Posts

PSA: 360 Rumors will undergo maintenance; Blogger phaseout

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Hi everyone.  Just FYI, I am completing the migration from Blogger to 360Rumors.com.  As you know, I started the migration process a few months ago  and now we're about to complete it. WHAT WILL HAPPEN? After the migration is complete, all links to the Blogger site will be forwarded to the same article on 360Rumors.com.  After that, I will only be posting to 360Rumors.com.  The Blogger site will exist only for historical purposes even though technically, you won't be able to access it anymore. THE NEXT 24 HOURS Because we're completing the migration, then for the next 24 hours I won't be able to post anything on either Blogger or 360Rumors.com.  You will still be able to read old articles (although you'll be forwarded to 360Rumors.com).  For new items, check out the 360 Rumors Facebook page , YouTube channel , and Twitter feed .  I am trying to finish up a new video on Insta360 Pro. If you need to contact me (e.g. to report problems), please contact me via Facebook.

"It can do that?!?" 17 remarkable undocumented features of the Insta360 Pro

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The Insta360 Pro is an amazing camera, and the marketing materials can't even capture all of its remarkable features (partly because Insta360 keeps adding new features!).  Here are 17 undocumented features of the Insta360 Pro.  Since there are so many of them, I tried to group them into Photo, Video and live streaming, and both Photo and Video. PHOTO 1. 60 second shutter speed .  It has full manual exposure and you can specify a shutter speed as slow as 60 seconds -- slow enough to capture night sky photos. 2.   Unlimited intervalometer .  The Insta360 Pro has an intervalometer (i.e., it will take a photo after every time interval), and the time interval is anywhere from 2 seconds to a practically unlimited time interval (I put in a crazy number like 200,000 seconds and it accepted that value).  Note: The intervalometer is in the video mode as "time lapse". 3.   The intervalometer / time lapse can be for 3D not just 2D . 4.   Stitched 360 Photos in Raw format .   The Inst

Kodak PIXPRO Orbit360 now available... on eBay; sample non-360 4K video

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Kodak's highly anticipated Orbit360 camera has still not been released in the US.  However, it was released in Japan back in May , and predictably, resellers are now selling it on eBay . The retail price of the Orbit is 59,500 JPY ($532 USD), so the eBay prices have a little bit of a premium, which is not unexpected given eBay's fees. Meanwhile, a sample non-360 video from the Orbit360 has been posted.  One of the unique features of the Orbit360 is that it has asymmetric lenses that allow it to function as three types of cameras: an ultrawide 197-degree, an ultrawide 235-degree, or a fully spherical 360 degree camera.  Although other fully spherical 360 cameras can be cropped to achieve a similar effect,  their resolution will be significantly lower if cropped to the same field of view as an action camera. The Orbit360's ultrawide 197-degree lens, however, captures 4K video.  It can therefore offer the same 4K video resolution as GoPro   or other action cameras for a simila

Garmin Virb 360 vs. Xiaomi Mijia MI SPHERE - which is the best 360 camera for low light?

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I compared two of the best 360 cameras for consumers right now: Garmin Virb 360 and Xiaomi Mijia Mi Sphere for low light performance in typical indoor lighting conditions.  Here's the video: Both cameras did very well in this low light test.  As for which one is better, here are my thoughts: Without editing, the Garmin Virb 360 looks underexposed compared to the Xiaomi.  In Premiere, I added +1.0EV exposure, which made the Garmin exposure look more similar to that of the Xiaomi. Remarkably, the Virb video held up to the adjustment and did not show any noticeable increase noise. With the adjustment, the Virb and Xiaomi look very similar, but the Virb video is actually more detailed.  Here are closeup cropped portions of each video: Nonetheless, there is a huge $500+ difference between these two cameras, so you might say they are both winners in their own way.  In terms of absolute image quality, the Virb 360 edged out the Xiaomi, but the Xiaomi is so much more affordable that it is

New sample from Yi 360 VR, the most affordable 5.7K 360 camera

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Here's a new sample from the Yi 360 VR , the most affordable 5.7K 360 camera. Here's the sample, posted by Sami Luo : What do you think of the sample?  Let me know in the comments! Thank you very much to Martin Smith of Roto Studios for bringing this to my attention!

Dolly360 is a radio-controlled stabilized dolly for 360 cameras

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Dolly360 is a radio-controlled and stabilized dolly for 360 cameras. Dolly360 is a radio-controlled dolly designed for 360 cameras, with both horizontal and vertical stabilization.  It uses a gimbal for spherical stabilization and a telescopic oil shock absorber for vertical stabilization. Here is a video: Here is a sample 360 video from a GoPro rig mounted on the Dolly360: The Dolly360 can handle a camera up to 5 kg and will be carry it up to 1 km.  It costs 500,000 JPY (about USD 4491 at current exchange rates).  The price is for the dolly only and does not include a camera.

DEALS: Ricoh Theta SC now only $199! Best value for 360 photography

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Ricoh has announced a huge discount on the Ricoh Theta SC, which is now only $199 !  I don't know yet if this is a permanent price adjustment or just a discount for the summer. The Theta SC has the same sensor as the Theta S, the most popular 360 camera and almost all of its features, including the best stitching in the industry. But at $199, it is almost half of the cost of the Theta S.  This makes the Theta SC quite possibly the best value for 360 photography. Here is a review of the Theta S - almost all of which applies to the Theta SC as well, except that the Theta SC has no HDMI port, no live streaming, and has a 5-minute limit on videos.  The Theta SC has interval shooting (an intervalometer) but I believe it doesn't have interval composite, so if you want to do star trails, for example, you'll need to blend the exposures yourself using tools such as Photoshop or Lightroom. Thank to you to MS and Tony Anastasi for bringing this to my attention!