Using a compact is so much simpler. Remmber "keep it simple." Problem with dslr is that after about an hour of timelapse, pull out the wallet for shutter repair. CHDK is a great program for use with Canon compact cameras. I have never experienced any problems using a compact or with the CHDK system. By not using a dslr I save tons of cash with no repairs, and can take timelapse pics/film forever without worrying about my camera shutter dying. Only real advantage of dslr is the looks. "Look how big my camera is!" Forget this....get a compact and "keep it simple." With todays technologies the compacts have superior resolution (megapixels), more than you could ever need.
Have fun shooting

Pretty sure you still get more dynamic range with dslr cameras. Also I have never had a shutter burn out on the 7 or so slr's that I have owned. I had a nikon d200 first and that thing took about 500,000 shots and is still clicking away today. I just sell my camera the body when it gets past 300,000 clicks and or upgrade.

That being said I do agree that eventually there will be no need for an slr, but as of now there is no full frame compact that can compair.

Sure compacts are great if you don't care about dynamic range, color depth, clean high ISO, dof manipulation, battery life, weather sealing, quality optics, night time shooting, etc etc... Never lost a shutter yet. But what do any of us know? I'll be sure to throw out that useless old dslr.
Lol

Actually I do agree with you Daniel and Jack. My lapses have all come out great so far with my compacts. I must say I dont experience any flicker, and any other problems I can correct in post production....some of time lol. If I get the cash one day I may try a good dslr. I just worry about that shutter life grrrr lol. Thank you to you both for your replies.

It's not as big an issue as you fear, most dslrs will do over 150,000 shots. Shutter repair is only a few hundred.

Jack, thanks so much....gonna start saving here and pick up a dslr in the new year. Wow I started this topic as "forget dslr use compact" and here I am going to purchase my first dslr lol Guess I was dumb....but am now a lot more knowlegeable towards slrs. I will still use my compacts.....but it is "quality" I want....and now I know a dslr can accomplish this for me.

Thanks to you and all the forums here for helping me.

Advantages of DSLR - better image quality overall, especially in low light / high shutter speed situations.
Advantages of a (suitable) compact camera (like my Ricoh GX200) - can do bracketed images in RAW, has f 2.5 wide angle lens, and camera plus the ac adapter allowing me virtually hours of shooting, all up cost me only a few hundred bucks brand new, so I don't worry as much if it gets damaged by rain/stolen when my back is turned/shutter wears out. And I can carry it around in my pocket.
And you can lock the focus, aperture, exposure etc.

Shutter eventually break.

Last crash we had was an EOS D600/T3I which broke after 276k or so shots just 3 weeks ago.

From a my point of view (long lasting timelapse projects), I would add to what have been mentioned previously:

DSLR:
+ very stable
+ wide selection of lenses

Compact:
- unstable, tend to crash after a few days
- remote control over PTP not available on Canon compact since 2009 (so no new cameras)
- Only a few models can be electrically restarted if they crash (Powershot S50-80 series)
- No night shots, just compare http://toronto.webcampak.com/ (Canon t2i) with this http://buhl.spottrotters.com/ (Powershot S50-S70) at night time.

I would say that it might be better to consider the camera's shutter as something which is expected to fail, then you can keep a spare camera on-site, when/if shutter break, you simply replace the camera and send the other one to repair.

The interesting debate then is to choose between an entry level, a mid range or a high range DSLR. On this topic it really depends of the project, how critical it is and the photographer in charge.

High range DSLR have much higher expected shutter life, on the other hand if your camera is installed in proper conditions it's likely that an entry level DSLR will reach (or come close to) expected shutter life of a mid/high range DSLR.
No specific guidelines here, its' really on a per-project basis.

How does this look?
Shot with a Ricoh GX200 compact yesterday...and you can pick them up pretty cheap these days on FleaBay, as the model dates back to 2008...
Original 12mp mages were batch-cropped down, then video compiled in Picassa, no de-flicker needed... almost too easy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5sPqLNO8oI