Hands on with the new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus video features

The new iPhone 6 and 6 Plus have a bevy of new videography features for those who enjoy shooting those fancy "moving pictures" on their mobile devices. I've been putting my iPhone 6 through its paces, and here's an overview of what you have to look forward to—in video form, naturally.

Shooting in "Selfie" mode

Though the iPhone's front-facing FaceTime HD camera hasn't received any boosts in megapixels, the sensor's now better at differentiating brightness and exposure; this offers you clearer, crisper 720p footage with fewer blown out lighting sources. (I dare you to avoid calling it "selfie video mode," though, as I've unfortunately taken to saying.)

High Frame Rates and Focus Pixels

Your iPhone 6 or 6 Plus camera will capture even more detail in your regular video-taking excursions than past iPhones, thanks to it shooting at 60 frames per second. Rather than trying to imitate the 24-frames-per-second look of film, Apple is instead embracing high-frame-rate video full-on. The result is clear, crisp video, no matter what you're taking. The company has also implemented its Focus Pixels technology to make sure your desired subject is always in focus, no matter how they or you move.

Let's do it in slow-motion

Apple first introduced slow-motion video mode with the iPhone 5s, and it's gotten a big boost in the 6 and 6 Plus: You can now shoot 720p video at up to 240 frames per second. At that speed, your video just looks extra-crisp; play it back at 30 frames per second, however, and you'll slow down that video to 1/8th of its original recording speed. You can do basic slow-downs in the Photos app, but Apple's iMovie app lets you have greater control over specific speeds, as seen here.

Because you're capturing more video frames in a single second, you'll need good lighting for your slow-motion videos. It's very difficult to shoot at 240FPS in a dark area, as you can see here. If you're having trouble, try downgrading to 120FPS mode to get more light to the iPhone's camera sensor. You can even still play 120FPS video back at 1/8 speed in iMovie, though it'll look choppier than full 240FPS.

Let's do the Timelapse again

Last (but certainly not least) is iOS 8's new Timelapse mode, which automatically creates point-and-shoot timelapse movies for you. The playback speed of that timelapse relative to real time depends on how long you shoot; Dan Provost has a great breakdown of this over on Studio Neat's website. The best timelapse videos involve keeping a stationary camera, though you can try moving along with your subjects as well. You can even manually slow down your timelapses via iMovie.