360 rumors

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.

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...

The Mac desktop stitching software for the 2017 Samsung Gear 360 is now available! Here is the link to the Mac software . Here are the requirements for the software . I don't know yet if the 2017 stitching software can also stitch photos and videos of the original Gear 360. Samsung also posted the requirements for the PC version of the desktop software (Gear 360 Action Director 2).  In case you missed it, the link to the new Action Director software is here .  The new software can work with both the original and the new Gear 360.  The software can be activated with either the original Gear 360 or the 2017 Gear 360's serial number. Meanwhile the 2017 Gear 360 is still pretty hard to find outside of Korea and parts of Europe.  However, you can buy it on eBay where reseller prices have dropped to as low as $260 (just $10 more than the MSRP) . Thank you very much to Axel Baumann of  www.video-tv355.de for sharing this info!

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 .

Muvee just launched a 360 video stitcher for the Mac, which can stitch Samsung Gear 360 videos and trim videos losslessly, and will add video editing features in the future. The  Samsung Gear 360  is currently the most affordable 4k 360 camera (until the TwoEyes VR camera is released).  However, its photos and videos must be stitched on a compatible phone (Samsung S6 series, S7 series, or Note 5) or on a PC with the included software.  Now, Muvee has made a stitching software for Mac users.  The software is available for a free 15-day demo (with watermark).  If you like it, you can buy the software for $49.95. Users will get a free update that will add video editing features such as - adjusting the exposure of either lens (I hope they include color adjustment), - a storyboard to put multiple 360 photos together into a slideshow - adding music. I don't know yet the software can stitch Gear 360 photos and whether it will be able to put multiple 360 videos t...

Samsung's press conference focused primarily on their TV and home products. However, there were a few VR-related announcements. Samsung announced that the Gear VR has reached 5 million users and have watched 10 million hours of video. (No mention of the number of hours played on games.) With the possible exception of Google Cardboard, this would put Gear VR far ahead of all other VR systems combined, at least for now. There was no mention of an updated version of the Gear VR. Samsung also briefly mentioned the Gear 360 camera but did not talk about the rumored Gear 360 Pro. Otherwise, the only other items they discussed that were related to 360 cameras or VR are Chromebook Plus and Chromebook Pro, two new laptops that can run not only Chrome OS apps but also Android apps. These new Chromebooks would make it easier  to edit 360 photos and videos with a purely mobile workflow.

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 360 video from a Samsung Gear 360 mounted on top of a MiG-29 Fulcrum jet fighter as it flies to the edge of space! Migflug is a company based in Switzerland that offers commercial flights on jet fighters.  Their ultimate package is a flight to the edge of space on a MiG-29.  On one of these flights, they attached a  Samsung Gear 360  on top of a MiG-29. The Samsung Gear 360 was mounted to the vertical stabilizer using a custom-made mount: The  Samsung Gear 360 's lenses were exposed as the MiG-29 flew at speeds almost to Mach 2 but the Gear 360 was fine. Here is the video: Here is a review of the Samsung Gear 360 .  Also check out the Samsung Gear 360 Wiki and Resource Page ! via The Aviationist

The Samsung Gear 360 (reviewed here) has a waterproof housing but it seems to be available only in Europe so far.  Meanwhile, you can use the Samsung Gear 360 underwater with an inexpensive waterproof case / pouch, which also works for other 360 cameras.  In this post, I'll show two of them. It's fun to use a 360 camera while swimming or underwater! Having fun @terranearesort #Theta360 #RicohTheta #360camera #TinyPlanet #spherical #ultrawide #FisheyeLens #TinyPlanetBuff #photosphere A photo posted by Mic Ty (@360rumors) on Mar 29, 2016 at 12:03pm PDT I've used smartphone waterproof pouches for the Ricoh Theta S and Insta360 Nano .  Besides being waterproof, these pouches are soft, which allows me to press the buttons on the camera without needing a remote.  Here's a sample shot with a Ricoh Theta S. I found that it's best to use a waterproof pouch that is totally transparent to avoid the bag showing up in the shot, as in the photo above. I searched for a wate...

It appears you CAN stitch Samsung Gear 360 images on a Mac without 3rd party software after all. The Samsung Gear 360 (reviewed here) remains the most affordable 4k 360 video camera on the market at the moment.  However, it is compatible only with the latest flagship Samsung smartphones (S6 and above). Workarounds have been developed: - There's a modified Gear 360 Manager app that can run on some Android phones. - You can use an iPhone to trigger the Gear 360 remotely . - You can trigger the Gear 360 remotely with the dedicated Bluetooth shutter . - You can use the built-in self-timer. However, the Gear 360 does not stitch its photos or videos in-camera.  To stitch its images, you need the latest flagship Samsung smartphones or its included ActionDirector software (Windows only). Until now, the solution for stitching on a Mac was Autopano Video (299,00 € for the basic version).  However, it appears that you can use a Mac to stitch Samsung Gear 360 images by using Bootc...

Here are a couple of videos comparing the video quality between the Samsung Gear 360 (reviewed here) and the LG 360 Cam . Here's one under different lighting conditions, including both outdoor and indoor.  Be sure to change the setting to 4k: Here's another comparison between the Gear 360 and LG 360 Cam.  This one is on Facebook (please click on "HD").  This comparison also includes the Ricoh Theta S (reviewed here) , and includes both videos and photos:   https://www.facebook.com/360rumors/posts/1243007549056615

You can now preorder the new Samsung Gear VR , for release on August 19, direct from Samsung here . Besides the slightly larger field of view, compatibility with both USB-Type C and Micro USB, and the improved controls, the new Gear VR includes a USB OTG port.  The OTG port allows the new Gear VR to receive data, not just power.  One way that the OTG port will be used is to enable viewing videos from a USB drive connected to the port.  The Samsung Internet browser will be updated to add this capability when used with the new Gear VR.

The official release date for the Samsung Gear 360 in the US is on August 19, the same as the Samsung Note 7.  The MSRP is $350.   Here is a detailed no-holds-barred review of the Samsung Gear 360 .

The Insta360 Nano (reviewed here) is a new 360-degree camera for the iPhone.  It competes with other consumer 360-degree cameras, such as the popular Ricoh Theta S (reviewed here) , and the Samsung Gear 360 (reviewed here) . Here are a couple of sample videos showing their image quality (be sure to switch to 4k first).  The first set is with cloudy skies.  The second set is with sunny skies.  Click on the playlist icon to switch between the two videos. The videos also show the effect of the Nano's calibration.  The Nano's stitching on one side wasn't perfect, but it was remedied by the calibration.  In the first set of videos, I didn't calibrate the stitching on the Nano.  The children's slide shows a slight stitching error.  In the second set, I calibrated the Nano.  The slide has no stitching error. Here's how they look in a headset ( Samsung Gear VR ).  In this case, I copied the video into my Samsung S6 then played them with MoonPla...