360 rumors

The Insta360 Pro is an amazing camera, and the marketing materials can't even capture all of its remarkable features (partly because Insta360 keeps adding new features!).  Here are 17 undocumented features of the Insta360 Pro.  Since there are so many of them, I tried to group them into Photo, Video and live streaming, and both Photo and Video. PHOTO 1. 60 second shutter speed .  It has full manual exposure and you can specify a shutter speed as slow as 60 seconds -- slow enough to capture night sky photos. 2.   Unlimited intervalometer .  The Insta360 Pro has an intervalometer (i.e., it will take a photo after every time interval), and the time interval is anywhere from 2 seconds to a practically unlimited time interval (I put in a crazy number like 200,000 seconds and it accepted that value).  Note: The intervalometer is in the video mode as "time lapse". 3.   The intervalometer / time lapse can be for 3D not just 2D . 4.   Stitched 360 Photos i...

I compared two of the best 360 cameras for consumers right now: Garmin Virb 360 and Xiaomi Mijia Mi Sphere for low light performance in typical indoor lighting conditions.  Here's the video: Both cameras did very well in this low light test.  As for which one is better, here are my thoughts: Without editing, the Garmin Virb 360 looks underexposed compared to the Xiaomi.  In Premiere, I added +1.0EV exposure, which made the Garmin exposure look more similar to that of the Xiaomi. Remarkably, the Virb video held up to the adjustment and did not show any noticeable increase noise. With the adjustment, the Virb and Xiaomi look very similar, but the Virb video is actually more detailed.  Here are closeup cropped portions of each video: Nonetheless, there is a huge $500+ difference between these two cameras, so you might say they are both winners in their own way.  In terms of absolute image quality, the Virb 360 edged out the Xiaomi, but the Xiaomi is so much mo...

Here's a new sample from the Yi 360 VR , the most affordable 5.7K 360 camera. Here's the sample, posted by Sami Luo : What do you think of the sample?  Let me know in the comments! Thank you very much to Martin Smith of Roto Studios for bringing this to my attention!

Dolly360 is a radio-controlled and stabilized dolly for 360 cameras. Dolly360 is a radio-controlled dolly designed for 360 cameras, with both horizontal and vertical stabilization.  It uses a gimbal for spherical stabilization and a telescopic oil shock absorber for vertical stabilization. Here is a video: Here is a sample 360 video from a GoPro rig mounted on the Dolly360: The Dolly360 can handle a camera up to 5 kg and will be carry it up to 1 km.  It costs 500,000 JPY (about USD 4491 at current exchange rates).  The price is for the dolly only and does not include a camera.

Ricoh has announced a huge discount on the Ricoh Theta SC, which is now only $199 !  I don't know yet if this is a permanent price adjustment or just a discount for the summer. The Theta SC has the same sensor as the Theta S, the most popular 360 camera and almost all of its features, including the best stitching in the industry. But at $199, it is almost half of the cost of the Theta S.  This makes the Theta SC quite possibly the best value for 360 photography. Here is a review of the Theta S - almost all of which applies to the Theta SC as well, except that the Theta SC has no HDMI port, no live streaming, and has a 5-minute limit on videos.  The Theta SC has interval shooting (an intervalometer) but I believe it doesn't have interval composite, so if you want to do star trails, for example, you'll need to blend the exposures yourself using tools such as Photoshop or Lightroom. Thank to you to MS and Tony Anastasi for bringing this to my attention!

Here is another low cost selfie stick that is slim enough to be invisible to 360 cameras, straight out of the box with no modification required. I've been recommending the Benro MK10 as a selfie stick because if you remove the ballhead, then it becomes invisible to 360 cameras.  The problem is that removing the ballhead takes a lot of effort because the ballhead is glued with loctite or something. Like the Benro MK10, I found  this cheap selfie stick called Monopod  that is slim enough to be invisible to a 360 camera, but you don't need to modify it. I tested it with the Xiaomi Mijia Mi Sphere ( reviewed here ), which is itself a very slim 360 camera, so anything but the slimmest selfie stick will show up in the shot.  Here is how the nadir looks with the Monopod selfie stick: Note that there are selfie sticks that look similar but which are slightly thicker and will not be invisible to slim cameras such as the Xiaomi Mijia Mi Sphere.  In the shot below, the ...

As I said in my review of the Xiaomi Mijia MI SPHERE 360 camera , I found the Xiaomi  to have the best image quality for both photos and videos for 360 cameras that cost $350 or less.  You can now preorder the international version with English instruction manual, for shipping in July. The Xiaomi Mijia MI SPHERE is a camera that most people still don't know about, but it has been surprising new users.  Nonetheless, the Xiaomi has a number of quirks, one of which is that it feels like it wasn't intended for sale outside of China. For example, - the App Store listing previously had only a Chinese name (how would English speakers search for it?  Note: it's now in English); - the manual is entirely in Chinese. - The original app had many options that were in Chinese (but now the app is now almost fully translated). The downloading page for the Xiaomi app is still in Chinese. Now however, Xiaomi is ready to release the Xiaomi Mijia Mi Sphere outside of China, with a man...

I found the perfect camera case for the Garmin Virb 360!  Look at it -- it even fits both cradles, and there's no wasted space.  Here's a video: The case is the Pelican Micro 1010 (available here) .  Here are the benefits: - fits the Garmin and both cradles with no wasted space - Virb and cradles will not move around - Transparent cover lets you see if the camera is inside - You can attach your monopod or selfie stick while the Virb 360 is still in the case (while cover is open obviously) - The case can be used to temporarily cover the Virb like a lens cap while the Virb is on a monopod waiting between recordings. - you can attach a strap to it for your backpack, etc. - includes a carabiner - Water resistant, dustproof, crushproof - Low cost - Proudly made in the USA by Pelican.  Comes with a lifetime guarantee. PLEASE NOTE THE DIRECTION that the lenses are facing. Do not face the lenses to the cradles - they could be scratched! Alternatively, you can also remove the...

Lanparte's LA3D-VR-01, a gimbal for 360 cameras ( previewed here ), the first consumer gimbal without counterweights is now available . Lanparte LA3D-VR-01 is a gimbal designed for 360 cameras with two lenses such as the Samsung Gear 360 and Nikon Keymission 360.  It has an unusual design that places all the motors within the stitch line, making them invisible to the 360 camera (except that the yaw motor and the handle will become visible if the handle is held horizontally). LA3D-VR-01 is also the first consumer 360 gimbal that does not use counterweights .  In theory, this should make it much lighter and easier to setup the gimbal, compared to other 360 gimbals that use counterweights. The LA3D-VR-01 has a modular design and appears to have parts that are interchangeable with some of the other components of Lanparte's LA3D system, possibly including  Lanparte's wearable wireless control kit , although I don't know for sure yet. Here is an interview and demo by Persona...

Double 2, two-wheeled self-balancing 360 Camera Dolly is now available. An increasing number of 360 videos are using movement.  Among other things, slow forward movement can be used as a subtle way of directing the viewer's attention, as demonstrated for example in Felix and Paul's documentary, "The People's House." The challenge for 360 filmmakers is that a 360 camera sees everything around it, therefore it is not ideal to use traditional methods for moving a camera such as a camera operator carrying a camera or using a camera track dolly. There are dollies available for 360 cameras that perform very well but they tend to have substantial cost. See here (Vroomcam) and here (RigRover) . Double 2 is a two-wheeled self-balancing 360 camera dolly by Double Robotics.  It is a modified version of the Double 2 robot which was designed for telepresence. The modified version of the Double 2 is designed specifically for use as a 360 Camera Dolly.  Instead of an iPad and c...

I hope you had a great Father's Day weekend.  Over the weekend, I tested the Garmin Virb 360's underwater capabilities in a swimming pool.  Here are videos and photos. The Garmin Virb 360 is waterproof up to 10 meters, without needing a housing.  The Virb is only the second 360 camera for consumers to do that (the first was the Nikon Keymission 360). Of course, just because a camera is waterproof does not negate the laws of physics.  In particular, refraction will often be an issue.  That is why in my list of 12 things to know about the Virb before ordering, I warned that Garmin had not posted any underwater photos or videos, and that there would likely be refraction underwater. I took the Virb 360 to a swimming pool to find out.  As expected there was refraction.  Nonetheless, the stitching looked better than the other 360 cameras I've used underwater, such as the Keymission 360 ( see these samples by Young360 ), the Elecam 360 with its housing ( see...

Here is a quick informal photo and video comparison between two of the best 360 cameras at the moment: the Garmin Virb 360 ($799 ; first impressions here ) and the Xiaomi Mi Sphere ($250 to $300; reviewed here ). When I reviewed the Xiaomi Mi Sphere, I found it to have the best photo and video quality among consumer 360 cameras around $350 or less.  Meanwhile, the Garmin has launched the Virb 360 with 5.7K video* (4K in-camera stitched), which is the most feature-rich 360 camera I am aware of, bar none. Both cameras feature image stabilization, which puts them heads-and-shoulders above the competition, IMHO.  No doubt the Xiaomi is a great choice, but is it worth spending the extra to get the Virb 360?  To help you answer that, I took a quick sample of photos and videos from these two cameras for comparison.  (Note: the Virb is using firmware 2.70, while the Xiaomi is using firmware 12494). Here are the videos.  The first is a montage that alternates between th...

After a few delays, I finally got the Garmin Virb 360!  I've been really excited about this camera because of its many features.  In fact, I would say that it has the most features of any 360 camera I've encountered, bar none , not the least of which is its unique image stabilization that follows the user's direction of movement instead of being locked in one direction . Here is a recap of the key specifications and features of the Garmin Virb 360: - video resolution: 5760 x 2880 (unstitched) or 3940 x 1920 (in-camera stitched) - photo resolution: 5640 x 2816 (no, that is not a typo) - gyro-based image stabilization - waterproof to 10 meters without a housing - G-Metrix overlay - live streaming - 360 audio The Garmin's box is smaller than I expected.  Maybe I expected a bigger box just because of the cost of the camera.  Here's what's inside: - the Virb 360 - a mini-tripod / handle - one battery (it appears to be specifically only for the Virb 360) - a proprieta...

The Xiaomi Mi Sphere has emerged as a dark horse 360 camera that has surprising photo AND video quality (it appears to have the best of both compared to consumer 360 cameras ).  However, one issue is that it has limited compatibility with smartphones, requiring a Snapdragon 625 or better processor in order to export the full video resolution.  Xiaomi's app has limited iPhone exports to 2304 x 1152 -- less than half of the full resolution. One solution to get the full resolution out of the Xiaomi is to use a third party software to stitch the videos, and Muvee Stitcher is probably the most affordable such software.    Ulf Brusquini shared this tutorial for stitching Xiaomi Mi Sphere videos in full resolution using Muvee Stitcher for Mac. Here is Ulf's tutorial: Be sure to check out Ulf's YouTube channel ! Besides using a third party stitcher, another solution is to buy a fully compatible smartphone just for rendering purposes.  Previously it seemed that you wou...

Underwater housings for 360 cameras can be expensive and/or hard to find.  However, reader Kimmo Kiiveri shared this ultra low cost DIY underwater housing for 360 cameras, and his housing is immune from refraction. Kimmo was looking for an underwater housing and it occurred to him to use a plastic water bottle. "I thought that the bottle keeps the water inside so why not the other way round."  And that's exactly what he did -- check it out! Kimmo added an O-Ring to improve watertightness.  Here are a couple of videos shot with his DIY underwater housing and his LG 360 Cam: Thank you very much again to Kimmo Kiiveri for sharing this technique and these videos!  You can check out his YouTube channel here !

VRDL360 is a crowdfunded camera with 7K photo and 3K video resolution that looks like it's about to be fully funded.  It's still being offered at the shockingly low price of $99 .   Meanwhile here are full resolution sample photos. The photos were shared by the campaign organizers then I uploaded them to Roundme so we can see them in 360.  According to the organizers, the photos are completely unedited. The resolution of the files are 5656 x 2828, lower than the 7K resolution they claimed.  I am guessing that the final photos will have higher resolution if they will stick to their claim of 7K.  In any case, the exposure and sharpness look excellent, and I couldn't find any chromatic aberration.  The colors look good in some of the photos, while in others the white balance seems to have a little too much magenta.  The stitching looks flawless in several of the photos.  The dynamic range looks very good although few of the photos pushed the camera b...

The Guru 360 is the most affordable gimbal for 360 cameras.  It also has one of the smallest nadirs and in some cameras, it can even become almost invisible .  Here's a demo and tutorial. Stabilizing your video with a gimbal is one of the most effective ways to improve its quality and to enhance your viewers' experience.  Among gimbals designed for 360 cameras, the Guru 360 is the most affordable and it also has one of the smallest nadirs to date. The nadir is small enough that it is possible to make it almost invisible.  Here's a 360 video demo and a tutorial: As I mentioned in the video, the most visible parts of the Guru 360 in the nadir are the motor and the counterweights.  To make them disappear, you need to do two things: 1. Move the camera off the center of the gimbal and toward the pitch/roll motor.  The goal is to put the motor between the lenses. 2. To hide the counterweight that is on the opposite side of the pitch/roll motor, you need to split...

Here is an update on the Garmin Virb 360's availability and a sample photo. The Garmin Virb 360 is backordered in a few places.  Here is an update on its availability: - Amazon : I ordered mine on May 24, and now I'm getting a ship date of July 7... sigh.  Amazon is usually pretty good with preorders but seems like someone dropped the ball on this one. - Preorders from Amazon UK appear to be having their orders shipped tomorrow but no one has received theirs yet. - B&H Photo : as of today, it seems they're back in stock on June 20. - Best Buy : since Amazon's late and B&H was backordered last week, I grudgingly ordered from Best Buy, supposedly for pick up on June 14.  They charged my card immediately but until now have not shown that my order is being prepared.  Yup.   Update : I just got an email saying my order's been delayed to June 19.... >:-( They did the same thing to my Oculus Touch preorder, which was also delayed.  They even had stock o...

Insta360 Pro, Insta360's 8K 360 camera, is being released soon.  Meanwhile, Insta360 has been posting more samples from Insta360 Pro, including some new low light samples that show the Insta360 Pro's incredible low light performance. Insta360 Pro is a professional 360 camera from Insta360 with 8K 360 video.  It also features 6K 3D 360 video, 4K in-camera stitched video (2D or 3D), and 4K live streaming. It is also one of the very few 360 cameras with gyro-based image stabilization that can maintain a level horizon regardless of how the camera is rotated.  It does all of this at an unheard-of price of $3,500 (the price already includes stitching software), far below professional 360 cameras such as the $5,000 GoPro Omni rig, which has up to 8K resolution but requires tedious stitching of six video files from six GoPro cameras, and has no 3D capture or live streaming capability.  As far as I know, this is the lowest cost 8K 360 camera. Meanwhile, Insta360 recently post...

Ben Claremont (Life in 360) shares this tip on how to avoid overheating on your 360 camera.  And no, you don't need to bring a fan. :) Here's the video: So far the cards I have been using are Sandisk Extreme 64GB (U3) and I haven't been experiencing premature overheating issues.  I've also been trying out the Samsung EVO Select 64GB (U3) , which costs significantly less and so far I haven't noticed any issues either.  I'm also using the Samsung EVO Select 128GB (U3) for my Samsung S8+ Micro SD card slot, and haven't noticed any issues.  In fact, when using my Insta360 Air , I've set it to record to the Micro SD, and have been able to record and playback at the higher 3K setting without issues. How about you?  Are there any Micro SD cards that you particularly like or dislike?  Let me know in the comments!