360 rumors

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...

Here is a 360 video comparison between five 360 cameras, by Aram Pan of plus720.com !  Here are the cameras Aram compared: - 2017 Samsung Gear 360 - Nikon Keymission 360 - Entaniya 280 on a GoPro Hero 4 Black - Giroptic 360Cam (their first camera, not the Giroptic iO) - Ricoh Theta SC Here is the video comparison: What do you think?  Let me know in the comments!  You can check out the cameras here: -  2017 Samsung Gear 360 -  Nikon Keymission 360 - Entaniya 280 on a  GoPro Hero 4 Black -  Giroptic 360Cam -  Ricoh Theta SC ABOUT ARAM PAN Aram Pan's YouTube channel is quite popular.  One of his past projects was a 360 video of North Korea (!).   Here is the story of his trip .  And here is his 360 video from North Korea  (captured with the Entaniya 280 + GoPro Hero 4 Black).  You can follow Aram's YouTube channel here .

Probably the biggest news for 360 cameras out of NAB Show 2017 is the Yi 360 VR, a 360 camera with 5.7K video, the highest video resolution for consumer 360 cameras thus far, for just $399.  I had a chance to talk to Yi Technology about the Yi 360 VR. Here is the 360 video interview with Yi Technology's Director of Marketing.  Also with me was Svend Even Haerra from NRK, Norway's Public Broadcasting Station.  You also get to see my reaction when I first found out about the Yi 360 VR! :D (To shoot the video, I used the Nikon Keymission 360 and Guru 360 gimbal .) If you found the video helpful, please take a moment to hit the Like button on YouTube, and and please consider subscribing to the 360 Rumors YouTube channel ! For specifications and other info on the Yi 360 VR see here .  Again, the Yi 360 VR is $399, shipping in June.  If you are interested in preordering the Yi 360 VR, you can sign up here  (you'll need to scroll down to the bottom of the page). ...

Here's a simple technique: if you add a 360 photo at the end of your 360 video, your viewers will be able to look around and enjoy your 360 photo after watching your video. I used this technique in a video I took yesterday.   My family and I went skiing, and I took some photos and videos with the Nikon Keymission 360 (reviewed here) .  Here's the video I took: BTW, one part of the video looks a little bit "foggy" -- that's because my Keymission lens got scratched and I haven't bought a replacement lens yet.  I should have bought a lens cap ! My face looks a little foggy because my Keymission lens got scratched. Anyway, I edited the video using Cyberlink ActionDirector (the free 360 video editor included with the Samsung Gear 360 ), but the same can be done with many other 360 video editors including Cyberlink PowerDirector 15 Ultra , which has the same 360 video editing capabilities as ActionDirector. In the storyboard, I added the 360 video of us on the lift...

I took a photo with a Nikon Keymission 360 ( reviewed here ) and it would have looked good except that my face is "foggy."  It's not because of a problem with the Keymission, but because I scuffed my lens and I haven't bought a replacement lens for it yet. Here is the 360 photo: I took other photos and they have the same issue .  Here is the scuff on the lens protector : As I posted previously, scratches affect 360 cameras more seriously than non-360 cameras because of 360 cameras' very short focal length.  The good thing about the Keymission is that I only have to get a replacement lens protector rather than replace the whole camera. Anyway I found a third party lens cap for the Keymission .  The set includes a cover for the regular lens protector and the underwater lens protector . I would definitely recommend getting one if you have the Keymission because the replacement lens protectors are $40 each for a single lens protector (not a pair) besides the inc...

On Friday January 20, the United States will inaugurate its 45th President, Donald Trump.  USA Today Network will be recording and livestreaming the inauguration in 360. The camera that USA Today will be using is a  Nikon Keymission 360 (review and related posts here) , a camera that is actionproof (waterproof, freezeproof, shockproof) and currently the only 4k consumer camera that stitches videos automatically in-camera, making it useful for journalists who need a quick turnaround time. The Keymission is also  the 360 camera used by the Associated Press . The Keymission doesn't have livestreaming capabilities so USA Today will be using a modified version of the Keymission. Thank you very much to Jim Jensen (moderator of Google's Photo Sphere Community ) for bringing this to my attention!

Just a brief break from CES 2017 related news (still more to come! :D ). The Associated Press believes that all its journalists should be able to shoot 360 video.  In this post, we'll take a look at the equipment and techniques their journalists use.  The cool thing is that the equipment and techniques are within reach even for you and me. EQUIPMENT The AP needs to respond quickly to news around the world.  AP's journalists need a camera that is easy to carry, has good image quality, and is easy to transmit.  The AP provides its journalists with the Nikon Keymission 360 ( $499 ; reviewed here ). The Nikon Keymission 360 is compact and more rugged than most 360 cameras (in fact, it is waterproof up to 30 meters even without a housing).  Its image quality is among the best for 360 cameras .  Although some users have problems pairing the Keymission with their smartphone, the Keymission can be operated without a smartphone.  Its photos and videos are stitc...

Josselin Cournou is a Sydney-based photographer who tried shooting with the Nikon Keymission 360.   Here is a short article on My Nikon Life  on the impact of 360 photography on Josselin. Thank you very much to   Jim Jensen  (moderator of the Photo Sphere Community ) for bringing this story to my attention!

If you're going on a vacation, a 360 camera is a must-have for your trip.  But there are now several 360 cameras on the market.  Which one of them would be the best? The best 360 camera depends on your specific needs: If you are just starting out and want the most affordable 360 camera, that would be the LG 360 Cam (originally $199, on sale for $99 ; reviewed here ).  The LG 360 Cam is compatible with both iOS and Android.  Photos are stitched in-camera, while videos are stitched on your smartphone via an app.  It has decent image quality for both photos and videos.  However, in low light, there is a lot of chroma noise.  You also need to keep it charged at night because the battery drains even during standby. If social media is important to you, and you'd like to be able to share photos and videos easily , and even do a livestream in 360 , the best camera at the moment is the  Insta360 Nano ( $199 ; reviewed here ).  The Nano connects to y...

Check out this excellent article on Petapixel about 360 video techniques learned from a year of shooting 360 video around the world! The article is by Steve Johnson, founder of  Boundless , a DC-based studio.  Over the past year, Steve has been traveling to Iceland and Norway, and has been using 360 videos to document climate change. Among other things, the article discusses: - which cameras he uses and why (one of them is the Nikon Keymission 360 ); - building a narrative; - technical challenges of shooting 360 video such as lighting, stitching, and camera placement. 360 videos are still a very new medium and it's always great to see content creators sharing techniques for shooting 360 video. RELATED POSTS Nikon Keymission 360 Wiki and Resource Page

Here's a technique to turn on the Nikon Keymission 360 (reviewed here) without recording a video or taking a photo. The Nikon Keymission 360 has an unusual characteristic: it uses the video recording button or shutter button as a power button.  One benefit of this approach is that the Keymission is ready to record videos or photos almost immediately from standby, with nearly zero startup time.  Even with the Keymission on standby, you can press the record button and it will start recording a video (or photo) right away. On the other hand, this also means that if you simply want to turn on the camera, you will likely end up recording a video, which you have to stop and later erase. Fortunately, it is actually possible to turn on the Keymission without recording a video or photo.  To do so, simply hold down the video button for about 4 seconds until the yellow green LED lights up -- then let go immediately.  That's it!  (Caution: do not hold it down after the yel...

As promised by Nikon , they have issued an update to the firmware and app to address connectivity issues with the Keymission 360 (reviewed here) .  Here is the link for the firmware: http://downloadcenter. nikonimglib.com/en/products/ 337/KeyMission_360.html To update the app, go to your smartphone app store. I will update this post after testing the new firmware and app.

Nikon acknowledged that "some customers" are having problems pairing the Keymission 360 (reviewed here)  with their smartphone.  They have promised to address connectivity issues in December through a firmware update and an update to the Snapbridge 360/170 app. Here is the link to the announcement . In the meantime, Nikon has also released a FAQ with responses to some complaints or issues that customers have raised.  They have also released other guides: Nikon KeyMission 360 Information & Education: Nikon KeyMission 360 Information & Education Initial pairing Bluetooth and Wi-FI: Initial Pairing of the KeyMission 360 and SnapBridge 360/170 App on an iOS Device Un-pairiing. re-pairing Bluetooth for iOS: How to Un-Pair and Re-Pair Bluetooth on the KeyMission 360 and Your iPhone Media card to use with Keymission 360: Which Media Card Do I Use With the KeyMission 360 Action Camera RELATED POSTS: Nikon Keymission 360 Preliminary Review Nikon Keymission 360 photos and ...

Nikon posted a new sample 360 video from the Nikon Keymission 360.  This time, it's a sailing video with ocean racing legend Franck Cammas. Here is the video: The sample seems to show not only the Keymission's water resistance but also effective electronic image stabilization.  The stitching looks impressive as well, with almost undetectable stitch lines. This sample is the latest in a series of Keymission 360 samples recently posted by Nikon.  Nikon announced the Keymission 360 in January 2016 and promised delivery in Spring.  However, they later announced that the Keymission 360 will be delayed due to software issues.  Given that the stitching has vastly improved from these recent samples compared to samples from earlier this year, it seems that Nikon has made great progress on the software. RELATED POSTS: Nikon Keymission 360 update and samples

(note: this is a low-resolution screenshot) Nikon has recently posted samples from the Keymission 360 showing improved stitching.  There was a video with a wind turbine , and a video with giraffes .  There's another one with elephants in Kenya.  This one was captured by Nikon Ambassador and National Geographic photographer Ami Vitale, who also captured the giraffe video.  As with the other recent videos, it shows very good image quality and nearly flawless stitching. Here's a link to the video on Facebook (for best results, be sure to switch to HD mode). Update : another sample video featuring a rock climber. I found this one through a post on 360CamerasForums.com . 

Nikon posted a new sample video from the Nikon Keymission 360, its highly anticipated 360-degree camera.  The video was captured by Ami Vitale, a National Geographic photographer.  In it, Ami feeds a giraffe, while the Keymission is mounted over her Nikon D4s with Nikkor 24-70 2.8. Here is the video: In my opinion, the image quality is quite good.  The sharpness is very consistent throughout the frame.  The video shows only a slight decrease from contrast due to flare under these challenging lighting conditions. Notably, the video shows remarkable stitching.  Typically, the farther apart the lenses are, the more difficult it is to hide the stitch due to parallax stitching error.  In this regard, the Keymission's lenses have similar distance as the Samsung Gear 360.  However, the Keymission appears to be able to do a good job of making the stitch line less apparent even at very close distances. Another recent Keymission 360 sample showed excellent stitc...