Reviews |Best 360 cameras in 2019

Best 360 cameras in 2019

Best 360 cameras in 2018
Review

People have been making 360-degree images for years, but recently a new breed of ‘360 cameras’ has hit the market promising to end the multiple exposures and hours of stitching frames together in Photoshop.

Such is their convenience, 360 cameras even remove the need to sweep your camera across a scene, which camera phones introduced as the last great innovation in this niche of photography several years ago.

With a dedicated 360 camera you can simply press the shutter button and, depending on the make and model you have, the camera will record your 360 scene with a single fisheye lens or two lens situated back to back.

We had a look at some of the best 360 cameras on the market to find out what they offer for photographers seeking a wider view of the world.

Which 360 cameras shoot 4K?

This is a question we often get on Facebook but, to be honest, most do these days. The better question is which 360 cameras don’t. The Ricoh Theta SC and Ricoh Theta S were probably the last 360 cameras we reviewed that didn’t shoot 4K.

All the cameras on this best 360 cameras list shoot 4K, if not higher. The GoPro Fusion captures 5.2K resolution footage, for instance. But it’s worth remembering that 4K from a tiny sensor like those in 360 cameras isn’t like 4K footage from, say, the Micro Four Thirds Panasonic GH5 or GH5S, or a full-frame Nikon Z6.

Which 360 cameras shoot 5.7K?

Now this is a better question! 360 camera manufacturers have been ramping up the pixel war, and currently there are four options that offer 5.7K video resolution: the Insta360 ONE X, the HumanEyes Vuze XR, the Garmin Virb 360 and the YI 360 VR.

If you twisted our arm and asked us to pick the best-looking video footage of those three, we’d hand you our Vuze, Garmin and YI cameras and ask you to let our arm go, then run off with the Insta360 ONE X. The others are good cameras, but the ONE X is a more complete package that borders on being a professional-level option.

After we had a day to reflect, we’d probably feel guilty about throwing the Vuze XR, because it is indeed very good, but we’d still feel confident we made the right choice.

The best 360 cameras you can buy today

Insta360 ONE X review

 

Insta360 ONE X

Superb spec sheet and incredible stabilisation

  • 5.7K video
  • Cinema slow-mo

A successor to the ONE, the Insta360 ONE X shoots 4K at 50fps and 3K at 100fps in addition to its 5.7K 30fps footage. It can also record 18-megapixel still images.

Last year Insta360 debuted its new FlowState stabilisation technology, and in the ONE X this gets a total revamp so that it can analyse movement in all directions and stabilise your videos without the need of external accessories.

There’s also a new TimeShift feature, which allows users to adjust the speed of different parts of a video, including cinematic slow-motion to emphasise key moments.

TimeShift also allows you to frame your shot in any direction within your spherical video footage. The ONE X’s editing app also allows users to re-frame footage from any vantage point. The app also promises to remove your selfie stick from footage, giving the impression that the ONE X is floating in mid-air.

Other features include a Bullet Time shot, inherited from the ONE, in which the camera captures footage from an orbiting perspective.

There’s also a new Drifter camera dart accessory in which you can snap the ONE X and throw it to capture airborne slow-motion footage Insta360 calls Drift Shots.

For its modest price tag, the Insta360 ONE X packs a lot of spec and functionality and is arguably one of the best 360 cameras you can buy today.

 

Garmin VIRB 360 review: shooting modes

Garmin ViRB 360

A great all-rounder that might be the best consumer 360 camera on the market

Key Specs

  • Dual 1/2.3-inch backside-illuminated CMOS sensors
  • 5.7K resolution
  • In-camera stitching up to 4K
  • Voice activation
  • Built-in GPS

Garmin has quietly developed perhaps the best 360 camera on the market with the VIRB 360, offering a robust build quality, expansive feature set, ease of use and stellar image quality. Its 5.7K resolution is the highest res available at the consumer end of the market; however, for make spherical videos at this resolution you’ll need to use Garmin’s free VIRB Edit software to render the raw footage before sharing it.

Otherwise, the Garmin VIRB 360 stitches your 360 videos and images in-camera at up to 4K resolution, meaning you can share them instantly from your phone via the excellent companion app. Or if you don’t want to use the app, the VIRB 360 has an excellent voice command system allowing you to control the camera remotely and perform all of its functions.

Having tested a lot of 360 cameras, the Garmin VIRB 360 offers probably the best combination of image quality, build, portability, features and ease of use.

 

GoPro Fusion Review

GoPro Fusion

Like the talented athlete who has all the raw tools and is just waiting to put them all together

Key Specs

  • Video resolution: 5.2K @ 30fps or 60fps @ 3K (3008 x 1504)
  • Photo resolution: 18 megapixels
  • Burst mode for still images up to 30fps
  • Voice activation
  • 360 audio

Deep breath. I’m including the GoPro Fusion on this list because it’s image quality is some of the best I’ve seen from any 360 camera. It’s also got an impeccable build quality and sits within that vast GoPro ecosystem with mounts and accessories for just about everything you might want to do with it.

The Fusion had it’s growing pains, it’s true. In the beginning of its life it was let down by some of the basics. For instance, GoPro’s Android app was exremely limited in the phones it would support for well over a year. Images and video aren’t stitched in-camera, so you must render them in Fusion Studio. And in the beginning, the software was a bit of a mess.

But GoPro is a company dedicated to quality and listens to its customers, and over time it issued regular firmware updates resolving many of these issues. The GoPro Fusion was very much a work in progress, and has evolved into a beast of a 360 camera.

 

HumanEyes Vuze XR review: build quality

HumanEyes Vuze XR

  • Shoots 360 and 3D VR180 footage
  • 5.7K resolution video @30fps

What sets the Vuze XR apart from other 360 cameras, though, is that it can shoot still images and video in both 360-degree format or stereoscopic VR180 – owing to a clever design feature. In fact, only one other consumer 360 camera can currently offer that, the Kandao Qoocam.

With its dual 12-megapixel Sony sensors and accompanying f/2.4 210⁰ fisheye lenses, the Vuze XR can record video in 5.7K resolution at 30fps in both 360 and VR180 formats. You can also record in 4K @ 60fps and 30fps.

What’s more, the Vuze XR offers a premium build that really sets it apart from many other 360 cameras. It’s up there on par with the GoPro Fusion and Garmin VIRB 360 on our list of best 360 cameras.

Image and video quality is great in average to good light conditions. Content is full of detail, even in shadow areas, and contrast areas are largely free of aberrations. In low light, it does struggle a little with noise, but not more than any other 360 camera.

When you consider that the Vuze XR can shoot both 360 and 180 3D VR, and also livestream video to Facebook and YouTube, you realise you have quite a powerful device all for less than £500 / $500.

If you’ll be using it for vlogging or taking mostly stationary videos, then the Vuze XR is a perfect option.

 

Ricoh Theta V Review

Ricoh Theta V

The best image quality of all of the super portable 360 cameras

Key Specs

  • 4K video at 30fps
  • 14-megapixel still images
  • 360 livestreaming
  • dual f/2.0 lenses
  • dual 1/2.3-inch, 12-megapixel sensors

If the GoPro Fusion’s and Garmin VIRB 360’s 5.2K and 5.7K respective resolutions are just numbers to you, and if you’re not interested in upgrading your memory cards or computer and buying new storage drives to house 4GB 1-minute videos, let alone the higher price tag, then the Ricoh Theta V is probably the best 360 camera for you.

The Theta V is so small you can slip it in the pocket of a tight pair of jeans and not notice it’s there. Images are sharp and detailed, rich with colour and you can share them easily via the much-improved app. Ricoh has also added four new built-in microphones for better spatial audio and a range of new accessories, such as a microphone and an underwater casing.

 

360Fly 4K Review

360Fly 4K

Still a brilliant little all-rounder with one of the best apps and software you’ll find

Key Specs

  • 2880×2880 4K video
  • livestreaming capability
  • timelapse video mode
  • built-in GPS
  • 1.5-hour battery life

The 360Fly 4K looks more like a crystal of Kryptonite from one of the Christopher Reeve Superman movies than it does a cutting-edge action camera. But don’t let looks deceive…

While it’s headline is that it can produce 2880×2880, spherical 4K video, the real story here is its amazing companion app, which allows users to live stream their content to a variety of platforms.

Other features include a time-lapse video mode allowing you to choose between .5, 1, 2, 5, 10, 30 or 60-second shutter intervals and a robust design that’s waterproof down to 30m. It’s basically a golf-ball sized action camera that’s also still one of the best 360 cameras I’ve used still 18 months after its launch thanks to its incredible versatility.

The 360Fly 4K can also be set to automatically start recording video and still images based off movement and sounds, while an Accelerometer Activated Record Mode programs the camera to automatically begin filming when it detects acceleration.

It’s a few years old now and other 360 cameras have surpassed it in image quality, but for ease of use, portability and versatility it stays on our best 360 cameras list because it’s just so fun to use.

 

Kodak PixPro 4KVR360 / Orbit360 4K review

Kodak PixPro 4KVR360 / Orbit360

A robust camera with a wide range of features that will surprise you with its versatility

  • Dual 20MP CMOS Sensors
  • Three Multi-View Angles:
    – 360° Spherical / VR Mode
    – 197° 4K Ultra Wide Mode
    – 235° Dome Mode
  • 4K video at 24/15fps
  • High-Speed Video mode

We were a little surprised that the PixPro 4KVR360 / Orbit360 cracked our best 360 cameras list. But once you take it out of the box and get a feel for that build quality and attention to detail, its quality becomes apparent.

The Kodak PixPro 4KVR360 / Orbit360 4K offers a lot of nice features and is very user-friendly with a hybrid action camera design that offers a lot of versatility. If you’re looking to make the leap into 360 imaging, the PixPro 4KVR360 / Orbit360 4K is priced well and is a solid performer, if not the best.

 

YI unveils 360 VR live virtual reality camera

YI 360 VR

The YI 360 VR offers the complete package in spec and portability

  • 5.7K video at 30fps
  • 4K livestreaming
  • dual 220-degree f/2.0 lenses
  • price tag just $399!

YI Technology out of China has been quietly producing some of the best action cameras on the market, causing some to even place them ahead of the vaulted GoPro Hero cameras in the pecking order of things. So when YI revealed its 360 VR camera with cutting edge specifications at a bargain basement price, the whole industry took note.

Our tests of this camera are still pending, but by all accounts we can expect stellar image quality and ease of use. What’s particularly exciting about the YI 360 VR is its 4K livestreaming capability, which is something we were hoping the GoPro Fusion would incorporate.

At its $399 price tag, the YI 360 VR is one of the cheapest cameras on this list and also boasts the best specifications. What’s the best 360 camera? Before we’ve reviewed it we can officially say the YI 360 VR is best. Instead we’ll just answer that question with: No comment.

 

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