Time-lapse photography is the technique where merely taking pictures from one point of view over time. It is the cinematography technique, and the images are captured much slower which will be used to play the sequence back. These pictures are used to make a video clip and when you replay the series, the time appears to move to fast and to lapse.
Simply we can say that, we are manipulating time in this time-lapse photography. Generally, the event takes minutes, hours, days or even months can be viewed to completion in seconds. The sequence has to be speeded up by using factors of tens to millions.
Now is not the time when you could only create or capture such videos with high-end devices, even your smartphone can do the task. Most of the smartphone also comes pre-equipped with built-in time-lapse features. Some phone might lack it but need not worry if you are that person since we have compiled a list of some of the time-lapse apps for your Android and iOS smartphone.
Table of Contents
Best time-lapse apps for Android and iOS:
1. Framelapse
If you the guy who wants everything done instantly then this app is for you, with almost zero rendering time and lots of customizations options. With the Framelapse app, one can quickly get a lot of control over the settings like you can easily play with exposure, timer, white balance and can even apply filters. And for video, you have full command to edit the frame interval, orientation, and video duration. Also one of the major features that makes Framelapse one of the best time-lapse apps to use is the option to choose the resolution and the bitrate of the video.
Framelapse does come in two versions free and paid; naturally free version comes with pop-up ads, but if you are okay with them then the free version of Framelapse should do the job for you while the paid version does have its benefits like no ads, custom bitrate, white balance lock, exposure lock, and more. Also, the paid version isn’t that costly just for $2.99, so choose the versions wisely.
Install: Android (free, $2.99)
2. Lapse It
Lapse It could be the best companion of someone who is entirely into time-lapse videos, with this app you are allowed to have the upper hand over everything feature you can think. Ranging from manual settings like ISO mode, scene mode, focus mode, and white balance. You also have an ability to set and choose the interval after which each frame is shot.
Another noticeable feature is that not only can you shoot time-lapse videos but also have the ability to shoot stop-motion videos. Also before final rendering the videos, Lapse It gives you the features to change the resolution, frames per second, codec and even add an effect or audio.
Just like other apps, Lapse It is also available in 2 version free and pro, but the drawback is that most of the features are available only if you have the pro version which costs $2.99. So if you are thinking to utilize all the features of Lapse It then you will have to get the Pro version otherwise you can skip this app.
Install: Android (free with in-app purchases, $2.99), iOS (free with in-app purchases, $2.99)
3. Microsoft HyperLapse
Microsoft also jumped in the production of the time-lapse photography apps and came up with HyperLapse. The best part of this app is that its free to use and comes with no ads but do not get your hopes too high the downside of using this app is the watermark that happens in the videos(which I cannot remove, do comment if you have any ideas how to remove them). It can be called as a very minimal app with options to either record or import videos from the library.
If you go with recording a new video, then you get an option to select the video speed from 1x to 32x. Once the video is recorded, you can set the resolution(720p or 1080p) and the location where you wish to save the video. Microsoft also gives you the ability to share the masterpiece with others after the final rendering is done.
Install: Android (free)
4. HyperLapse from Instagram
Just like Microsoft, Instagram also has a time-lapse app and that too with same name HyperLapse. Just like the previous entry, this app is also a very minimal, the interface is just the camera and the option to change the speed of time-lapse. Even though Instagram develops this app, it doesn’t require Instagram username and password which means you can easily store the final videos in your phone or share with anyone.
Unlike other apps where you won’t be able to shoot good videos if you are in motion, HyperLapse comes with in-house Instagram stabilization through which one can quickly fix issues and removes bumps that might occur during recording. Now if we talk about the recording speed, then the video shot from this app can be created up to 12x the speed of the original video.
HyperLapse from Instagram is a very cool and straightforward time-lapse app which does your job and does not irritate with any ads. So you must try this out if you are new to time-lapse apps.
Install: iOS (free)
5. TimeLapse
TimeLapse can easily be listed on top of the charts of best time-lapse apps, its very powerful and does supports functionality which no apps in the list offer. Like other apps, TimeLapse also offers manual controls like brightness, contrast, saturation, and exposure but in addition to this, it even lets you record the video in 4K resolution and saves RAW images too.
Besides the above amazing features, It also gives the user the ability to record tilt-shift videos and that too with absolutely no time-lapse flicker. And after those videos are recorded, one can even edit them on a frame level with various amazing features.
The drawback of this app is that the free version only allows recording a certain number of videos. To record more and unlock some more features, you’ll have to purchase the pro version which costs $4.99 but its worth every penny. This app isn’t like minimal hyperlapse apps, so if you are serious about time-lapse videos, then you must have this in your arsenal.
How to take time-lapse photography
There are a number of things you need to consider before planning out your shoot. You should set how long the interval will be between shots. Monitoring the construction site over months or years is different from the monitoring the growth of plants over days or weeks. Depend on your capture; you can set the intervals between shots.
The different sequence requires different time intervals to capture the best action for your time-lapse project. If you are capturing the interval in your SD card or power budget, it gives you the greatest flexibility. If the time interval is too long, you can also consider the ‘jumping’ where the object will completely disappear in the next shot.
Balancing time-lapse photography settings
In this time-lapse photography, poor planning leaves you with a full card message, or it can quickly cut a scene too short. So you have to plan correctly before you take the time-lapse shot. You have to do a lot of discussions. The main important concept is manual control and the second most important consideration is motion control. Our time-lapse images are played back to back very rapidly and smoothness added to the entire sequence by the slight blurring in each photo that blends.
Creating the time lapse is compiling the images together. It is not very complicated to create a time-lapse movie using hundreds of still photos.
Best time-lapse photography camera
In recent years, digital camera technology has made significant advantages, and the photography comes with higher quality. The digital camera must be easy to use, cater to various types of photography, has a modern look and feel and it has wide price ranges. In this photograph, time appears to be moving faster and lapsing.
A time-lapse camera allows you to capture many days or even years into a few minutes of video. If you are planning to shoot time-lapse photography, you need to consider some key issues.
The time-lapse project can be considered two different areas. One is short-term, and another one is long-term. An example of the short project is capturing the sunset. A long-term plan means setting up a system and leave it to capture for weeks or even months.
The camera should provide superb images in high resolution, and it works very well in low light conditions. If the camera system has Wi-Fi connectivity, you can easily create time-lapse by using an app.
