Samsung Gear 360 2017 review: So I got a puzzle for you: how do you get a shot from about 30 feet high while
pulling yourself up with a rope? Well it's easy with an invisible flying
camera. No I didn't use a drone. The camera I used fits in my pocket. And it's
not just for special effects. It's actually the perfect personal camera
that lets you focus on whatever you're doing instead of worrying about getting
the shot. And did I mention it's really affordable? Here's the camera I used and
why you need one. "Invisible Flying Camera: Samsung Gear 360 2017 review"
Hi my name is Mic and you're watching 360 Rumors, the
most trusted resource for in-depth camera reviews and innovative
techniques. You know one of my favorite memories happened when I was four years
old. It was actually my fourth birthday so my mom asked me to put my arm around my
brother and back then I was a really fat kid. I was so heavy that when I
put my arm around my brother, his face fell into my cake! It's special
moments like that that I wanted to capture when we were having our first baby so
like many parents I took up photography really seriously. So over several years
I bought a lot of cameras and lenses. I was taking decent photos but I was
missing out on my family and instead of being a part of the event, I was becoming
an invisible observer. But now things are better. It's Father's Day weekend. We're
going to Legoland in San Diego. A couple of years ago I would have
brought two or sometimes three cameras. But today my camera backpack is at home. The
camera I'm using fits in my pocket but I'm not missing out on any shots.
Far from it. I'm actually capturing shots that matter
more. Let me show you what I mean. Now, when I take a photo or video, I'm part
of the action. And I don't even have to think about the shot. It's like having a
cameraman with me. I can also take videos of the fun things we're doing while
also showing our reaction. Selfies are another example. They used to be hit or
miss. Now I get the shot the *first* time, *every* time.
Or how about the photos when we're having lunch or dinner?
Usually when we want to get a picture, half the table has to get up and stand
and pose for the shots. Such a hassle. Now there's no need to get up from the
table. Everyone can stay where they are while I take the shot. And of course my
favorite: the invisible flying camera effect. Your "invisible" selfie stick
automatically disappears making it look like the camera is floating while taking
your video.
These benefits barely scratch the surface of the things that this camera can do and if you think
these are impressive, there's actually one more very important feature that
I'll tell you about later on. The reason I'm able to do all that
this is because I'm using a stabilized 360 camera: the Samsung Gear 360 2017.
"Wait a minute, Mic. You mean all this time you've been
telling me about a camera that's already been out for a year?"
Well you might know that the Gear 360 can take 360 photos or videos but now it
can do so much more. Because in May 2018, Samsung updated the Gear 360 and added
stabilization. Now, because it's stabilized and because it has a 360 view,
I can hold it at any angle. That means I don't have to worry about where it's
pointed. I can focus on enjoying the moment with my family. In terms of image
quality, the Gear 360 can be quite good. The audio quality is excellent too.
The samples I showed had overcast skies but I took other shots in sunny
weather so you can see the dynamic range.
Now one issue is that it has less detail in the shadows. I recommend
turning on the HDR setting in the options. It actually does improve the shadow
detail (and highlight detail). So with all the things that this camera can do you're probably starting
to worry about how much is the camera is gonna cost. Well that's actually the best
part. It costs $100, plus ... just kidding. nothing.
It's really just $100. So is it hard to use? Not at all. The gear 360 only has
three buttons. There's a power button, a mode button, and a shutter. You
press the mode button to switch between the modes that you want. Then you press the
shutter to select it. You can also use the buttons to change the settings. The
mode button also doubles as a menu button so when you press it, you can
go for example to the settings. Then you press the shutter to select it.
Press the mode button again to switch between the different settings. Press the
shutter to press to select the setting. You can press the power button to move
back. So besides shooting with the gear 360 by itself you can also connect with
the gear 360 app. Why would you want to do that? Well first of all you'll be able
to get a live preview. And secondly you'll be able to control the gear 360
remotely. So here's how to do it so first you have to download the Gear 360 app.
After you've downloaded the Gear 360 app, the next thing to do is pair them. You hold
down the menu button or the mode button. When you do that you'll see options
show up on the screen. Now from there you can press the menu button to select
between Android or iOS or remote control or Street View. So in
this case I have a Samsung phone, so I'm gonna select Android. So I'm gonna
choose Android. So on my phone I'm gonna tap on "connect to new gear 360."
And then I'm gonna select the gear 360 that I'm using. And then they'll be
connected to each other. Once you're connected you can tap on the
camera button to see a live preview of what the gear 360 will capture. So here.
Now from there you can choose settings. Press the mode button to select between the
different modes. You can adjust the exposure compensation
+/- 3EV. If you want to use this as a single lens camera like a GoPro Hero, you
can do that. On the bottom you can select the sphere and then you can select front
or rear lens. So let's say I select front lens. Then it's gonna use the front lens.
it won't be 360 anymore. It will just be a regular cam, kind of like an action cam. You
can also set the self-timer. To do that, click on the settings and look for the
timer option. You can use the app to take a photo. All you need to do is press the
shutter so say here by the way I've used the self timer and it's counting down.
You can also shoot wirelessly with or without the phone using the dedicated
remote. When you turn on the remote, the gear 360 connects with it automatically.
It works even if you're already connected with the phone. The remote has
a very good range and I was able to use it even from around 30 feet away with
three walls in between me and the remote. The remote is also really handy when
using the Gear 360 with the Ricoh Theta water-resistant case.
After taking the photos and videos, you can view the photos and videos you've taken by
tapping on that icon in the bottom right. Or you can go to the main screen and tap
on gallery. When you do that you'll see a bunch of double circular fisheye photos
and videos. That's because when the gear 360 takes photos it's actually taking
two photos at the same time -- one from each lens. So now the app will combine
them so all you have to do to combine them is to select the photo...
and then click on "Save," and it's going to download the photo or video to your
phone and at the same time stitch it. Now here's a tip: from the gallery screen, tap
on the upper right corner to bring up the settings and make sure to select
"stabilize." What that will do is that whenever you download a video it will
automatically add stabilization in the same step so this is that's gonna save
you a lot of time. From here you can connect your phone to your PC or Mac and
then copy the files over and from there you can share them to your preferred
site. Or you can also share them directly from your phone. So let's say I have the
the photo here I can just tap on that and then tap on the share icon and
when I do that you'll see the option for sharing you can share your photos to
sites such as Facebook Google Streetview or Google photos. You can share videos to
YouTube Facebook or Google Photos. You can share your 360 photos and videos
to more places to get more views. Check out the links in the description. You can
also take a 360 frame grab from a 360 video like extracting a 360 photo from
it, and the quality is surprisingly good. At $100, the Samsung Gear 360 2017
sounds too good to be true. In fact it will be great to have one as a second
camera even if you already have a 360 camera. But there are two big issues.
First it takes a long time to stitch and the stabilization only works on the
phone. Now it does have a desktop app but as of June 2018 it can't stabilize the
way the app can. So having to stitch everything on the phone can be a little
bit tedious. One thing that mitigates this is a unique feature that I haven't
heard other reviewers mention yet. It's a record pause button. This lets you make
simple edits on the fly and you can just theoretically upload the video directly
to Facebook or YouTube. The gear 360 2017 is the only 360 camera I know that
has this feature. The other issue is compatibility. The gear 360 2017
has stabilization only if you stitch on the smartphone app and the app works only on
samsung s6 or above, and iphone SE and above. If you don't have one of those
phones then you can still use the gear 360 2017 with the desktop software but
it will just won't have the same stabilization. Now if your phone and your
desktop are both not compatible there's still a couple of workarounds for using
the gear 360 2017. For photos you can use the Google Street View app. The
Street View app can actually control the gear 360 2017 and stitch photos for
you. Another option is to use Nadirpatch.com.
It's a free website where you can stitch photos from the Gear 360. For videos, you
can use Magix Movie Edit Pro Plus (or Muvee stitcher for Mac). It can stitch videos from the gear 360
2017. It can actually stitch them faster than gear 360's own app. Now, remember
I mentioned earlier there's one more very important feature? Well let me tell
you about it. Last month I met up with some representatives from
Facebook's Immersive Media group and they showed me a sneak peek of something
really cool. Soon Facebook will let you step inside
your photos and videos. Facebook will convert your photos and videos into a
virtual environment where you can walk around in. So with enough photos and
videos you'll be able to visit your childhood home or the place where you
and your spouse met.
You might be wondering what does this have to do with 360 cameras? Well
360 videos would be much faster to convert into this virtual environment.
You'll be able to relive special moments with your family and friends like never
before.
These days I try to take at least one 360 photo or video of my family even in
the most mundane situations. To an observer, these photos and videos
may appear ordinary. But 10 or 20 years from now, when my kids grow up, they'll
be able to relive these scenes, see their grandparents and themselves, almost
face-to-face. And someday God willing maybe they can even show these
experiences to their own kids. From this perspective there's simply no better way
to capture memories then with a 360 camera like the gear 360. And that's
why I shoot in 360. In my next video I'll be comparing the gear 360 with other
great 360 cameras thanks for watching and I'll see you in 360!