The most affordable thing of all analogues on the market.
Once upon a time we were amazed at the special effects in films, which today seem ridiculous and terribly outdated to us. I never cease to be amazed at the rapid development of technology, thanks to which today anyone can create a masterpiece by pressing just one button. And now I’ll tell you about a cool device with which any event can be forever recorded with a scope of 360 degrees.
The technological duo of Samsung Galaxy S7 edge and Gear VR has been complemented by a compact camera with two lenses, collecting material into panoramic video and producing an impressive picture that can be viewed on a smartphone using Gear VR virtual reality glasses, or on Youtube through a suitable browser.
What is Samsung Gear 360
This futuristic white ball is clear evidence that virtual reality will very soon firmly enter our lives. While somewhere out there, in the dungeons of laboratories and factories, virtual reality helmets and the first games for them are being forged, everyone can buy a Samsung Gear 360 and create their own virtual reality, to the envy of their friends and to their own delight.
This camera is hello from the future because:
- She shoots in 4K resolution
- it has a slow motion mode
- it has a looping video mode
- you just press the record button and get your virtual reality
- Videos from Samsung Gear 360 can be posted on Youtube and Facebook, to the envy of everyone
At first glance, you can try to compare this device with some GoPro, but in fact the Gear 360 is much more technologically advanced and interesting. And in general, this device is of a completely different format to compare it with action cameras.
Verdict
Why buy a Samsung Gear 360 when you have a GoPro? Well, a set of six Hero 4 will cost around 200 thousand, and if you buy a set of a Samsung S-series smartphone, VR glasses and Gear 360, it will cost 2 times less. Not a small difference, and you won’t have to struggle for hours with editing, although the camera software still needs to be worked on and made more convenient.
For a device from the future, the Samsung Gear 360 camera turned out to be an interesting toy. In a couple of years, technology will go even further and this will become a standard, but for now you can try everything for yourself and bring unusual videos from your vacation or shoot amazing vlogs.
Looks in all directions at once
Yes, the Koreans managed to surprise everyone. Small in size and easy to use, the Gear 360 is packed with high-tech features that actually work. There were no complaints about the camera's performance even once during testing.
The Gear 360 case is made of plastic, the gadget is protected from splashes of water and dust. You can't dive or swim with it, but you can shoot video in the rain . On the sides of the gadget there are two 5-megapixel wide-angle modules (aperture 2.0), each of which allows you to record photos and videos with a viewing angle of 195 degrees.
example of a panoramic video, best viewed in Chrome
Data from both lenses is automatically stitched together, resulting in 360-degree panoramic video with a resolution of 3840x1920 pixels, as well as photographs with a resolution of 7776x3888 pixels. There is also an accelerometer and gyroscope inside the camera, which help the device maintain focus and smooth shooting while moving.
The camera has a 0.5-inch PMOLED display (resolution 72x32 pixels), which helps you interact with the device if you don’t have a Samsung Galaxy S7/S7 edge at hand. There are also three physical buttons and an LED that informs about the operating status of the gadget. The Gear 360 measures 66.7 x 56.3 x 60.1 mm and weighs 152 grams including battery.
The bottom of the camera has a standard 1/4-inch (6.35 millimeter) threaded connection, allowing the Gear 360 to be screwed onto almost any tripod.
Gear 360 Features:
- video resolution, both modules: 3840×1920 (30 fps)
- video resolution, one module: 2560×1440 (30 fps)
- photo, both modules: 7776×3888 (up to 30 MP)
- photo, one module: 3072×1728 (5 MP)
- Video codecs: MP4 (H.265), photo: JPEG
- Processor: DRIMe5s
- 1 GB RAM
- support for microSD cards up to 200 GB
- Battery: 1350 mAh
- Compatible devices: Galaxy S6, S6 edge, S6 edge+, Note5, S7, S7 edge with Samsung Gear 360 Manager app, Windows computers with Gear 360 ActionDirector app
Yes, the Gear 360 makes you want to immediately exchange your useless iPhone, which you can only use to take panoramic photos, for a Galaxy S7 edge in order to use it in conjunction with the Gear 360. Owning an iPhone no longer makes you cool - after all, it’s impossible to connect a panoramic camera from Samsung to it .
4K at 360°
The maximum resolution of 4K video is 3840x1920 pixels, the camera records videos from two lenses simultaneously, smoothly merging the picture without seams or noticeable transitions. There are small flaws, but compared to analogues from Theta S or Kodak, the quality is noticeably higher.
I can't say that the picture looks super-duper. The quality still needs work, but it’s stupid to want the recording level of a Panasonic GH4 from such a miniature thing.
Gear 360 can write timelapse videos, as well as make looping videos, resulting in MP4 files that can be immediately uploaded to social networks. If desired, you can also take photos from each 15 megapixel camera. The total is 26 megapixels, some of the data “disappears” due to processing.
Gear 360 works in tandem with the top-end Samsung Galaxy of recent years: S6/S7, S6 edge, S6 edge+, S7 edge and Note 5.
The camera records video perfectly (for a device of this level) in automatic mode, but if you want, you can change the parameters through the smartphone application: reduce the resolution to save space, set the light sensitivity, or try to reduce the noise from the wind. But the best way to get high-quality sound is to record with a separate microphone.
Unfortunately, the camera does not have its own memory; it writes data to a memory card. So if you left home and forgot to insert microSD, you will have to come back.
More impressions: cool stuff
On one charge, the camera shoots for almost an hour at maximum resolution. This is a definite plus, I write this as the owner of GoPro 3 and GoPro 4, which definitely need to be fed a new battery every 25-30 minutes. The Gear 360 is charged from an ordinary microUSB cable in 3.5 hours from zero to one hundred percent.
Samsung Gear 360 is not the only spherical camera: you can find similar devices on the market, approximately in the same price category. However, if you compare the Ricoh Theta S, Giroptic and Kodak SP 360 4K, the Samsung Gear 360 definitely comes out on top in terms of image quality, ease of use and wide viewing angles.
Pros of Gear 360:
- futuristic design
- small dimensions
- standard mount
- autonomy
Another undeniable advantage of the Gear 360 is the price. Giroptic costs 44,000 rubles, and Kodak Sp360 4K costs more than 50,000 rubles. Against their background, Gear 360 is available on the official website for 29,990 rubles, which automatically makes the gadget a very affordable device among similar ones.
Shooting capabilities and quality
Samsung Gear 360 can record video in HDR at resolutions from 1920x960 to 3840x1920 pixels, while the resolution of 2560x1280 supports 60 frames per second.
In total, the camera supports three shooting modes: 360-degree view, time-lapse and looping.
Both cameras on the Gear 360 are 15-megapixel with an f/2.0 aperture and fisheye lenses, each capturing 180 degrees of image. Both cameras or one of them can be used to take photos.
Video in 4K:
Video 2.5K:
Time lapse video:
Examples of shots taken with two cameras:
Single camera shot:
Despite the high image resolution of 7200x3600 pixels (the cameras together take 25.9-megapixel photos), as well as 4K video recording, the size of the sensor does not allow the Gear 360 to provide high detail. This is especially noticeable in virtual reality glasses; although the picture provides immersion, it does not look as clear as we would like.
However, Gear 360 is still one of the easiest and fastest ways to take your own 360-degree photos and videos.
Video quality
The Samsung Gear 360 is one of the first cameras available to shoot 360 video, so we shouldn't expect to get a perfect image right away. This is a new direction in video shooting in principle, and there is also accessibility and compactness. It is unlikely that today you can get good quality paired with a low price tag and small sizes. If you need to shoot high-quality 360-degree video, most likely the most affordable option will be a special case for several GoPro cameras and, of course, the cameras themselves. In addition, considerable skills are required to properly synchronize both the shooting and the footage. The cost of this particular mount starts at $500, which is just a little more than the cost of the Gear 360. Plus, the cost of each GoPro is more than the cost of the Gear 360, plus cards, plus software. And this is the most affordable way to get good 360 video. Not cinematic, this is, after all, GoPro, which shoot worse than any modern flagship smartphone, but good!
The cost of Samsung Gear 360 in Ukraine is exactly 10,000 UAH, or 400 dollars. This is several times smaller than the installation described above, and is also faster and more convenient to use. But, accordingly, quality has to be sacrificed.
360 video in 4k
As you can see, even in 4K the picture turns out to be too blurry. The wow effect of being able to look in any direction remains, but the image clarity is very low. It is possible that the situation can be partially corrected with software updates, but for now it looks like this:
I also didn’t like the very clear trace from the stitching of images from two cameras. The transition is visible not only in color, there is a shift in the picture itself. When photographing nature, this is not at all noticeable, but when there are not many objects, the combination is clearly visible.
180 videos in 1080p
When shooting video from a single camera, the image is much clearer, but still does not reach the quality of action cameras.
This does not mean that the camera is bad, no, it is just one of the first, as I said. In no case will I recommend purchasing the Gear 360 as a main video camera, but as a second camera for creating video for viewing in a VR helmet, it’s very good.
Gear 360 Specifications
The new camera from the South Korean giant is equipped with two lenses with SMOS sensors with a resolution of 15 MP. Photos are taken in a resolution of 25.9 MP, and video has a quality of 3480 by 1920 pixels at a frequency of 30 frames per second. This is significantly better than its competitor from LG, which can only boast a quality of 2560 by 1440 pixels.
The camera's small monochrome screen displays the main menu, as well as the operating mode, battery charge and shooting duration. However, this does not improve the usability of the device.
On one side of the device there are control buttons, and on the other there is a slot for MicroSD memory cards and a replaceable battery, covered with a hinged lid. Unlike the non-removable battery of the LG camera, the new Gear 360 can also boast a significantly larger battery capacity - 1350 mAh. This is quite enough for an hour and a half video shooting.
The essence of connecting to a Galaxy smartphone is to synchronize with the device via Bluetooth and then initialize your own WiFi network for transferring multimedia files. In addition, it became possible to use NFC, which the competitor from LG could not boast of.
Conclusion
Who can I recommend this camera to? I would recommend it to bloggers to diversify their content, especially to travelers. Imagine how cool it will be that your viewers will be able to see not only what you show, but everything that is around you! The Gear 360 is not yet suitable as a main camera; the picture quality is too low, but for a change it will do. The cost, as I already said, is reasonable - 10,000 UAH. For comparison, GoPro Hero 4 Silver will cost 14k, Black – 17k.
