TimerAndroid - Running apps at certain times

I have described my blog as mostly photography related and I think it is. Today I will discuss a cool android app call TimerAndroid. And it doesn't have much to do with photography.

Background: I wanted to be able to turn the bluetooth network on/off at certain times of the day automatically. I have voice sync in my auto, and I wanted to turn on bluetooth during my morning and evening rides to work. I wanted to do this automatically.  I didn't want to leave the bluetooth option on all the time because of the battery drain.

I found the an app called TimerAndroid which will do just that. I am able to set the blue tooth function to come on at 6:00AM and off at 7:00AM. Then I also set it to come on at 4:00PM and go off at 5:00PM. And it works. Did I mention it is a free app? How cool is that?

It is relatively easy to program. You add an entry for a given time, and then choose on or off. So to have something on from 4:00 to 5:00 requires 2 entrys, one for on at 4:00 and another for off at 5:00. It works great.

Interval Timer Remote for Olympus E510

I recently purchased an interval timer remote for my Oly E510 like this model. My main reason was to do some time lapsed photography. The first use was for elevated photography. This is where I mount the camera on a painter's extension pole and use the interval timer simply as a means to trigger the camera once I have it extended into the air. Yes, you could use the built in 10 sec delay timer, but you would only get 1 shot. With the interval timer, I can program a series of photos. The timer has a start delay, so you have time to get the camera in the air before it begins snapping photos.

I also used the interval timer to make some time lapsed photos of myself walking. You can merge the photos into one multiple exposure shot in photoshop, or you can create a movie from the photos using a program like makeAVI.

The only negative of the interval timer is that it will not do intervals less than 1 sec. Even at normal walking speeds, a 1 sec capture rate allows a good distance between photos.

I plan on using the interval timer for creating time lapsed photo sets of sunsets and flowers in the near future. This device definitely gives you a few more options for your camera.