360 rumors

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 a full review of the Xiaomi Mijia Mi Sphere 360 camera, which has become one of my favorite 360 cameras for its excellent image quality and incredible image stabilization. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Xiaomi Mi Sphere is an excellent 360 camera that has the highest image quality for both photos and videos among cameras around $350 or less (for photo quality, I would say there is no better 360 camera unless you are willing to buy a Panono).  On top of that, its image stabilization really works, and it works very well.  On the other hand, the Mi Sphere has significant drawbacks that you should review before buying it. Here is the video review: WHAT'S IN THE BOX The Xiaomi Mi Sphere includes: - the camera - a mini tripod / handle - a Micro USB cable - a water resistant pouch The Xiaomi is very well made, with a sleek matte black outer finish with hidden LED indicators (like the Theta).  The frame is metal, which makes the Xiaomi feel solid but also helps to radiate heat (...

You can now stitch Samsung Gear 360 photos online for free with NadirPatch.com , a web-based service that offers several tools for editing 360 photos. NadirPatch is a free web-based service for editing 360 photos , with tools for adding a watermark, patching out the tripod, or converting a spherical photo into cubes.  They've added a new tool for patching Gear 360 photos.  You simply upload the photo in double circular fisheye format and it will stitch it as a standard equirectangular projection. The 2016 Gear 360 was a very good camera that took great photos and videos but was hampered by poor compatibility (it would only work with high-end Samsung phones, S6 or above, and the desktop software was only for Windows).  NadirPatch's online tool would be useful for those who don't have a compatible phone or desktop, and comes at a time when the 2016 Gear 360 with 30mp photos can be purchased for less than $150 at the time of this writing.

Check out this aerial 360 video by Jean-Marie Cannie that uses two 2017 Samsung Gear 360 cameras to make the drone invisible! Last week I posted about Jean-Marie Cannie's dual 360 camera mount for the DJI Mavic Pro , which puts the Mavic in between the two cameras, allowing it to be masked out. Here is a new video based on two 2017 Samsung Gear 360 cameras : I've ordered Jean-Marie's dual mount and will be testing it on my Mavic using two Xiaomi Mi Sphere cameras with image stabilization .  I'm hoping the stabilization will remain synchronized.... we'll see!  If it doesn't work, my backup plan is to get another 2016 Gear 360, which is now very affordable (available  from Amazon  or  B&H Photo ).

Ben Claremont (Life in 360) gives a very detailed comparison of the 2017 Samsung Gear 360 and the original Gear 360.  I'll let you know my take on these two cameras as well. Here's the video: SECOND OPINION Here are my own thoughts on the two:      The original Gear 360 is actually a very good 360 camera.  Its biggest problem was poor compatibility.  It worked only with high-end Samsung smartphones (S6 and above).  In addition, the desktop software was for Windows only.      As for me, I liked it but I have to admit I didn't use it all that often after a while.  The photos were nice but not reliable because of blurgate.  I liked it well enough for videos but one thing I didn't like was the glare (something that Ben notes in his comparison as well).  As far as I can tell, the glare is a reflection of the concentric rings around the lens.  It's quite distracting, in my opinion, and very difficult to correct.  And ...

The 2017 Samsung Gear 360 has finally launched in the US for a remarkable $229 !  And there's a promo to get it for even less.  I also wanted to demonstrate the 2017 Gear 360's image stabilization. The 2017 Samsung Gear 360 is the most affordable 4k 360 camera.  It was launched about a month ago in Korea, Germany and a few other countries.  It is finally launching in the US.  Officially, the launch date is tomorrow, which is why it's not yet on the Samsung US website (as of today May 25), but online retailers such as Amazon have already made the US version of the Gear 360 available . At just $229, it is the lowest cost 4K 360 camera (based on MSRP).  Moreover, Samsung has a new promo that lets you buy the 2017 Gear 360 for just $49 if you get a Samsung S8 or S8+ within the promo period  (May 25 to June 19). Although the Gear 360 is the lowest cost 4K camera, it is actually a pretty good 360 camera for both 360 photos and videos, and it is compatible wi...

A photographer claims that he dove with his 2017 Samsung Gear 360 12 meters underwater without any kind of underwater case and was able to take photos.... The shooter uses the pseudonym  Aris Tocrate .  According to him, not only did the camera survive, but the photos look excellent, with seamless stitching notwithstanding the refraction of the water. Here's a crop showing the seamless stitching, notwithstanding the water's refraction. He posted two samples.  Here's a screenshot from his other post on the Samsung Gear 360 2017 group. I discussed it with one of my friends and my friend found another post by the same user, showing the exact same photo, but he posted it to the Nikon Keymission 360 Facebook group, also claiming he took the shot without a case: It therefore appears that this is just a prank (1 month and 22 days late I would say).  The truth is that the 2017 Samsung Gear 360 (available here) is water-resistant but NOT waterproof.  If you want to us...

I compared four #360consumer cameras with the best low light performance - 2017 Samsung Gear 360 (available here) - Xiaomi Mijia Mi Sphere 360 camera (available here) - Kodak SP360 4K Dual Pro (available here) - Nikon Keymission 360 (available here) . Which camera came out on top?  See the videos for yourself! I wanted to know which 360 camera performs best under indoor lighting (on a late afternoon).  I compared four 4K cameras: -  2017 Samsung Gear 360 (available here) . Currently one of the hottest new 360 cameras.  Ben Claremont found that it beat last year's Gear 360 in low light performance.  How would it fare against other competitors? -  Nikon Keymission 360 (available here) .  In my experience, the Nikon Keymission has pretty good low light quality and that's why I included it here. -  Xiaomi Mijia Mi Sphere 360 camera (available here) .  It's a 360 camera from Xiaomi, co-creators of the Xiaomi Yi action camera.  Not a lot of...

I took some 360 photos and videos underwater with the 2017 Samsung Gear 360 using the Ricoh TH-1 case .  I also discuss some other options. The  2017 Samsung Gear 360  has a slimmer shape than its predecessor, which allows it to be used with some accessories that were impossible to use with the original Gear 360, such as the Ricoh Theta water resistant hardcase (TH-1 or TH-2) . The 2017 Gear 360 does fit in the case, although you would need to control it wirelessly with your phone.  Alternatively, you can simply start the recording before you close the case.  Here is a video showing how the footage looks with this case: Although the stitching is not perfect, it is noticeably better than the stitching of the Nikon Keymission 360 or the MGCool 360 (formerly known as Elecam 360) when they are used underwater. See these videos: - Keymission 360 underwater - with standard lens . - Keymission 360 underwater - with underwater lens . - MGCool with underwater case You...

My friend Ben Claremont (Life in 360) just posted a review and tutorial for the 2017 Samsung Gear 360.  His video demonstrates the Gear 360's resistance to overheating (in cool weather), but points out the Gear 360's flawed video stitching. As Ben mentioned, the 2017 Gear 360 has a strange video stitching issue.  Briefly, the stitching will warp if anything crosses the stitch line close to the camera (if they cross far from the camera, it doesn't seem to warp).   It happens with both recorded and live video.  Whether this is a problem depends on individual users' preferences, but as Ben said, it's less noticeable when you're moving.  (Note also that this issue does not affect the original Gear 360). As for live streaming, it worked flawlessly with my Samsung S8 plus: I haven't been able to test it on my Samsung S6 because mine's stuck on Android 6 (I bought it used and it had a bad IMEI). Personally, I think the 2017 Gear 360 is a pretty good camera but...

All the attention right now is on the 2017 Samsung Gear 360, but there's a less known 360 camera that may actually be better, for about the same price -- the Xiaomi Mi Sphere 360 camera.  In this post, I compare photos and videos from the two cameras, as well as describe the workflow for the Xiaomi to help you decide if the Xiaomi is better for your needs. Here is a video comparing the two cameras: PHOTOS Here are sample photos from the Xiaomi, including a comparison photo with the 2017 Gear 360. Here are my observations: 1.  The Xiaomi has much more detail .  This is not surprising because the Xiaomi's photo resolution is significantly higher (6912 x 3456) compared to the Gear 360 (5472 x 2736). 2.  In shadow areas, the Xiaomi has an even bigger advantage.  The Xiaomi retains detail in shadow areas , whereas the Gear 360 has much less detail in the shadows.  The Gear 360 also has much more noticeable chroma noise in shadows. 3.  The Xiaomi has almost ...

My friend Ben Claremont (Life in 360) compared the 2017 Samsung Gear 360 with the original Gear 360.  Check out his comparison! Ben is a preeminent 360 shooter, one of the first to be recognized for tiny planet photos and videos.  He has been shooting with 360 since 2015 and knows his 360 gear, as it were.  He got the 2017 Gear 360 last week and has been testing it.  Here is his comparison between the 2017 Gear 360 and the original Gear 360: I agree with Ben's findings.   You can check out my comparison between the 2017 Gear 360 and original Gear 360 here .   I also have an updated comparison here (comparing the original files) .  I will also be working on the mega-comparison (with twelve 360 cameras) as soon as I get the Xiaomi Mijia Sphere 360 (which should be arriving this week). In the meantime, if you want to get the 2017 Gear 360, it's available here: - Amazon - B&H Photo - eBay The original Gear 360 is available below and can be found below...

How does the 2017 Samsung Gear 360 compare against last year's video quality champ?  Check out these comparison videos. Last year, I found that the Kodak SP360 4k Dual Pro had the best video quality among consumer 360 cameras.  I thought it would be interesting to compare the 2017 Gear 360 against the SP360 4K Dual Pro.  Here's a playlist with a sample from the SP360 4K Dual Pro and another sample from 2017 Gear 360. Here are screenshots (the bluish one is the SP360 4K). For near objects, the SP360 4K Dual Pro was sharper and more detailed. SP360 4K Dual Pro 2017 Gear 360 For distant objects, the SP360 was also more detailed.  In the SP360 sample below, you can see the texture of the far wall. On the 2017 Gear 360, the texture on the wall is not visible. On the other hand, the stitching on the Gear 360 is far superior: SP360 4K Dual Pro stitching 2017 Gear 360 stitching In summary, the Kodak SP360 4k Dual Pro appears to be sharper and more detailed than the 2017 Gear...