Dual Camera Timelapse System

An automated timelapse capture system for Amcrest and Reolink IP cameras running on Raspberry Pi. Captures images from both cameras simultaneously, processes them into MP4 videos, and uploads to an FTP server.

Features

Concurrent Image Capture: Captures from both Amcrest and Reolink cameras with a 2-second offset
Automated Processing: Creates MP4 timelapses from captured images using ffmpeg
Staggered Upload: Uploads videos with timing offsets to prevent bandwidth conflicts
Error Handling: Comprehensive logging, connectivity checks, and failure recovery
Resource Management: Disk space monitoring and automatic cleanup of temporary files
Quality Control: Automatically removes corrupt/small image files

Hardware Requirements

Raspberry Pi (tested on Pi 5)
Network access to both cameras
Sufficient storage space (minimum 1GB free recommended)
Internet connection for FTP uploads

Software Dependencies

wget – for camera image capture
ffmpeg – for video processing
curl – for FTP uploads
ping – for connectivity checks
Standard Unix utilities (find, mv, rm, etc.)

Installation

Clone or download the script to your Raspberry Pi
Make it executable: chmod +x dual-camera-timelapse.sh
Install dependencies (if not already present): sudo apt update sudo apt install wget ffmpeg curl
Create required directories: sudo mkdir -p /var/www/html/{sa,ss,sawork,swork,mp} sudo chown -R $USER:$USER /var/www/html/

Configuration

Camera Settings

Edit the script and update these variables with your camera details:

# Amcrest Camera
AMCREST_USER="admin"
AMCREST_PASS="your_password"
AMCREST_IP="192.168.1.205"

# Reolink Camera  
REOLINK_USER="admin"
REOLINK_PASS="your_password"
REOLINK_IP="192.168.1.211"
REOLINK_RS="your_rs_token"  # Found in Reolink camera API settings

# FTP Upload
FTP_USER="your_ftp_user"
FTP_PASS="your_ftp_password"
FTP_HOST="your_ftp_server"

Security Best Practices

Option 1: Environment Variables

export AMCREST_PASS="your_password"
export REOLINK_PASS="your_password" 
export FTP_PASS="your_ftp_password"

Option 2: Config File (Recommended)

# Create /home/pi/.camera-config
AMCREST_PASS="your_password"
REOLINK_PASS="your_password"
FTP_PASS="your_ftp_password"

# Source in script:
source /home/pi/.camera-config

Capture Settings

Amcrest: 480 images (32 minutes at 4-second intervals)
Reolink: 600 images (40 minutes at 4-second intervals)
Offset: 2-second delay between camera starts
Output: 24fps MP4 videos, 1280×720 resolution

Usage

Manual Execution

./dual-camera-timelapse.sh

Automated Execution (Cron)

# Edit crontab
crontab -e

# Add entry (runs every 2 hours):
0 */2 * * * /home/pi/dual-camera-timelapse.sh

# Or daily at 6 AM:
0 6 * * * /home/pi/dual-camera-timelapse.sh

Systemd Service (Optional)

# Create service file
sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/dual-timelapse.service

# Enable and start
sudo systemctl enable dual-timelapse.service
sudo systemctl start dual-timelapse.service

File Structure

/var/www/html/
├── sa/           # Amcrest raw images
├── ss/           # Reolink raw images  
├── sawork/       # Amcrest processed images
├── swork/        # Reolink processed images
└── mp/           # Final MP4 videos
    ├── sa2024-01-15.mp4  # Amcrest timelapse
    └── ss2024-01-15.mp4  # Reolink timelapse

/home/pi/
└── dual-timelapse.log    # System logs

Monitoring & Logs

View Real-time Logs

tail -f /home/pi/dual-timelapse.log

Check System Status

# Process status
ps aux | grep timelapse

# Disk usage
df -h /var/www/html

# Recent log entries
tail -20 /home/pi/dual-timelapse.log

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Camera Unreachable

Check IP addresses and network connectivity
Verify camera web interfaces are accessible
Ensure cameras are powered on

Permission Denied Errors

# Fix directory permissions
sudo chown -R $USER:$USER /var/www/html/
sudo chmod -R 755 /var/www/html/

Low Quality/Missing Images

Check camera settings and image quality
Verify network stability
Monitor disk space usage

ffmpeg Failures

# Test ffmpeg manually
ffmpeg -framerate 24 -pattern_type glob -i '/var/www/html/sawork/*.jpg' \
       -c:v libx264 test.mp4

FTP Upload Issues

Verify FTP credentials and server accessibility
Check network connectivity to FTP server
Test manual upload: curl -T test.mp4 ftp://server/ --user user:pass

Log Analysis

Check for specific errors:

grep "ERROR" /home/pi/dual-timelapse.log
grep "WARNING" /home/pi/dual-timelapse.log

Monitor capture success rate:

grep "capture completed" /home/pi/dual-timelapse.log

Customization

Adjust Capture Duration

# In the script, modify these lines:
for run in {1..480}; do    # Amcrest (32 min)
for run in {1..600}; do    # Reolink (40 min)

Change Video Quality

# Higher quality (larger files):
-crf 20

# Lower quality (smaller files):  
-crf 30

Different Frame Rates

# Slower motion:
-framerate 12

# Faster motion:
-framerate 30

Advanced Configuration

Multiple Intervals Per Day

# Capture every 4 hours
0 */4 * * * /home/pi/dual-camera-timelapse.sh

# Capture only during daylight (6 AM to 6 PM)
0 6,10,14,18 * * * /home/pi/dual-camera-timelapse.sh

Storage Management

The script automatically:

Removes images smaller than 10KB (corrupt/failed captures)
Cleans up temporary files after processing
Can be extended to remove old videos after X days

Network Optimization

2-second camera offset reduces network congestion
30-second upload stagger prevents FTP server overload
5-second processing delay prevents CPU/disk conflicts

Camera API References

Amcrest API

http://IP/cgi-bin/snapshot.cgi?channel=1&type=0

Reolink API

http://IP/cgi-bin/api.cgi?cmd=Snap&channel=0&rs=TOKEN&user=USER&password=PASS

Performance Notes

Total execution time: ~45-50 minutes
Peak disk usage: ~2-4GB during processing
Network bandwidth: Dependent on image resolution and upload speeds
CPU usage: High during ffmpeg processing phases

Support

Check logs first for troubleshooting, then verify:

Camera connectivity and credentials
Disk space availability
Network stability
FTP server accessibility

Version History

v1.0 – Initial dual camera implementation
Added concurrent capture with staggered processing
Comprehensive error handling and logging

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