While Apple has been releasing better and better cameras with each iteration of their popular iPhone mobile computing device, the extremely light weight of the phone makes it an easy victim for violent camera shaking.
Software developments have made videos and photos smoother, but there is still a lot of room for improvement when comparing video footage to more professional (and stable) image-gathering equipment.
Instagram is aiming to change all of that with their new app Hyperlapse. It promises to help all of you iPhone photographers out there to create super-smooth, as-close-as-you-can-get to professional video and features a beautiful user interface, to boot:
One of the great things about the app is that you don't necessarily have to sign up for anything to use it. It means that Instagram user or not, anybody with an interest in shooting better video on their iPhone can download and use it for free just like most other free video or photo editing apps.
So what do you with it?
Well, shooting cleaner video is a start, but the real magic lies in Hyperlapse's extended features.
For example, a user could speed up their previously-shot footage to create compelling time-lapse videos, or slow their video for maximum stabilization using the phone's gyroscope as a hardware-based stabilizer:
"When you shoot a time lapse video with Hyperlapse, your footage will be instantly stabilized to smooth out the bumps from the road and give it a cinematic feeling. Capture an entire sunrise in 10 seconds-even from the back of a moving motorcycle. Walk through the crowds at an all-day music festival, then distill it into a 30 second spot. Capture your bumpy trail run and share your 5k in 5 seconds."
-Instagram/Hyperlapse
The end goal is to finish with a piece of video that looks as cinematic as possible to use in your social media posts including Instagram (of course), Vine, Facebook and pretty much any other program that allows you to share updates with media. If you'd rather just share that embarrassing video from last weekend with a couple of close friends, you can do that, too.
With the continuing rise of iPhone videography -- thanks in no small part to better cameras on the devices -- it'll be interesting to see what mobile moviemakers can come up with as developers continue to push out new products that can completely change how you perceive your phone. Only yesterday we were using the same built-in video technology we've been using for months... and today users have an entirely new creative tool at their disposal.
So far the app is only available for iOS, but Android users shouldn't fret. While Instagram initially came out on iPhone, they did indeed see that the market for Android users was large enough to make efforts in developing for the Android platform. With a little more time, we're pretty certain that you'll be getting your own version of Hyperfuse, too.
You can get Hyperlapse for free over at the iTunes App Store.
