Are you able to do this effect with most editing programs?

Well, if by "most" you mean Avid, Adobe Premiere Pro or Final Cut Pro, then yes.

I have all my pictures taken, I took one every 30 seconds for about 5 hours. I'm just trying to figure out how to convert that to video.

perhaps you should clarify what technologies you have at your disposal to get more relevant advice.

If you have final cut pro, you could import a folder with all your pictures, drag that folder onto the timeline, and that's it! FCP assigns each picture a duration based on what you set the "still/freeze duration" to be in User Prefs>Editing. You just need to make sure the pics are organized in the proper order--something most cameras do for you.

Believe it or not, this can be done in QuickTime Player if you have QuickTime Pro. Choose File>Open Image Sequence. Select the first picture, in a folder which contains all of them. Export the resulting movie (don't try to play it yet) using the format and size you want, and there you have it.