360 rumors

Giroptic has updated the firmware for the iO to add photo stabilization.  They also said that they would be adding video stabilization "soon"! The Giroptic iO is a 360 camera accessory for both iOS and Android (the Android version is being shipped very soon).  The Giroptic iO is targeted toward beginners and casual users, and is the easiest, most user-friendly 360 camera I've tried.  You don't have to do any stitching at all for photos or videos, which are stored in your phone, ready to be shared. Giroptic has now added image stabilization to photos in its latest firmware update.  This means that photos from the iO will always be vertical regardless of the physical position of the camera.  In addition, the live preview will also be stabilized in realtime. Updating the firmware for the iO is easy.  Assuming your app is updated (which should be automatic on iOS), you'll be notified about the firmware update the next time you plug your iO to your phone.  ...

Last week, Essential announced their PH-1 phone and its 360 camera accessory.  Here are sample videos from the camera: As posted last week , Essential PH-1 is a smartphone with cutting edge features such as the latest Snapdragon 835 processor, a titanium-reinforced body, a screen that covers nearly the entire surface of the phone.  It also has a 4K 360 camera accessory that is being offered for only $49 (note: it can be used only with the Essential phone).  Here are sample 360 videos from Essential's 360 camera (it's a playlist, so use the upper left menu to choose between the videos). What do you think of the videos?  Let me know in the comments!

Here's a way to make your Insta360 Air appear invisible in 360 videos.  It works to a lesser extent on the Insta360 Nano as well. INTRODUCTION You may already know that turning a 360 camera invisible for photos is easy.  You just have to use a monopod or selfie stick that doesn't have a ballhead, so the selfie stick will be right in between the 360 camera's lenses.  If a 360 camera's vertical horizon correction is not perfect, the horizon may end up topsy turvy, which is relatively easy to correct for 360 photos using apps such as edit360 for iOS or Theta Converter for Android .  My friend Ben Claremont (Life in 360) has a video about this technique . For 360 videos, this same trick is harder to do.  Most 360 cameras can't correct for the horizon rapidly enough to keep the video level (two exceptions are the Garmin Virb 360 and the Xiaomi Mi Sphere ).  It's not so easy to correct a constantly undulating horizon in a 360 video -- there are software for it s...

Essential Phone was announced today.  Not just another Android phone, the Essential Phone has cutting edge features, including a unique 360 camera accessory. Essential PH-1 is a new phone from Essential, a company founded by Andy Rubin, one of the founders of Android Inc.  It has unique features such as 2560 x 1312 screen that covers almost the entire front surface of the phone, a dual lens rear camera, the latest Snapdragon 835 processor, and a titanium body. Of particular interest to us is that it has a 360 camera accessory that has magnetic connectors to attach to the phone.  Here are the key specifications of the camera: - two 12mp sensors - each lens has a 210-degree field of view - video resolution is 3840 x 1920 @ 30fps. - aperture: f/1.8 - four microphones for 3D ambisonic sound recording I didn't see any mention of the photo resolution or the live streaming capability.  It seems as if it doesn't have image stabilization, because in one of their videos, ...

There are now several 360 cameras designed to attach to your smartphone, but Ion360 U is the first hybrid device that is both a 360 camera and a smartphone charger case. Ion360 U is a 360 camera accessory with both a 360 camera component and a smartphone charger component.  Rather than draining your smartphone, it will actually charge your smartphone battery while you're using it. Here are a couple of product videos: Here are the key specifications: - photo resolution: 8MP (I think this means that it's 4096 x 2048) - video resolution: 4K - compatible with iPhone 7, iPhone 7+, Samsung S8, Samsung S8+ - live streaming - up to 2 hours battery life - shipping around July 2017 - available in black or teal You can preorder here for $100 off ($249 instead of $349).   You can also follow their official Facebook page  and their Twitter account . What do you think of the concept?  Let me know in the comments!

Here is a video tutorial on using the Xiaomi Mijia Mi Sphere 360 camera.  I also have late-breaking news on possible workarounds using third party software. The Xiaomi Mijia Mi Sphere 3.5K panoramic camera currently appears to offer the highest video quality for 360 cameras for $300 or less, and it is one of the few that offer manual exposure controls.  Together with fairly smooth stitching, edge-to-edge sharpness, and a 24mp photo resolution, it offers an excellent package for those looking for an entry-level or even intermediate 360 camera. The only problem with the Mi Sphere is that its software is not straightforward and has quite a few bugs.  In this video, I will show how to use Xiaomi and hopefully demystify the Mi Sphere's software. As you saw in the video, the Mi Sphere has a few issues when stitching or exporting videos.  I therefore recommend trying out some files from the Xiaomi on your phone before buying it. iOS app Android app Unstitched samples for yo...

Young360 created a very good tutorial for watching YouTube in full resolution on the Samsung Gear VR headset . Samsung Gear VR ( reviewed here ) is the most popular VR headset, with 5 million users as of January 2017.  It is my favorite platform for watching 360 videos because of its much more accurate head tracking compared to Google Cardboard (Oculus Rift and HTC Vive also offer accurate head tracking but 360 videos don't utilize positional tracking anyway, so there's little incremental benefit from using a Rift or Vive to watch YouTube). However, one of the Gear VR's peccadilloes is that when watching YouTube videos (in 360 or otherwise), the resolution would often be less than the highest available resolution.  At the same time, Google doesn't want to create a YouTube app for Gear VR because Gear VR is competing directly with Google Daydream (which does have a YouTube app). Thankfully, Oculus has updated the Gear VR's software to make it easier to watch YouTube...

More updates about the Xiaomi Mi Sphere 360 camera! - a low light video sample - a long exposure shot (well, you're already looking at it...) - a list of bugs so far - a discount. UPDATE: Xiaomi has vastly improved the app!  See this amazing video ! LOW LIGHT VIDEO First, here is a low light video: Because the video was in low light, I had to raise the exposure in post by +1EV in Adobe Premiere.  I was expecting the worst because if you push the exposure in postprocessing with a small sensor, usually you get very noisy video.  The only question was how bad it would be.  So I applied the exposure adjustment and.... nothing.  No problem at all....! :-O  There was only a slight increase in noise in the shaded area but most viewers wouldn't even notice it.  Wow this camera keeps getting better... LONG EXPOSURE SHOT I also took a long exposure shot last night.  The Xiaomi Mi Sphere is one of the very few 360 cameras with manual exposure.  And...

The Otterbox Commuter is a very good smartphone case for those who Samsung Gear VR and Google Daydream users because it's very easy to remove and re-install, while also offering great protection .  See the video! I just got a Samsung S8 Plus (I'll tell you guys why next time) and I was looking for a case that's easy to remove but would also provide good protection.  After trying a few different cases, including the Otterbox Defender, the one I like the best so far is the Otterbox Commuter. Here is a video: As you can see from the video, the Otterbox Commuter is very easy to remove and to re-install. At the same time, it offers great protection for which Otterbox is famous.  It also won't block the no-bezel infinity display of the Samsung S8.  The biggest downside is probably the cost.  Simply said, it's not cheap, but then again, neither is it cheap to replace a damaged phone.... The Otterbox Commuter is available here: - Samsung - iPhone - Google Pixel - other ...

Acer announced the Holo 360, a hybrid device that is both a 360 camera and smartphone. Just the other day, my friend Ben Claremont (Life in 360) and I were discussing about when 360 cameras would become truly popular, and Ben's prediction was that phones would have built-in 360 cameras, which would make them grow in popularity.  In that regard, one of the fastest growing sub-categories of 360 cameras of the past year have been 360 cameras that attach to smartphones (such as the Insta360 Nano, Insta360 Air and Giroptic iO).   We also saw two smartphones from Protruly called Darling that had built-in 360 cameras . Acer today made a surprise announcement of the Holo 360, a hybrid device that is a 360 camera but can also function as an Android smartphone.  The underlying premise is that you would be able to share your 360 photos and videos directly from the Holo 360 without connecting the camera to a phone or desktop.  Acer did not give other details (such as resolution...

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...

​ As reported by Mike Cane , the Daydream-ready ZTE Axon 7 is now available for preorder in the US from Amazon , Best Buy and B&H Photo .  Check out Mike's post here .  The price is $399.99 (64GB; unlocked), and will ship around July 27. The specs are pretty impressive: Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor 20mp rear camera with optical image stabilization and wide aperture f/1.8 lens 8mp front camera 4k video capture 5.5-inch AMOLED display with QHD resolution (2560x1440; 538ppi) Gorilla Glass 4 memory expandable with micro SD 3250 mAh battery Size: 5.97" x 2.95" x 0.31".  Weight: 6.17 oz. It also features a fingerprint reader below the rear camera, which allows you to unlock the phone with one hand. The specs appear very similar to those of the Samsung Galaxy S7 ($799), and even the same processor in US versions of the S7.  Some questions arise: 1.  What about ZTE's Daydream VR headset ?  How much is it?  Will headsets be cross-compatible, or o...