EOS R8 How to start interval timer after exposure

[Mold]

Hey, so I've recently been getting into doing more Night Sky Photography. And I've been wanting to do star trails.  So I've been playing around with camera settings trying to get it to work. And the best I was able to get was 16 shots so far, with an interval timer of 20s. 

The reason I had it set to 20s is because the timer appears to start when the button is pressed. And not when the photo is finished, I've been looking stuff up and searching through manuals and settings trying to find someway to delay the timer start until after the picture is done. That way I only need a 1s timer. 

I did figure out how to set it to just continuously shoot. Which would work, but I'd rather be able to set it to a specific amount of shots.  And I do realize I could just do the math of how long each picture will take, then just wait the specific amount of time until its gotten the desired amount, but that just seems overly complicated. 
I also would rather not buy an Intervalometer yet, if I can just use my cameras settings instead.

Thanks
~Sawyer

[John_Q]

Hello Mold,

When using the Interval timer feature, the timer should start after the first shot is taken. Is this not what you're experience has been?

[Mold]

Not from what I can tell. It feels like the timer starts when i start the first shot. Last time i was taking pictures i had to set it to 62 shots, with a 20s timer just to get 16 shots from that one setup.

It could be user error, but if so i cant tell what im doing wrong. I come from using a Pentax K50, so its a big leap in age and quality. Still trying to get used to Canon.

[Waddizzle]

Welcome. 

My experience with the built-in interval timer is that it attempts to fire the shutter at whatever interval you define.  You must allow for the time it takes to capture an image AND the time it takes to write the data to the memory card.  Some noise reduction settings can increase the time it takes to save the image significantly.  

That’s how it works.  The shutter fires when the interval starts.  Set the camera for Continuous Drive mode.  Use the 2/10 second shutter delay timer to start the session. Be sure to disable auto focus.