Xiaomi’s Timelapse Camera: A Complete Guide to Shooting Accelerated Video

What is timelapse and why it is needed in a smartphone

Timelapse is a technique that has a much lower frame rate than standard, which compresses minute or hourly processes into a few seconds of video, such as sunset, a flower blooming, or building a house, all of which can be shown dynamically and spectacularly. Xiaomi smartphones have long supported this feature at the level of a standard camera, but not all users know how to use it effectively.

Unlike regular video, where the camera captures 24-60 frames per second, timelapse can take 1 frame in 5-30 seconds (or less) and capture slow changes that are invisible to the eye, such as the movement of clouds, plant growth or traffic. In Xiaomi smartphones (especially on the flagships of the Mi series, Redmi Note and POCO), timelapse is implemented through the proprietary MIUI Camera software, but there are alternative ways to shoot with advanced settings.

The main advantage of timelapse on the phone is mobility and simplicity. You do not need to carry a professional camera or complex equipment: you need a smartphone, a tripod (or even a tool for fixing), and a little patience, while modern Xiaomi models allow you to shoot in resolution up to 4K, and some even with night mode for shooting in low light conditions.

How to turn on timelapse in a standard Xiaomi camera

The timelapse feature is built into the standard Camera app on all Xiaomi smartphones with MIUI 10 and later. To activate it, follow the following steps:

1. Open the Camera app.
2. Flick the shooting modes left or right (depending on the MIUI version) to Timelapse (may be called Time-Lapse or Accelerated Shooting).
3. Click on the icon with the image of the clock or spiral – this will start the mode.
4. By default, the camera will start shooting at an interval of 1 frame in 2 seconds, but this value can be changed.

Some models (such as Xiaomi 13 Pro or Redmi Note 12 Pro+) have additional settings:

• 🔄 Shooting interval: from 0.5 seconds to 30 seconds between frames.
• 🎞️ Video resolution: 720p, 1080p or 4K (model).
• ⏱️ Duration of the roller: automatic or manual stop.
• 🌙 Night mode: available on flagships for shooting in the dark.

Note that the smaller the frame spacing, the smoother the final video will be, but the longer you have to shoot. 10-second-clip 1 frame/5 I'll need a sec. 50 real-time.

Best Timelapse Settings for Different Scenes

There is no universal timelapse setting, depending on what you shoot and under what conditions, and below are recommendations for the most popular scenarios, tested on Xiaomi smartphones (from Redmi 9 to Xiaomi 14 Ultra).

If you’re shooting nighttime timelapse (like starry sky or city lights), Xiaomi’s flagship models (Mi 11 Ultra, 12S Ultra, 13 Pro) have a special Night Time-Lapse mode available that automatically increases exposure and reduces noise, but requires the phone to be fixed on a tripod – the slightest jitter will spoil the frame.

⚠️ Note: When shooting timelapse in format 4K For example, 1 minute of video can weigh up to 500 MB. Free up your memory in advance or use a microSD card. UHS-I.

Top.-5 Timelapse apps on Xiaomi (if the standard camera is not enough)

The built-in MIUI camera is suitable for basic photography, but if you need advanced settings (such as manual exposure, RAW shooting or post-processing), you should pay attention to third-party applications. We tested dozens of programs and selected the best for Xiaomi smartphones:

• 📱 Lapse It Pro – supports intervals from 0.1 seconds, manual setting ISO and extracts, export to 4K. There is a free version with a watermark.
• 🎥 Hyperlapse from Instagram is a simple, automatic stabilization app. Perfect for beginners.
• 🌌 NightCap Camera – specializes in night photography, supports Long Exposure and Star Trails (for shooting stars).
• 📊 Frameographer allows you to adjust exposure curves and white balance for each frame separately.
• 🔧 Camera FV-5 — professional application with support DSLR-It's a setup that's suitable for advanced users.

Before installing, check compatibility with your Xiaomi model. Some applications (such as the Camera FV-5) require support for the Camera2 API, which can be disabled on budget devices. To check for it, install the Manual Camera Compatibility app from Google Play.

Charge your phone or connect an external battery

Free up 1-2 GB of memory

Turn off the autobrightness of the screen

Install your phone on a tripod or stable surface

Check focus and exposure-->

Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Even experienced users sometimes have problems shooting timelapses, and here are the most common mistakes and ways to solve them:

1. Shake: When the phone is not fixed, use a tripod or mount (e.g. Xiaomi Mi Selfie Stick Tripod) and put the phone on a flat surface and slam it against a heavy object.
2. Exposure jumps – the camera automatically adjusts the brightness, which makes the video “shimmer”. Solution: block AE/AF Lock (press and hold the screen in camera mode).
3. The battery is dead, and timelapse is loading the battery, so you can use a power bank or power saving mode for a long shot.
4. There was no memory, the accelerated video takes up a lot of space. Before shooting, clear the cache or transfer the files to the memory card.
5. The wrong interval -- too frequent frames will give you ripped video, too rare frames will miss key points. Use the settings table above.

Another common problem is autofocus, which can "breathe" during shooting, to avoid this:

1. Switch to manual focus mode (if supported).
2. Use the apps with Focus Lock function.
3. For macro-shooting (for example, colors), fix the distance to the object using improvised means (for example, a box).

⚠️ Note: Some Xiaomi models (e.g. Redmi 8 or X-ray) POCO M3) The standard camera automatically stops timelapse when you lock the screen. To avoid this, turn on the "Do not turn off the screen" mode in the developer settings or use third-party applications.

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If you're shooting timelapse outside in sunny weather, stick a piece of polarizing filter on your lens (you can cut out old sunglasses) to reduce glare and make the colors more saturated.

How to mount timelapse: from raw frames to finished video

Timelapse is only half the story, and to get a quality video, you have to process it properly. In Xiaomi smartphones, video is saved automatically, but often needs to be reworked. Here is a step-by-step guide:

1. File Transfer: Copy the video from your phone to your computer (or leave it on your device if you mount it).
2. Cutting: Remove the extra snippets at the beginning and end. CapCut, KineMaster or Adobe Premiere Rush (there are mobile versions) are suitable for this.
3. Stabilization: If the video is shaking, use the stabilization tool in the editor. In CapCut, this is the Stabilization function in the Effects section.
4. Color correction: Increase contrast and saturation to make the video look more dynamic. VN Editor has a "Cinema" or "Bright" preset for this.
5. Add music: Pick up a track without words (e.g. from YouTube Audio Library) and sync it to the video.
6. Export: Save your video in 1080p or 4K resolution with a bitrate of at least 20 Mbps.

For advanced users: if you have shot timelapse in RAW or with separate frames (JPEG/PNG), they can be glued into video using FFmpeg (free tool).

ffmpeg -r 30 -i img%04d.jpg -c:v libx264 -pix_fmt yuv420p -vf "scale=1920:1080" output.mp4

Where -r 30 is the frame rate in the final video, and img%04d.jpg is the filename template.

Hidden functions of timelapse on Xiaomi: what do not write in the instructions

Xiaomi smartphones have a few “chips” that aren’t obvious at first glance, but can significantly improve the quality of timelapse.

• 🔍 Professional mode: In some models (e.g. Xiaomi) 12T Pro: you can run timelapse from the Manual Camera Mode, which gives you access to the settings. ISO, white balance and exposure.
• 🌓 Automatic timer stop: In the timelapse settings (cog in the upper right corner), you can set a limit on time or the number of frames.
• 📱 Shooting with two cameras: On flagships (for example, Xiaomi 13 Ultra) you can simultaneously record timelapse on the main and wide-angle cameras, and then mount them in one video.
• 🔋 Power saving: Enable High Performance mode in the battery settings so that the phone does not reduce the processor frequency during the shooting.
• 🎯 Grid and Levels: Activate Grid Display (Camera Settings) → Auxiliary lines) and horizon level to keep the frame even.

On devices with MIUI 14 and later, AI Time-Lapse has been introduced, which automatically selects the shooting interval depending on the scene (for example, for sunset or traffic), but it doesn't work perfectly - sometimes it's better to set it up manually.

Another life hack: if you shoot timelapse in a room with artificial lighting (for example, incandescent lamps), there may be flickering due to the difference in frequency. To avoid this, set the shooting interval multiples of 1/50 seconds (for example, 0.02 seconds, 0.1 seconds, etc.).

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On Xiaomi flagships (12/13/14), timelapse can be shot in 10-bit LOG format, which gives more options for color correction, but such files require processing in professional editors (for example, DaVinci Resolve).

FAQ: Answers to Frequent Questions About Timelapse on Xiaomi