360 rumors

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 ...

The  Benro MK10  is a selfie stick that can quickly convert to a tripod, and is a very useful accessory for a 360-degree camera.  Here's why. While photographers scoff at selfie sticks, they are one of the most important accessories for a 360 camera, because they enable you to move the camera farther away to avoid the giant hands / giant thumbs look.  A selfie stick is even more useful when it can convert into a tripod, because it allows the photographer to move away from the shot. iKross selfie stick / tripod The selfie stick / tripod that I use for indoor photos and videos is the iKross .  However, it's since been discontinued. Fortunately, there's a similar product called the Benro MK10 .  Like the iKross, the Benro's handle converts to tripod legs.  There's no need to attach tripod legs to the MK10. The top of the MK10 is a built-in ballhead with a universal 1/4-20 tripod attachment that can work with most 360 cameras.  The MK10 also includes ...

With 360 videos, any shaking is exaggerated and becomes quite noticeable, so 360 videos benefit tremendously from stabilization. Smoovie stabilizer is a compact, pocketable stabilizer made for smartphones and small cameras (under 250g) that may also work for smaller 360 cameras.  It uses a handle with a magnetized gimbal and a counterweight for stability.  The basic Smoovie comes with a smartphone holder, while the Smoovie Plus adds a 1/4-20 adapter. I found the Smoovie attractive because of the relatively low price compared to other stabilizers.  I backed the Kickstarter project for it and received the Smoovie Plus yesterday, around two months delayed from the planned release, which is not bad for crowdfunded projects. PARTS OF THE SMOOTHIE shown with optional 1/4-20 adapter The Smoovie has a smartphone holder which you can accommodate typical phones (but not phablets).  There's a knob for adjusting the tilt angle of the smartphone hol...