Shoot time-lapse videos like a pro with standalone Instagram app

Don’t be fooled into thinking that Hyperlapse is just a video version of Instragram that’s filled with a whole hoard of filters and editing controls. Hyperlapse is a stripped-back, time-lapse video shooting app that pares some great image stabilization technology with one of the simplest user interfaces around.

Getting rid of the shakes

This isn’t Instagram’s first foray into video, as the company introduced a feature in its app last year that allows you to both capture videos and apply filters to your footage. But this time it has released Hyperlapse, a standalone app (its second standalone offering after Snapchat-pretender Bolt) specifically for creating time-lapse videos that uses image stabilization technology the company has created itself in-house.

According to Wired, the reason it decided to make Hyperlapse a standalone app rather than package it in the Instagram app was that it didn’t want it to get lost in Instagram features.
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With the Hyperlapse app, Instagram has decided to get rid of any unnecessary features or options and focus on allowing you to shoot video quickly – no filters, cropping, tinting etc****. The first time you open it, Hyperlapse will give you a quick tutorial on how to use it. But, after that, it will open directly into video capture mode meaning you can quickly shoot a video without having to go through different options. Another major plus is that you don’t have to sign in or create an account.

Hyperlapse has been billed as a time-lapse app and it’s great for that purpose because it’s so simple to create videos. You can easily increase the speed up to 12 times, but it’s the image stabilization technology that really makes it stand out.

Previously, when speeding up videos that were taken on-the-move, the footage became shaky. Not so with Hyperlapse. It automatically uses the phone’s built in gyroscope (a device that measures orientation) to smooth out a video’s shakiness when you’re capturing a moment on the move. This works incredibly well in the app.

There a couple of minor drawbacks to Hyperlapse: the videos are stored in your camera roll rather than the app itself and there isn’t a social network style feed where you can check out your friends’ videos. Also, if you’re looking for video customization and editing options, this isn’t the app for you and you can’t import existing videos.

Professional videos for casual users

The great thing about Hyperlapse is that it’s suitable for both casual users who simply want to shoot some fun videos, but get great, non-shaky and professional-looking results and it’s also great for pro movie makers who don’t want to carry round equipment. Not only are the videos high quality, but they are shake-free.

It couldn’t be easier or more straightforward to use. There aren’t any extra settings or features to play around with. It’s a simple point and start recording and then click the green arrow to save it at the playback speed you want, a sliding scale to choose your speed, and click the red cross to delete the footage or edit it later, or even share it with Facebook or Instagram (Facebook owns Instagram after buying the company in 2012).

There aren’t any obvious glitches or lags in Hyperlapse, but the maximum filming time is limited to less than an hour and you can only share videos of certain lengths.

Hyperlapse is here to stay

Today’s smartphone app world is a pretty crowded place, filled with almost every kind of feature you can imagine. So it can be easy to be cynical about all the false promises out there. Hyperlapse is not some novelty nonsense (I’m talking about you Swing Copters), but a really well-designed, thought out app that has great technology behind and provides some much-needed new features that will help add that bit of creativity to video shooting in a super simple way.

Instagram has added what will probably be a very popular feature to Hyperlapse: the ability to use your front facing camera to record yourself and turn this into a time lapse video. The company is calling this a ‘selfielapse’.

Hyperlapse also now has an updated design on the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.

Changes

• Instagram has added what will probably be a very popular feature to Hyperlapse: the ability to use your front facing camera to record yourself and turn this into a time lapse video. The company is calling this a ‘selfielapse’.

  Hyperlapse also now has an updated design on the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.