera that sounds as it wakes is not silent. Nikon notes that longer power-off delays cost battery life (p. 661), so I carry a spare.

The lens I cannot switch off. I shoot at or near f/2.8, its widest aperture, and since Nikon ties the noticeable aperture noise to f-numbers above f/5.6 (p. 846), I infer that wide open is the quieter case.

On stage the costs are real. Leaps and turns are the motion rolling shutter bends, and What a Partially Stacked Sensor Changes explains why this sensor bends it less without removing it. Stage lighting that flickers too fast for the eye is the intermittent light Nikon warns about, with Photo flicker reduction unavailable (p. 846), so I check for banding with test frames under the real cues at the technical rehearsal. Flash is gone, as it should be in a performance, and the theatre's own rules on photography come first.

05.The Self-Timer

The self-timer is a release mode, alongside single frame, the continuous modes and high-speed frame capture + (HSFC+), the very fast burst mode (pp. 153-154, 1000), and Release Modes, Frame Rates and the Buffer sets it among the others. Hold the release mode button and turn the main command dial to select it, and turn the sub-command dial to change the delay (p. 158).

Custom Setting c2 Self-timer sets Self-timer delay, Number of shots from 1 to 9, and Interval between shots (p. 660). The defaults are 10 s, 1 and Minimum (p. 624), and the specifications list delays of 2, 5, 10 and 20 s and gaps of minimum, 0.5, 1, 2 or 3 s (p. 1000).

With auto bracketing on, each release takes the bracket's full count whatever c2 Number of shots says (p. 504), multiple exposure spaces its frames by Interval between shots (p. 516), and the interval timer and time-lapse video will not run in self-timer mode (pp. 522, 541).

On a tripod I use 2 s and one shot, which gets my finger off the camera before the exposure. For a group with me in it, 10 s and three shots a second apart covers a blink.

06.Exposure Delay Mode

Pressing the release pushes the camera, and on a tripod the push sets it swaying like a flicked ruler. Exposure delay waits for the sway to die down before the exposure starts.

In an illustrative example, with numbers chosen for easy arithmetic and not measured, suppose the press blurs the image by 16 pixels at worst and the shake halves every 0.1 s. With $A_0$ the starting shake in pixels, $h$ the halving time and $t$ the time since the press, the shake has halved $t/h$ times:

$$A(t) = A_0 \times 2^{-t/h}$$

A wait of 0.2 s leaves $16 \times 2^{-2} = 4$ pixels, 0.5 s leaves $16 \times 2^{-5} = 0.5$ pixel, and 1 s leaves $16 \times 2^{-10} \approx 0.016$ pixel. In this example the shortest delay still leaves a quarter of the shake, and half a second is where it stops mattering.

Custom Setting d5 Exposure delay mode offers Off, the default, or a delay from about 0.2 s to 3 s after the full press (pp. 624, 667), and the RG does not list the steps in between. It can go in the i menu (p. 701) or on a control (p. 713), and it cannot be combined with pixel shift (p. 558).

It helps on a tripod with a long lens and at the slow shutter speeds of long exposure and night shooting, which a later part of this guide covers. Handheld it only adds lag. It deals with the press, and Vibration Reduction covers the stabilisers on a tripod.

07.Two Ways to Make a Time-Lapse

A time-lapse is a movie whose frames were taken far apart in time and are played back quickly. The interval $I$ is the time between frames, and the frame rate $f$ is how many frames the movie shows per second, written like 30p, where the p means each frame is a complete picture. Each second of movie covers $I \times f$ seconds of real time, so 5 s at 30p gives $5 \times 30 = 150$ s of sunset per second watched.

Interval timer shooting takes photographs on a schedule and can also build a movie from them, while Time-lapse video builds the movie directly. Both begin about 3 s after you select Start, the interval timer only when its start is set to Now (pp. 522, 532). Both forbid Bulb and Time exposures (pp. 531, 541), and both default to the electronic shutter with its volume at 0 (p. 448).

Interval Timer Shooting

The interval timer works in any release mode except the self-timer and HSFC+ (p. 522) and takes the number of shots you set in every interval (p. 531), at the continuous high-speed rate in single frame mode (p. 525).

Exposure smoothing adjusts each frame towards the exposure of the one before, so a steadily darkening sky does not jump, though it does nothing in manual mode (M) with auto ISO, the automatic sensitivity setting, turned off (p. 522). Interval priority at ON makes programmed auto (P) and aperture-priority auto (A) hold the schedule, at the cost of flash and of waiting for focus (p. 523). Focus before each shot at ON refocuses using the current focus mode, and OFF keeps one fixed distance (pp. 523, 526).

Options adds AE bracketing, which brackets the automatic exposure (AE) at every interval, or Time-lapse video, which turns the photographs into a 16:9 movie and keeps them as well (p. 523). That movie is always recorded in sRGB, the standard colour space for screens, and the 1:1 (24×24) photo image area stops the shutter from releasing at all (p. 523). You then choose a Destination slot, a Frame size/frame rate and a Video file type (p. 527), which HLG (hybrid log-gamma, the high dynamic range tone mode) locks to H.265 10-bit (MOV) (p. 530). Starting storage folder can open a New folder for each sequence and Reset file numbering (p. 523).

The OK button pauses the run between intervals, but ends it when Time-lapse video is in Options (p. 528). Turning the camera off and on also pauses it, which lets you change the battery or the card, but changing camera settings mid-run can end it (p. 530). The settings cannot be stored in the U1 to U3 user modes (p. 143).

Time-Lapse Video

Time-lapse video records through the video crop, the 16:9 part of the sensor used for movies (p. 534), which measures about 35.9 mm by 20.2 mm with FX, the full frame, and 23.7 mm by 13.3 mm with DX (p. 211).

Most options resemble the interval timer's, though Interval is set in minutes and seconds only (p. 532), and Shooting time can run to 23 hours 59 minutes (p. 535). H.265 is a video compression standard (p. 198) and MOV the container file that holds it, while 8-bit and 10-bit mean 256 and 1,024 levels per channel. The RG names only H.265 8-bit (MOV) and the 10-bit version that HLG forces (p. 540), and the frame sizes on offer depend on the file type (p. 532). The true rates of 30p and 24p are 29.97 and 23.976 fps (p. 1004).

Choose an interval longer than the slowest shutter speed you expect (p. 534). Ending early with the OK button still produces a movie from the frames taken so far (p. 539).

Frames to Keep or a Movie to Watch

Interval timer shooting leaves every frame on the card as a photograph, in the photo menu's file type, plus a movie when Time-lapse video is in Options (p. 523). The Time-lapse video menu item, by contrast, is described only by the movie it records (p. 532), so I would not count on getting the frames.

Frames cost card space but can be edited, printed or rebuilt into a better movie on a computer, while the in-camera movie is a quick check that the run worked. For a sunset I use the interval timer with Time-lapse video in Options and one shot per interval, since the RG does not say how several shots per interval would enter the movie.

The photographs are 3:2 by default and the movie 16:9, and the RG does not say how the camera reconciles the two shapes. Setting the photo image area to 16:9 (36×20) makes them match, and Image Area and Crop covers that option.

08.The Time-Lapse Arithmetic

For the interval timer, take an interval $I$ and $N$ intervals of one shot each. The shots come one interval apart, so the last arrives $N - 1$ intervals after the first, and the shooting duration $D$ from first frame to last is

$$D = (N - 1) \times I$$

For a sunset at a 5 s interval and 480 intervals, $D = 479 \times 5 = 2{,}395$ s, about 39.9 minutes.

The movie length $L$ is the number of frames $F$ divided by the frame rate $f$:

$$L = \frac{F}{f}$$

Those 480 frames give $480 / 24 = 20$ s of movie at 24p and $480 / 30 = 16$ s at 30p.

Time-lapse video asks for a shooting time $T$ instead. Nikon's rule is to divide the shooting time by the interval, round up to the next whole number, and add 1 (p. 539). Writing $\lceil \cdot \rceil$ for rounding up:

$$F = \left\lceil \frac{T}{I} \right\rceil + 1$$

The added 1 is the fencepost problem: a 15 s run at a 5 s interval has three gaps but four frames, one at each end of every gap. With the defaults, 1,500 s at 5 s gives $F = \lceil 1{,}500 / 5 \rceil + 1 = 301$ frames, and $301 / 29.97 \approx 10.04$ s of movie at 30p, whose true rate is 29.97 fps. Nikon's own example agrees in scale, with 48 frames at 24p making about two seconds (p. 539).

Planning usually runs the other way. A 40 minute sunset (2,400 s) and 20 s of movie at 30p need $20 \times 30 = 600$ frames, so $\lceil T / I \rceil$ must be about 599 and $I = 2{,}400 / 599 \approx 4.01$ s. An interval of 4 s gives $\lceil 2{,}400 / 4 \rceil + 1 = 601$ frames and about 20 s of movie, each second covering $4 \times 30 = 120$ seconds of sky. Check that interval against the slowest shutter speed you expect as the light fades (p. 534).

09.Restrictions, Power and Cards

The interval timer cannot be combined with the self-timer or HSFC+, ordinary auto bracketing (its own AE bracketing in Options works instead, p. 523), pixel shift, focus shift, HDR (high dynamic range) overlay, multiple exposure, auto capture, Bulb or Time, or video recording (p. 531). Time-lapse video adds the interval timer itself to that list (p. 541) and is unavailable during USB (Universal Serial Bus) streaming (p. 220). HSFC+ cannot be combined with either (p. 157), and choosing the self-timer or HSFC+ mid-run pauses the interval timer (p. 530).

An interval too short for its shots and their processing makes the camera skip intervals, leaving fewer frames than you set, and Bulb, Time, a zero interval or a start less than a minute away brings a warning instead (p. 530). Time-lapse video will not start if the interval exceeds the shooting time, if either is zero, if the card is full, or if the movie length shows in red (p. 540).

For power, Nikon recommends a fully charged battery, one of its optional AC (mains) adapters, or a third-party portable charger (pp. 524, 534). The standby timer never expires during Time-lapse video, or during an interval run with Time-lapse video in Options (pp. 530, 540). Disconnecting the power source ends Time-lapse video with no beep and no movie (p. 540). Nikon does not say what a flat battery mid-run does, so start with a full one.

Ejecting the card also ends Time-lapse video without a movie (p. 540). A full card leaves the interval timer active but taking nothing until you insert another card and resume, and a slow card can end an interval run early (p. 530). Destination defaults to the CFexpress slot (pp. 448, 533), which in my camera holds the faster card, and Card Slots and File Handling covers how the slots share work.

Time-lapse video records no sound, and touching controls, changing settings or connecting an HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) cable can end it, though a movie is still made from what was shot.

10.Recommended Settings

Stage dance. Silent mode on a button, c3 Standby timer at No limit, a spare battery and the lens near f/2.8. Check test frames for banding at the technical rehearsal.

Landscape and night. On a tripod, set d5 to 1 s or more if your menu offers it (p. 667), by the reasoning of the illustrative example, or use the self-timer at 2 s. For a sunset, use the interval timer with Time-lapse video in Options, a fixed white balance and Exposure smoothing left on.

Wildlife in a hide. Silent mode suits perched birds that a click could flush, but fast flight is where rolling shutter shows.

11.Beginner Mistakes

Assuming silent mode is silent. The lens is still audible, the standby timer sounds unless c3 is at No limit, and an interval timer with its Volume raised clicks on every frame (pp. 530, 846).

Expecting flash in silent mode. With Silent mode on, a flash on the camera never fires (p. 846).

Leaving Auto white balance on for a time-lapse. Colour can drift between frames, which is why Nikon advises a white balance other than Auto or Natural light auto (p. 540).

Setting the interval shorter than the exposure. Intervals are skipped and the sequence comes up short (pp. 530, 534).

Pulling the card or the power mid-run. Either one ends Time-lapse video with no movie at all (p. 540).

12.Related Chapters

• Shutter Types, Rolling Shutter and Flicker: the three shutters and what each costs.
• Release Modes, Frame Rates and the Buffer: the self-timer among the release modes.
• What a Partially Stacked Sensor Changes: why this sensor bends motion less.
• Vibration Reduction: the stabilisers, including on a tripod.
• White Balance: fixed settings that keep a time-lapse's colour steady.
• Image Area and Crop: the photo image areas, including 16:9.
• Card Slots and File Handling: what each slot records.