Nikon D5100 Problem

[John B.]

I recently started to try creating star trails photos with my Nikon D5100 but I'm having a problem.

The problem is with the Interval Timer. This sets the camera to take as many frames as one chooses, with a short interval in between each frame. No matter what I do, it will not take the number of shots that are set. It takes about one-third less than I program.

For instance, if I set it to take 90 frames, I will get 60. Sometimes it will take only a dozen or so.

I removed the battery and let it sit for a while.

I installed a fresh battery.

I use an 8GB card but tried a 16GB card.

The camera and lens are set to manual.

Noise reduction is off.

Auto ISO is off.

I've tried large, medium and small frames.

I've tried single and continuous shooting.

The latest firmware is installed.

I've searched the web and found plenty of camera problem questions but nothing about Interval Timer problems.

Because I don't always get the same results, I strongly believe the timer is the problem.

It's a 'shot in the dark' - pardon the pun - to ask others here if they can think of something I haven't tried. Otherwise, it will take a trip to New York for repair.

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[TCampbell]

John I don't have a D5100. Is the intervalometer a programmable function of the camera, or are you using a remote release with an integrated intervalometer in the release?

I ask because to the camera, an external intervalometer simply operate the camera as if it's in "bulb" mode. It'll press the shutter button as often as you tell it, holding the shutter open as long as you want, and waiting for whatever delay period you establish between each frame. So the camera's settings and firmware wouldn't come into play. But if the intervalometer is built into the camera, then I can see how this might be a camera firmware bug.

[John B.]

The Interval Timer is built into the camera. You first set the amount of time between frames. I used 2 - 3 seconds. Then you set the number of frames to be taken. Then simply tell it to go and it starts. I even tried different lengths of exposure time, ranging from 30 seconds to 2 seconds per frame. It always stopped well short of the programmed number.

I had a remote cord for my D80 with an intervalometer but it went bad, and of course it wouldn't work with the D5100. I checked the firmware and it is the latest version. Do you think it could have been corrupted? The camera is fine in every other respect.

[John B.]

Just minutes before I was about to ship this camera out for repair, I found this, from somebody who was more experienced than I. Apparently I'm not the only one who thought they had a camera problem:

"Interval" is the time from the start of one exposure to the start of the next exposure. Example: Assume that as soon as the picture was taken it instantaneously wrote to the memory card and was ready for another pic. In this case, you want a 15sec exposure and 2 sec between shots...the "interval" to set would be 17.

With all noise reduction turned off.... a 15sec exposure...and 2 sec between exposures....assume 1sec to write and set a "interval of 15+2+1="18"

The key word here is: "Interval." Nikon doesn't explain this with an example.

The problem was with buffering. Once the buffer was full, the camera stopped the set program. The green light remaining on all the time should have given me a clue that the camera was still writing the file while it was taking the next frame, and thus filling the buffer to capacity.

By assuming I was supposed to create an interval of 2 seconds between shots, it didn't give the camera time to put the pictures on the card.

So now this makes me wonder about a remote trigger with intervalometer. It would trigger the camera to take the pictures but the camera would still have to buffer them, right? So it would be necessary to program the remote intervalometer the same way.

Had I sent it away for repair, it would have come back with a note to say there was nothing wrong with it. And unless they explained "Intervals" I would have been stuck with the same problem.