How Apple implemented time-lapse video in iOS 8
One of the great new software-based camera features Apple tossed into its bag of iOS 8 tricks is the ability to take time-lapse video footage.
Curious as to how Apple implemented the feature, designer Dan Provost of StudioNeat -- purveyor of the Glif -- recently conducted a number of tests to determine what the iPhone's camera software was up to behind the scenes. Provost soon discovered that Apple's time-lapse feature was cleverly designed and works to ensure that even longer clips don't unnecessarily eat into your device's storage:
What Apple means by "dynamically selected intervals" is they are doubling the speed of the time-lapse and taking half as many pictures per second as the recording duration doubles. Sounds complex, but it's actually very simple.
This is an efficient way to assemble a time-lapse. When you start recording a time-lapse, the app only captures 2 frames per second. If the recording period extends beyond 10 minutes, the app switches to capturing only 1 frame per second, and deletes every other frame it had captured in the first 10 minutes.
An elegant solution, to be sure.
Make sure to check out Provost's full post for more details regarding the nuts and bolts behind iOS 8's time-lapse feature.
