Instagram became popular as photo sharing app. With the popularity of Vine, a standalone video-sharing app that features 6-second videos, Facebook found the need to add video to Instagram. The limit on Instagram is longer at 15 seconds and honestly, I find the 15-second limit quite sensible since I don’t think I can make a decent 6-second video.
Video on Instagram is as easy to use as the photo feature. On the interface there is now an icon for video and when you tap it, you are presented with a big red circular button that needs to be pressed when you want to take a video. The video feature has Cinema stabilization which means it will minimize the shakes in your shots. Cinema stabilization is currently available only on the iPhone but the feature is headed to the Android version in the future.
Video on Instagram offers filters, 13 to be exact, that have names as interesting as those on the photo version. The video is in square shape just like the photo version but I guess third party apps will surface in the future just like SquareReady for photos. Right now there is no way to post videos from your gallery so you need to take them using the Instagram app. Once you are done taking your video, you can choose a scene that you can use as cover frame the same way you do it on YouTube.
I have taken the video feature for a spin and I find it easy to use. I see the video feature immediately becoming popular considering the user base of Instagram. Vine is a nice app but I will not be surprised if video on Instagram becomes more popular than Vine since it has a longer limit and a bigger user base. I’m pretty sure Twitter who owns Vine will not permit Instagram to feature videos on the microblogging site but this will not matter much. I can still see Instagram users using the video feature and brands taking advantage of it the way they have taken advantage of Vine. What’s good with Vine is it features popular and trending videos, something that’s missing on Instagram.
Have you used video on Instagram? How do you find it? Share your thoughts in the comments section.