Let's get you up and running with the Afidus Time Lapse Camera system. In this start-up video we walk you through the Afidus App download, Wi-Fi Connection, Zoom and Focus check, and how to deploy your your first timelapse. There are a lot of tips and tricks to share with you on this system. Join us on your journey as we continue to share our knowledge using the Afidus Time Lapse Camera system. Be sure to check out the extensive user guide posted at: https://www.afiduscam.com/userguide iOS Users March 2021 iOS user connection update. iOS users see an extra (pesky) notice. When you see a BLUE CHECK MARK you are connected, head over to the Afidus App for full control of the camera. There are a couple of TIPS for connection: Always start with a fresh set of brand name batteries (Energizer Max) and the manufacturer supplied 16mb mSD card installed. If the app become unresponsive, refresh the app by closing it and opening it. If the connection continues to spin and is unresponsive, refresh it by turning the Wi-Fi off for 2-5 seconds. Then turn back on. Wait for the blue check mark to appear next to the camera in the network. Then head over to the Afidus App. If the camera does not connect, head back to settings and “forget” the wifi network. Then enter our TLC camera password, 87654321. Delete and the app Restart your mobile device Reinstall the Afidus App Try the connection again

We often get asked, “how often/when should I check my camera?” After three years of working with the system this is the simplest graph I could come up with. Basically, what interval and project are you capturing? And do you wish to be swimming in too much content? eh-hem think editing here. Projects are either short, medium or long term. Just like Goldilocks. Think of it as training wheels are just about to come off and the settings are nearly perfect. It's up to you to stay on top of your camera checks to ensure the camera is in operation. Once you go outside of these parameters then...you are in a risky category. The SHORTER interval i.e. between one and five seconds is in the AGGRESSIVE category this means you will need to check your camera much more frequently. Run the camera hard for truss days, single days of concrete pours and quick action being completed within 20 minutes up to one 6-8 hours. TIP: at this setting it's wise to upgrade that card to 32 mb to be sure you have all the content for that single day. MEDIUM Can this be new category? I believe it should be. These are the in-between projects. The weekly or biweekly jobs. Ie Window or roof shingle installation. The jobs you know you're going to be on site that you're monitoring closely and you're watching the camera. At this interval you have two weeks of content running 12 hours a day using lithium batteries and a 16 gig card. Both will be used up. LONG TERM aka the "sweet spot" of the system. Set the camera for your 8 hour, recording 5 days (Monday-Friday), go grab a drink at the nearest delightful location. This is for long broad changes when you want to monitor your site and provide. Our rough calculations for this setting is the camera will last for over 45 days. We recommend monthly checks because you never know when natural disaster or human meanness will strike. And it will! We have proof of that too.

Yes you can, first some essential information. The Afidus camera's USB port is both power and data, however, not simultaneously. 1) Connecting the camera is for data transfer only. Data transfer when using the USB cord is a slower method of saving the content. We recommend removing the card from the camera and using a dedicated mSD card reader to save/archive those many files. For saving the files read this article on the best methods. 2) It is not for recharging/controlling/programming the camera. It will not power up your rechargeable batteries. Speaking of which, we do not recommend using them as they will get stuck in the battery carriage. For best batteries and more information read this article we created after months of testing. 3) When connected to a computer, the camera will shut down automatically. The camera will time out due to power saving programing that users do not have control of. TimeLapseCameras.com continually discovers many features of the camera system and what it is capable of.

A camera reset is needed when the following occurs. You forgot your custom password The extreme difficulty connecting to the local Wi-Fi network The camera has a long 'BEEEEEEEEEEEP" and is unresponsive until you pull the battery carriage out. This is mechanical failure and a camera reset will work to jump start it. Grab the micro-USB cable handy and power battery brick fully charged. (A computer with a USB connection will also work.) Remove the batteries and SD card. Press the power button continuously. While holding the power button, plug in external power (micro-USB). The camera will begin beeping and the LED will flash, wait until the beeping and and flash has stoped. When the final beeping noise stops the reset is complete. On your mobile device forget the existing camera network from your mobile settings and enter the Afidus default password (12345678) Launch the app, you will be asked to change the password, make the change. We recommend keeping it easy and using 87654321. Forget the network again and enter the new password After performing a reset, make sure you double check all of your settings by tapping the (i) info button. Quality, HDR and other configuration options will also have reverted to the factory default. For the ATL-200S camera: We recommend changing the Quality to +4, HDR to Low and Time Stamp off. For the ATL-200-201 camera: We recommend changing the Quality to +4, HDR to Low and Time Stamp off. If you continue to have problems connecting with the camera, please reach out to us directly through whatsapp or via phone 507-884-0070 or email to info@timelapsecameras.com

Has your camera been sleeping and not used for a while? This article is for you. These tips are handy with Wi-Fi connection issues with your mobile device. This is commonly seen when the Wi-Fi will not pick up the temporary hot-spot network right away. Grab a fresh set of brand new name brand batteries or connect to a power source using the manufacturer supplied USB power cord. Ensure your camera is powered on with the solid green LED at the top of the unit. In the event you have upgraded your iOS system or got a new phone all manufacturing brands recommend removing the app and reinstalling it. Power cycle your mobile device Toggle the Wi-fi off for 3 seconds and turn it back on. Once you see a blue check mark, you are connected, proceed to the Afidus App to program your camera. If the camera bounces around networks: Forget the Camera Reconnect with the TimeLapseCamera default password, 87654321. If you happened to use a different password and do not remember it, please proceed to this article to reset it. Fresh Batteries are critical for connecting If there is a delay in the Wi-Fi connection with your mobile device, check your batteries. Are you sure you grabbed a fresh set and brand new name brand ones? Not all brands of batteries have been tested for long-term time lapse recording. Rechargeable batteries are great in theory, however they are slightly thicker in diameter than consumable batteries-these may prevent the carriage from being easily removed. The battery total charge must be above 5 volts to establish a solid Wi-Fi connection. Top App tip: Did you know the app takes a nap? Wake it up! This is seen commonly with the zoom slider becoming unresponsive to zoom or if you make a section of settings and you do not hear the confirmation beep confirming changes. Solution: Simply close the app and open it up again to refresh it

It’s camera check time! Here’s a helpful reminder of: what to do and what essential supplies to bring with you into the field. What to bring with you to be ready. Generally, when you’re in the field, you don’t have a lot of time to waste. So, to check your camera as quickly as possible, it’s important to have the appropriate supplies readily available. Must haves: Fresh brand-name batteries, Energizer Max (article) An extra SanDisk Ultra card (article) Mobile Device. Tip: Store your batteries in either a ziplock bag or upgrade to an organized Think Tank storage battery holder. Cards should be stored safely in a protected mSD holder. Our typical procedure is to replace both of these at the same time. Replace the batteries and replace the card for saving/archiving the contents. Read on for the extra items to bring or feel free to jump to the essential camera check steps Extra goodies: mSD USB cord * Power brick * Extra clamp mount, a good thing to have if it's been over used heavily. Field bag to contain all the goodies. (Optional) * The mSD USB cord and power brick are necessary if Afidus has an update for their app. These firmware updates must be done with the camera powered on and attached to a power brick. Firmware update procedure here. In the case where heavily-used mounts are exposed to inclement weather, it’s not a bad idea to have an extra one handy. It’s a good item for the field bag. Speaking of field bag...well, we have a few recommendations. Recommended Field Bags: Now, keep in mind that this is the bag with all the extras. It’s like that diaper bag filled with tricks and toys and food meant to placate any combustible situation. This bag should hold the solutions to all of your in-the-field scenarios. Think Tank Hubba Hubba Hiney 3.0 Sling Bag Both bags will hold everything you need: extra clamp, power brick, USB cord, zip-ties, batteries and cards. If you happen to purchase an extra silicone sleeve and band, those will fit too. And snacks. Granola bars are awesome, and because you just never know. Why do we love the Think Tank Hubba Hubba Hiney 3.0 bag? Because it has a rain fly that doubles as a workspace protected area. It’s storytime friends, “We were on a job that had us perched two stories in the air on scaffolding, when the wind blew right at the time of the card change. Lucky for us, the wind blew the card down into the rain-covered workspace, and we were able to retrieve the content for future use. That content was later used in the RPU chimney tower demolition job.” Why do we love the Sling Bag? Pure function. It attaches to the body and doesn’t flop around everywhere. Plus, you can swing it from the back to the front when you’re up on a ladder and you have everything handy. A great tip: When you discover the capabilities of the Afidus time lapse camera system, consider a second camera. Either as a back up and simply change out the cameras or use as a second camera position on site. This fits too in either suggestion. Essential Camera Check Steps Assuming you’re using the “minute-to-win-it” method for your interval recording work days, then monthly checks are recommended. If you’re using any interval less than one minute, then you’ll need to plan on more frequent checks. 1) Check the LED On-site with your camera we recommend doing a visual check first. Check the status of the LED at the top of the unit to determine the status of the camera. More information of the LED is located in this supporting article. 2) Stop your camera’s recording Stop your camera’s recording with a short press of the power button. You will hear a long beep and the LED will appear solid green. At this time you can connect the camera to Wi-Fi. 3) Check the batteries If you see two bars on the battery level, we recommend you change those batteries. One of our pro-level requests to Afidus is to switch to a percentage monitor for battery health to make it easier to read this information. While you have the app open, take a snapshot. This will allow you to use image alignment to match the frame. See our Alignment Video as a camera app feature to refresh. 4) Verify your footage Check the footage from the gallery. In our field practice, we confirm clips were recorded. Rarely, do we download clips to a phone as this process takes too much time, 3.5 minutes per 537 MB clip. If you choose to download to phone here's our refresh article on that procedure. 5) Check the card If more than 75% of your card is full, then change it pronto! This is especially important if you used about 10 Gb in the last month on your card and you are doing monthly checks. 6) Change out that card and batteries. If your batteries are at 1 or 2 bars and the card is more than 50% used, power down your camera with a long press of the power button, change out the batteries and replace that card for archiving. Mission accomplished! Now you can power the camera on with a long press of the power button. Follow our Preflight Check list for refresh tips on deploying your camera.

When you pick up any camera-or new item of technology/hardware for the first time-it's a learning curve. This curve encompasses both the tech itself, the process, app and the outcome. In most cases, you are able to grab the device, powered it on and go in “auto” mode. Easy, right? Learning to use the Afidus camera system is learning about time lapse. How to use the app to achieve the end result by programming it to record according to schedule. In our Preflight check list a typical Time Lapse deployment you should: Always start with fresh batteries and check the stats of the card. Confirm your schedule recording with the information screen Focus: Dial it in and check. Take a snap shot for image alignment. Select Time Lapse Recording mode. Start your recording. Confirm the camera is recording with a visual check of the green LED light. When your first test is complete-Stop the recording with a long press of the power button. The WiFi will activate. Wait for the blue check mark to appear (iOS users) Then open the Afidus App to check the results. Tip: Save screenshots along the way for your long term projects. (this is for you to draw on information recalling the facts of what you set up) Programming your first time lapse test Use these settings below to generate your first test time lapse. The Settings Menu: Wide angle: ON/OFF set according to your satisfaction DIS: OFF AE Optimizer: OFF Compression : Compatible h.264 Split File by Date: ON Recycle: OFF LED indicator: ON Buzzer: ON Recording Schedule: Select one hour of the day from the time menu. This is noted in US military time Custom day: KEEP THIS OFF Weekday: Sun-Saturday tap them all on BLUE to turn them ON TIP: If it's GRAY it's OFF. Recording Appointment: OFF Capture Frame Rate: 30 (This is for Continuous Interval ONLY. There is little need to change this setting unless you will do a monitored recording with a large card.) Video Lapse: length 3 seconds Timestamp: OFF Anti-Flicker: 60hz WiFi Password: No need to change this. Back up/Apply: No need to change this. Reset: Please DO NOT select this. If you do then proceed to this article. Check the information screen, it should be similar to this. Except your hour will be different. Select Record icon Select the recording mode: Schedule Time Lapse You will see a confirmation screen pop up with settings to confirm. The Afidus app has a reminder for you to check the focus, battery and storage before recording. Final confirmation screen You will hear an audible BEEP-BEEP The LED will blink approximately every 6 seconds. The camera is now recording to the schedule you set. Later that same day you will need to, STOP the camera recording. To do this you must Long press the power button at the top of the unit. You will hear an audible "BEEP". The Green LED will be solid. Now you can connect to WiFi and open the Afidus App to check the results. From the Gallery (image) Select the clip and it should be approximately 427.6 MB in size. Congratulations on your first time-lapse! What the camera will produce The Afidus Time Lapse camera will output video files in .mp4 file format. All video files will have a file size limited up to 537 MB in size. Why 537 MB? Great question, this is the limit for Downloading to phone if you should decide to do this for your content saving method. TIP: If you have the Split file by date selected ON, found within the settings app, then your files will be split into days up to that file size. Next steps. Proceed with some of the following ideas; Keep the file on the card and try more tests out. Download to phone for review Remove the card, save the footage to your computer. Using Editing Software, tell your time-lapse story and polish to perfection. Share away on Social Media!

Ever wondered the settings for trying to capture Fireworks. Well Marie got down to business and fired up a five camera test. In this video she reveals two potential outcomes. The greatest learning take-away point, when shooting in Star Scene mode this is only applicable for... you guessed it Stars. Which is NOT fireworks. Let's think about this for a second. Fireworks are Fast. When the camera is set to Star Scene mode the system will capture 2" long exposures. Causing a light trail. Therefore switch to either either Auto or Daylight scene mode. This will increase the exposure to 1/30 respectively. Mind you, fireworks are large pops and explosions creating bursts of light. Therefore, decrease the exposure within the system down. TIP: always review the footage immediately afterwords to see which direction you need to switch to. Our intent for this video is a starting point for settings. Our take: just like Stars, fireworks is an event that can be repeated. Try-Try-again. Camera Model: Afidus ATL-200S Recording Mode: Timelapse Interval: Constant Capture or 1 second Why? because the quicker the action is the faster you want the interval to be. FPS: 30 Scene Mode: use Auto or Daylight. Do NOT use Star. Why? two great reasons, fireworks are nothing but pops of flashes. and Star capture mode records at a slower exposure. Similar to 2 seconds. You want those the long light trails from vehicles, sure or stars? Do it and use it. But not for Fireworks. Your footage will be blown out. Exposure: Dial it down. -1 or -2 HDR: Medium or High. All the rest, contrast, sharpness, saturation, can be adjusted to suit your interest.

Snapshot is one of the most creative and manual modes to use within the Afidus Timelapse Camera system. After this mode is deployed a capture is taken each and every time the power button is pressed briefly and manually at the camera system. It will record a "snapshot" within a 3 second timeframe. You repeat this process to the end of your project. All the shots are collected into one screaming fast .mp4 video file for later editing enjoyment. This video walks you through the set-up and deployment of the camera system using Snapshot Mode stepping you through each pumpkin placement. What can you expect from SnapShot/Stop Motion mode? It's always exciting to see the time lapse right out of the camera. This feature has a little surprise with it, when it comes to the polishing part. There are so many lessons on this video mode and how to create with it. In this Time-lapse Chronicles, Lesson 1: Always. Always. ALWAYS. Choose the right mode for the job and make sure your camera is on a steady tripod or securely anchored. Lesson 2: The assistant was my 11-year-old son as the camera operator. Little did I know one of the tripod legs was a little wobbly. My bad. This is the second time I’ve used snapshot stop motion create a recording mode with Afidus camera system. It’s easy enough to say after a while we got the hang of it. Click the power button wait three seconds and repeat indefinitely. Intentionally this video was supposed to reveal only the pumpkins. Obviously, we had fun in the process. SnapShot/Stop Motion is a very unique creative mode to use. Be patient, be persistent, be prepared. My wobbly outcome is definitely a time lapse tip and great example of what not to do. Aka affectionately known as #videodud REMINDER: Using this mode exposures are taken with a power press of a button and the footage will be compiled through the camera app in the in one speedy video .Mp4 video file. You must further edit the video, slow it down to nearly 1-10% of the playback speed. Aka Ludacris Lugubrious speed aka slightly faster than a sloth. We are excited Afidus is very responsive to user feedback. In the near future this mode will officially be changed to "Stop Motion". This will add great clarity for you to select the right mode to record in. Thus the mode, "Time Lapse" should be used 99% of the time for the job. Any other mode is just fun.

As one of the four creative recording modes, video lapse is showing the most creative with amazing potential. We joke around by saying this is the "ultimate casino game to play" meaning; you will WIN every time it's just a matter of timing. Video lapse mode works by selecting the capture burst interval from the settings menu. Then on the main screen you select your “spanning interval” which is the interval of time not captured in live motion. When playback at 100% speed the footage ticks a long with breaks. Adversely if you speed it up then it will look like a traditional time lapse. The golden nugget here is opportunities to capture details only seeing using constant catcher burst. The perfect moment when something comes in a frame. YES, we have examples. In this "Ice-Out" Video this content was specifically recorded to capture ice melting from our local river. In Video Lapse the game is time in what you will capture. In this video example, ducks and geese floating or flying by was the element of delightful surprise. Watch this content for brief life-like footage complimented with the speedy counter part Time Lapse footage. Within this video you can see speed differentials of content sped up ridiculously fast (10000% + playback speed) which makes it appear like a standard time lapse. Then you see sections of live action (Speed = 100% playback.) Moments of time when ducks were in frame and bobbing along the water's edge. Only with video lapse can you have this much differential content. For the long version with full explanation shared with behind the scenes setting, we hope you enjoy. What's Pros of Video Lapse recording mode? With the magic of video editing working with Video Lapse footage you have freedom to leave the content as is or speed up sections according to what interests you. What's Cons of Video Lapse recording mode? As with any game you are in a race with content. There is a chance you will miss the starting or ending moment and only capture in-between those points. There is a chance you will capture too little or not enough due to your settings. This recording stoped due to content on the card. Running the system at these settings is considered "Aggressive". This means either one of two things will occur. The standard 16gb card will fill up or the batteries will be depleted. 15.6 GB of content was captured providing more than enough content for this quick clip. Tip: Running the system aggressively with close intervals selected means you will need to monitor your camera closely. Using a larger card would have an another option. Selecting a larger spanning interval like 5-30 minutes would have increased the recording time. How to Deploy Video Lapse Fundamentals of this Creative Recording Mode: Video lapse mode works by selecting the capture burst interval from the settings menu. Then on the main screen you select your “spanning interval” which is the interval of time not captured in live motion. Remember to: set a scheduled work recording schedule for working hours only What is your recommendations for setting? For this Ice Out Video Lapse; 3 seconds every 45 seconds, recorded for 55 hours. Drive Lapses; 3 second burst every 5 minutes for the duration of your travel time. Long Term Projects: 5 second burst every 15 minutes Crafting or Cooking Quick concepts: This action happens pretty fast. Start at 3 second burst, 30 second interval. The quicker the content is the shorter the spanning interval should be set Editing Tip: When playback at 100% speed the footage ticks a long with breaks. Adversely, if you speed it up then it will look like a traditional time lapse. The golden nugget here is opportunities to capture details only seeing using constant catcher burst. Perfect moment when something comes in a frame. Again, capturing in Video Lapse, creative recording mode is a game. You will win, but it's a matter of timing.

It's camera check time friends. This week is the perfect time to schedule a camera check. These recommended monthly checks are part of our "best practices" for camera operation. This one in particular is pretty critical to cover the daylight savings time jump in time. We say, fire up that cam and “Check those Bat’s and Stats”. All battery operated cameras running a scheduler will need to be checked this week to ensure they are running spot on schedule. Get your Energizer Bunny Batteries out and replace as needed. Change out those cards, archive and save your content, and most especially, know the camera will automatically sync to the correct time-but not until it is connected to the app. Otherwise, the camera will record an hour off if you are using scheduled recording. Helpful reminder: Firmware update. Here's the shorty on the steps: Keep your camera off and not connected to Wi-fi Open up the Afidus Time Lapse App app first Download the firmware Power Camera on and connect to wi-fi Open the Afidus Time Lapse App Settings > Firmware > Update, wait for the series of beeps to be complete and follow the reconnection connection process. This video guides you through the process. The firmware in this video is an older version however the process remains the same. As always, please reach out to us for your questions and we will be there to assist you.

This article is for users connecting to the camera for the first time. Always start with a fresh set of brand name batteries (Energizer Max) and the manufacturer supplied 16mb mSD card installed. Power on your camera by holding down the power button until you hear a “beep”. The LED will light green to indicate power is on, and the camera is broadcasting its Wifi signal. Go back to your phone and search for the cameras Wifi network. It will be listed as “ATL200_xxxxxxxxx” (this is the cameras unique ID number). Connect your phone to this network and enter the TimeLapseCamera password “87654321”. ​ *Important* - Do not do anything for 30 secs as you might get a message saying “this wifi connection does not have an internet connection”. This is an extra (pesky) notice iOS users see. When you see a BLUE CHECK MARK you are connected and you can proceed to open the app. Make sure you hit “ok” otherwise the camera will not connect to your mobile phone / tablet. If the blue check mark does not appear and and the camera appears to bounce from my devises to network, toggle the Wi-Fi off for 3 seconds and back on as seen in this next video released March 2021 Android user? Read this handy article for trouble shooting the Android Connection when you receive the "Opps change your Wi-Fi network message" Other TIPS to try: If the app become unresponsive, refresh the app by closing it and restarting it. If the connection continues to spin and is unresponsive, refresh it by closing the mobile device settings app down and reopen it. Start the app and try again. If the camera does not connect, head back to settings and “forget” the wifi network. Delete the app Restart your mobile device Reinstall the Afidus App Try the connection again If you did not purchase your camera from us: Due to new government GDPR rules (General Data Protection) you might be asked to change your password to a new, personal one. You will be instructed by the App to enter a new password. Once this is done, go back to your wifi network list and click “Forget Network” for your ATL. Lastly, simply reconnect to the ATL-xxxxxxx network using your new, personal password. You should now have a connection between your camera and your phone / tablet. To test this, go to the App main screen and tap the bottom left icon “Camera”. If successful, you should be taken to the viewfinder and settings screen of the App. November 2019 passwords are a mandatory change required by GDPR Please note: the camera will automatically turn off its Wifi after 4 minutes of wifi inactivity. This is indicated by the camera emitting a long beep and then it will shut down. ​ HELP!!! MY CAMERA STILL WONT CONNECT!!! If, by accident you entered the manufacturer password (12345678) your camera will not connect to WiFi. To resolve this, please forget the camera connection in your settings and enter the current TimeLapseCamera password, 87654321.