How to Use Super Slow-Mo (Video)

Two tips and tricks in one week?! Crazy, I know. But with the launch of the new Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus (and the fact that Samsung was kind enough let me use one before its release) there’s just a few videos I want to get out for anyone who might be thinking about getting an S9 or just got one and are curious about some of the newer features.

So, for this one, let’s check out how to use super slow-mo, the feature that records 960fps to give you some epic short clips.

Firstly, the 960fps super slow-mo, compared to the 240fps regular slow-mo, only works for a short burst of 0.2 seconds. It then lengthens that to a playback length of 6.4 seconds. Regular slow-mo, on the other hand, can be run continuously and 0.2 seconds of 240fps footage played back at 30fps would give you 1.6 seconds.

*Ignore the above quality as they were converted to gifs then compressed to hell in order to be uploaded to the site

Now, Samsung does do something clever here though. Even though it can only do a burst of 0.2 seconds at a time, you can have a video with multiple of these bursts in it.

And lastly, the 960fps super slow-mo will be recorded at 720P whereas regular 240fps slow-mo will record at 1080P and also any of the slow-motion features require a lot of light to look good so keep that in mind when shooting.

How to Use Super Slow-Mo

To get started, open the camera app.

Swipe over to or tap Super Slow-Mo above the viewfinder.

You can select two different options here. You can either manually control when the super slow-mo is initiated or have it automatically initiated when motion is detected within the box.

 

For manual mode, tap manual at the bottom left and then tap record and it’ll begin recording a video. When the event you want to make super slow-mo is about to happen, tap the three dot icon and it’ll grab a 0.2-second section that’ll play back as slow-mo when the video is played back. You can also continue to tap this button multiple times to get multiple slow-motion sections (a good idea if you want to get a specific thing in slow-motion and just cut the video down to that section after you got it).

For automatic mode, tap auto at the bottom left and then tap record when you have the camera lined up with whatever you want to record in slow-motion when it’s moving just outside of the square in the middle (so it’s path will go through that square when you want to slow it down). The square will turn yellow when it’s ready and as soon as something crosses the square, it’ll grab the clip. You can use this multiple times in the same video, as well.

If you want to only enable a single slow-mo capture per video you can tap the gear icon in the viewfinder and then tap Super Slow-mo and change it from multi-take to single-take (but personally I’d leave it on multi since you can always cut the video out and have a better chance of not missing what it is you wanted to slow down).

After that, you’ll find the video in the gallery designated by the multiple circle icon.

You can then tap on that multiple circle icon on the video to see where the slow-motion happens (you’ll see the tally marks where the slow-motion is enabled) and you can then add music, turn the slow-motion on and off, and trim the video down. Then tap save and you can then share it as you would any video.

You can also swipe up on the video in the gallery to select if you want the video to loop (like a gif), go in reverse, or swing (think Boomerang on Instagram). If you select any of these options and hit save it’ll save a copy of the video as a gif in a folder called Super Slow Clips.

And there you go! How to use Super Slow-Mo on the Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus. Let me know if this helped you in the comments below and follow me on Twitter for more tips and tricks.