It has been a while since I have tried to do timelapse videos of my 3d printing, but with the new printer, I am attempting to make a return to this format. As part of the replacement, I upgraded the Raspberry Pi to version 4b, and added a v2 Raspberry Pi camera.
In general, the hardware configuration is trivial – a couple of screws and a ribbon cable, and some heat sinks attached with adhesive. My real challenge has been fine tuning the camera, to get an acceptable level of quality. The lense has a very finicky physical focus, and a rather short field of focus. Unfortunately, positioning needs to be farther away from the print bed than a mount option I can find, but not close enough that it doesn’t take up more desk space. Then, since I have the printer in a window, I also have to deal with sunlight and daylight changes.
Overall, I consider my current balance an “acceptable” solution, though I still likely will continue to work to improve it. Primarily, I need to find a new home for the printer, and/or an improved option for the camera. I would have defaulted to a USB camera, unfortunately my current option is not compatible or stable for some reason with the new Pi.
The software used is Octolapse, a plugin for Octoprint, which most people familiar with 3d printing will recognize.
