@MortenCopenhagen Interesting test! And fun too! However, because one of the videos is in landscape, for me, itâs not a true comparison. Also, it would be good to keep the length of all three clips the same.
I picked the timelapse as the video I think Maps would most likely feature because from a visual perspective, it feels like itâs showing more due to the landscape orientation.
For a portrait orientation, my preference is still for the cinematic Pan.
Side note: I initially thought that your slow motion shot is using the slow-mo mode but itâs actually still the cinematic Pan mode minus the panning movement. For those wondering, there is a slow-mo mode in Android and iOS phones but the output video is at regular speed with a middle portion slowed down, so it creates a cool effect of normal-slow-normal speed in the movement. And you can adjust the start and end points of the slowed section. Usually, this mode is great for sports or fast actions (e.g. a skateboarder doing a trick with their skateboard) where you want to slow down the video at a pivotal moment.
And just to add a bit more on the different video styles, I think that it highly depends on the subject that youâre taking and what youâre trying to show.
Still (the phone is held in the same position with no movements):
- best for landscape orientation that can capture more of the subject. Switch to ultra wide lens, if needed and/or available. Example: exterior of buildings (use the same principle when capturing store front photos)
- suitable for portrait orientation if the subject is tall and narrow. Example: a statue/monument
- basically, you are trying to fit everything into your cameraâs view
Panning (moving left-to-right or vice versa):
- works in landscape or portrait orientation; usually when the subject is too big for the cameraâs view and you have to pan to capture everything. Again, ultra wide lens will come in handy
- great for capturing an indoor space and showing the vibe
Tilting (moving bottom-to-top or vice versa):
- similar to panning but best for indoors where the building has a high and ornate ceiling that youâre trying to showcase
- can also be used as a slow-reveal shot e.g. the video will show the sky/ground before tilting to reveal the subject. Timing is critical, you donât want a video that spends too long showing the sky/ground before revealing the main focus
Cinematic + Still/Panning/Tilting (the video is slowed down):
- you can switch to Pan mode (Android) and do a still/panning/tilting shot.
- for panning/tilting, timing is critical because you donât want to move too slowly otherwise it gets boring (unless the subject has a lot of interesting details that is worth moving slow to observe carefully).
- my thought process on the speed is based on this simple notion: imagine yourself scanning a room (indoors) from one corner to another, and youâre trying to find a friend sitting at a table (i.e. youâre looking at the faces as you scan the room). If it took you 6 seconds to scan the room, then in your cinematic pan video, you would want to move your camera in 3 seconds, pointing from one corner to the other, such that the output video is 6 seconds long. The objective, is to create that natural speed of looking around but the âreality in the videoâ is slowed down. I hope that makes sense!!
Timelapse (sped up video; camera is still/panning):
- best for showing long movements whilst keeping your video short. Examples: a look-out point with a sunrise/sunset, bridges (people/traffic crossing the bridge), canals (boats moving along the waterways).
- some folks with advance gadgets also add panning to the their timelapse which can result in a pretty cool video.
Hyperlapse (sped up video but camera is moving):
- great to show the 360 exterior of a building.
- itâs a bit tricky to do but doable. Just put your phone on Timelapse but you do a walk around the building whilst always maintaining the building the center of the shot. Itâs tricky because itâs very easy, whilst walking, for the building to move out from the center. Fancy 360 cameras do this better because their software allows you to track an object.
For me, the beauty of the cinematic pan is that I can spend less time taking the video (because Iâm moving my camera quite quickly) whilst getting a slowed down and smooth (motion wise i.e. less shakes) shot. This is perfect when I want to be discrete when Iâm taking my video of a cafe/restaurant (or any indoor place).
Just another tip: the ultra wide lens for photos is usually fine but for videos, the quality isnât very good. The sensor is usually poorer so youâll see noise (if itâs low light) or artifacts.
And lastly, this is my most viewed video on Google Maps; it is a view of the Grand Palace in Bangkok, Thailand. Itâs a cinematic pan+tilt in landscape. Itâs not perfect as I should have trimmed 2 seconds off from the start (too much lily) but itâs a nice reveal and pan of the place. If I remember correctly, I also went from a low to high sweep (crouching to get close to the lily pads and then standing up). Itâs managed to garner 6,600,404 views so far so please feel free to add to the view counts! 
https://maps.app.goo.gl/mgX1AAQdBf5pXNxC6
If so, I would indeed go for the panned one.
Haha, good one! I know, it is a real video. I meant it feels more natural.