How to record video, slow-mo, and time-lapse with your iPhone or iPad

The Camera app can take video — up to 4K or 60fps! — but it can also take slow motion, time lapse, and more!

Your iPhone and iPad isn't just a still camera, it's also a video camera. It can record standard video in up to 60 fps, and more recent models can even do 4K at up to 30 fps. You can also capture slow motion video, to see every back flip or water drip, and time lapse to watch the sun fly across the sky or a house get built in seconds. It's all up to you!

• How to shoot video with your iPhone or iPad
• How to change video resolution and frame rate on your iPhone or iPad
• How to shoot a slow motion video on your iPhone
• How to change the slow- and normal-speed points for your slo-mo iPhone video
• How to switch between 120 fps and 240 fps slo-mo
• How to create a time-lapse video on your iPhone or iPad
• How to take a still photo while capturing video on your iPhone or iPad

How to shoot video with your iPhone or iPad

1. Launch the Camera app from the Home screen of your iPhone or iPad.
2. Swipe from left to right across the bottom to switch from Photo to Video mode. (Or just tap the word Video.)
3. Tap the Record button to start your video.

4. Tap the Stop button to end your video.

   

How to change video resolution and frame rate on your iPhone or iPad

Depending on which device you have, you can change video recording mode from 720p all the way up to 4K, and from 30fps to 60fps.

1. Launch the Settings app
2. Tap on Photos and Camera
3. Tap on Record Video

4. Tap on the video recording option you prefer.

   

Standard options include 720p and 1080p, or on the most recent iPhones, 1080p at 60fps or 4K at 30fps.

How to shoot a slow motion video on your iPhone

Slow motion video is a feature available on the iPhone 5s and newer. It allows you to shoot video at a high FPS (frames per second) then go in after the fact and slow down a specific part of the video.

1. Launch the Camera app from the Home screen of your iPhone.
2. Swipe to the right twice to select Slo-Mo mode, or just tap the word Slo-Mo at the bottom left.
3. Tap the record button to start the slow-mo video

4. Tap the stop button to stop recording.

   

How to change the slow- and normal-speed points for your slo-mo iPhone video

1. Launch the Photos app from the Home screen.
2. Find and tap the slo-mo video in Photos.

3. Tap the Edit menu button along the bottom of your screen. You'll see the slow-mo portion of the video expanded in the timeline.

   

4. Drag the sliders on either side to the points where you want the video to ease into or out of slo-mo.

5. Tap Done once you have the sliders set where you want them.

   

How to switch between 120 fps and 240 fps slo-mo

If you have a more recent iPhone, you can choose between 1080p at 120fps and 720p at 240fps. The more frames you choose, however, the more light you'll need.

1. Launch the Settings app
2. Tap on Photos and Camera
3. Tap on Record Slo-mo

4. Tap on 120fps or 240fps.

   

How to create a time-lapse video on your iPhone or iPad

1. Launch the Camera app on your iPhone or iPad.
2. Swipe to the right three times to enter time-lapse mode.

3. Tap on the record button to start your time-lapse. (In this example I've rotated the phone because vertical videos are bad)

   

4. Let your video record for a good amount of time. Typically, the longer the record, the better the time-lapse will turn out.

5. When you're done capturing, tap the stop button to end the time-lapse.

   

How to take a still photo while capturing video on your iPhone or iPad

1. Launch the Camera app from your iPhone or iPad Home screen
2. Switch to video mode and start recording. (See: How to record a video with your iPhone or iPad)

3. Tap the take picture button to the left of the stop/start button. It looks like an all-white shutter button.

   

The screen will flash white to indicate you've taken the photo. Every time you tap the take picture button, another photo will be saved to your Camera Roll, while your video will just keep recording.

Note: With the iPhone 6s, you can take high-resolution photos while shooting video (3840 x 2160 when shooting 4K video). Chalk that up to Apple upgrading the iSight camera to 12-megapixels. If you're still rocking the 5, 5s, 6 or 6 plus—which all feature the 8-megapixel iSight camera—you'll notice a steep drop-off in photo quality. The iPhone 6 and 6 plus, captures photos at 2720 x 1532 (4-megapixels), compared to the iPhone 5 and 5s which capture photos at 1280x720 (1.2-megapixels).