Let’s say you want to take a cool fast-motion video for Instagram, TikTok, or YouTube. And you should, it can be a great way to show a lot of time, space, or both in a short clip. Many phones and cameras have two options, timelapse and hyperlapse. Both, in essence, do the same thing. They “speed up” time in the resulting video.

The short answer to their difference is that a timelapse combines a series of still images into a video, while hyperlapse speeds up normal-speed video. The longer answer as to why this makes a difference is a bit more complex, and while you could use them interchangeably, each is better suited for specific types of content.

Timelapse

To shoot a timelapse video, place the phone or camera in a stable position, ideally on a tripod, and either manually shoot an image every few seconds or minutes, or enable the timelapse mode and let the camera do it.

Timelapse videos are a great way to show the passage of time. If you take a photo every minute for an hour, you’ll end up with a 60 second video of that hour. Great for sunsets, sunrises, people and cars at rush hour, and so on.

Depending on your equipment, you could take a photo every hour, day, week, whatever length of time you want. One of the main differentiators between timelapse and hyperlapse is that the camera typically doesn’t move with a timelapse, though that distinction blurs a bit depending on your gear. You certainly can turn on the timelapse mode and then move your camera.

Hyperlapse

The main difference with a hyperlapse is that the camera is moving. However, in many cases it also means the camera is recording video, not a series of still images. Since no one is looking over your shoulder, you can shoot a hyperlapse with the camera on a tripod instead if you want, though it likely doesn’t make much sense to do that.

For cameras/phones that record video for a hyperlapse there is another benefit: better image stabilization. With 30 frames every second there’s significantly more for a camera to process and create a smooth-looking video.

Not all cameras use the name “hyperlapse.” GoPro for instance calls their version of this TimeWarp.

This example was recorded as a video, and sped up with the camera’s app to be a hyperlapse, though in theory it could have been shot as a timelapse with, perhaps, not as smooth motion.

Pros and Cons

So the short version: If your subject is moving, shoot a timelapse. If the camera is moving, shoot a hyperlapse. If you’re trying to capture a very long period of time a timelapse is better regardless. This is because all cameras have maximum recording times and limited memory. It might not be able to record for an hour straight, and you’ll fill up the storage very quickly.

For instance, most of the below video is a timelapse… but the camera is moving. This is because the hike took many hours, and recording video that entire time would have filled up many, many memory cards.

Leave a reply