Hi.
Today I'll be talking about
my top 10, 360 camera accessories.
So if you own a 360 camera of any kind,
doesn't matter what it is,
and you're shooting professionally,
or you're shooting just for social media,
and you wanna get slightly better shots,
or you wanna be a ninja, that extra bit more,
and leave people wondering
how did he or she take that shot?
Then there are a few accessories
that are going to help you do that,
which I'll go through in this video.
You'll find links to everything down there.
And these are in no particular order, by the way.
They are 10 really awesome things
I use in my 360 photo and video shooting
that are all equally as good.
But you could say the final one is one of the best.
So yeah, just saying, yeah.
So stick around till the end.
Number one, and potentially the thing
I recommend the most to people starting out
with virtual tours for the first time is a monopod.
And not just any monopod, but the Bushman Monopod.
I made a video about two years ago,
covering the Bushman version one.
And since then they've released a Bushman version two
which is the one I've got here.
It's a very similar design, but it's actually a lot shorter.
It has four extensions instead of three.
It has four extensions instead of three, the previous one.
And as you can see, it's shorter.
So that's a win all around,
because not only does it extend longer,
but it also reduces to a shorter length,
so you can fit it in a backpack.
Whereas this one was always poking
through the top of my bag, through the zip,
and it's kind of annoying, isn't it?
And, if you're someone that is just getting started
with virtual tours and you need a good reliable monopod,
then the Bushman has been my go-to for the past few years.
It comes with not only this, but also tripod legs
and a counterweight to keep your camera steady.
It will be great indoors.
For outdoors there is still a chance it could blow over.
But, this is the one pod that I've shot the majority
of my virtual tours with,
and have very rarely encountered problems.
And when you remove the feet and just use a selfie stick,
this is the perfect companion to any 360 camera,
because it extends really far.
I've used it all around the world,
getting a really cool social media shots
with my various 360 cameras.
And it's just been a really good compact monopod,
that goes really far.
Look, I'm touching the back wall from here,
and with the 360 camera on the end of it,
you can get your camera so high,
that it looks like you took the shot with a drone.
So yeah, not only is the Bushman monopod great
for virtual tours, but also for social media content.
When you need to get your camera away from you,
away from your hand,
especially when you're in a cool landscape
and you need to get your camera high,
to get a really cool shot.
But with that said, the Bushman is not the only good monopod
for virtual tours and social media content.
There are actually many great alternatives.
The first one is from a friend of mine who is also
a fellow 360 guy on YouTube.
You know Shanil?
Well, he has come out with his own monopod
which looks suspiciously similar to the Bushman Monopod.
as you can see, they're basically identical.
His is actually a little bit shorter.
There, he has got his logo on it.
It says Best360.
So basically it's the same design,
whether that is right or wrong.
I don't know you be the judge.
But I think it is good for the industry overall,
to have multiple competitors selling similar products.
So there's always the constant supply of gear
and the prices remain somewhat affordable.
Even though these aren't super affordable,
they're affordable enough if you plan on using them
for a long time or you're using them professionally,
they both come in around 130.
Wait a sec.
The Bushman is 127 euros.
And the Best360 Monopod is 129 pounds.
129,
So right now, the Bushman is 157 US dollars.
And the Best360 Monopod is 179 US dollars.
So it's actually a little bit more expensive.
And just like the Bushman, the Best360 Monopod comes
with a tripod and a counterweight.
This time, the counterweight is actually bigger.
It's twice as heavy as the Bushman monopod
which means your camera is going to be
that extra little bit sturdier,
especially if you're shooting outside, when it's windy.
Here they are side by side.
They both feel really good quality.
I can tell that this one is a little bit heavier.
The legs are sturdy and well-made.
I'd be happy using both for virtual tours.
So, overall I rate them practically identically.
Best360 is the new brand in town.
So I'm sure they will take time,
and improve the product over time,
make it a bit more different to the Bushman,
and hopefully bring that price down a bit.
I definitely think it's a great monopod.
It's worth the price.
And if the Bushman is out of stock,
if it's taking too long to get to you or whatever reason,
if you don't want to buy the Bushman V2,
which also happens to be called "The Claremont."
I have no association with that,
other than, making a joke to the owner when I met him,
I said, he should call his monopod "The Claremont."
And he took my joke a bit too seriously and did.
But I don't work for Bushman, it's not my company.
So I honestly don't care which one you buy.
Just saying,
that this one is a little bit more expensive.
It's just as good as the Bushman and is a great alternative.
If you don't want to buy the Bushman for whatever reason.
All right.
So I know those were a little bit pricey.
Not exactly the low end of the market,
if you're just getting started with virtual tours,
or you just need some kind of stand for your 360 camera.
Well, if you're on a budget,
I've got a great option for you.
Here it is.
And this is a light stand by the brand Neewer.
And I think it's on Amazon for around $30 or $40.
There we go, $29.99 for a light stand.
And this actually extends higher
than both the other monopods.
When you go all the way to the top, the Neewer light stand
goes to over six feet, which is really high.
So if you want a high up perspective,
or if you just want a cheap monopod alternative
for virtual tours, then this is a great option.
The only thing to keep in mind is that obviously the legs
are going to be quite a bit bigger.
So will require more editing out of your shots later on.
I know this looks massive, right?
But the 360 camera only sees it like this.
So you'll only have to paint out
those singular lines from the bottom of the shot.
So it's a little bit more post-production work,
to save a bit of money.
Whether you want to do that, it's up to you.
What I would suggest, if you are using it for virtual tours
is do your first few shoots for small clients using this,
and then upgrade to one of the other two monopods
I just mentioned to make life easier.
And make sure there's less editing work.
You should be spending your time on your computer,
working on more important things like the colour correction,
like the actual hotspots,
the creation of the virtual tour and so on.
That's where you should spend your time
not editing out a massive light stand.
All right.
Number four, of my top 10 360 camera accessories
is this counter weight or counter weights from SmallRig.
So whenever you're working
with any kind of live stand, selfie stick monopod
or whatever, you need to make sure it's bottom heavy.
When the weight's in the bottom it means
the top will be more secure.
When the weight's on the top,
it means it's going to tip over as quickly as possible,
and you want to avoid that.
So you can do that by adding counterweights.
As you saw some of these monopods come
with counterweights in built,
but you can always buy more counterweights
and just keep stacking them on top of each other
to create even more weight, or you can do something clever.
See this little hole at the bottom of the tripod leg.
Well, you can screw this, into that
and create weights on the feet of the tripod
making it that extra bit sturdier,
if you're shooting outside.
This is definitely overkill for inside,
but if you are shooting outside,
you never know when a gust of wind is going to come
and total your camera so, better safe than sorry.
And yeah, you can buy these SmallRig counterweights
on Amazon, I'll link down below.
They come 200 grams at a time.
I think they were made for Gimbals.
But, you can definitely attach them to any kind
of light stands, selfie-stick or monopod.
Or tripod even, like I'm doing here.
Number five, is an accessory you've probably seen
in my channel before.
And that is the Joby micro tripod.
I bought this about three years ago.
And I've used it every time I've shot
with my 360 camera ever.
Anywhere I've been, I've always had this thing in my pocket
and it's been fantastic,
because it means you can put your camera
on the ground without worrying about it falling over.
It's got a one quarter inch tripod thread,
which means any 360 camera should be compatible with it.
And if you find a cool spot, you might be traveling,
you might be walking around your local neighborhood,
and you feel like the shot would be best.
If the camera was on the ground,
don't just rest it on the ground without any type
of support. It's going to blow over and smash the lens.
Ask me how I know.
So yep, this thing is a must have, especially
if you're shooting 360 content for social media.
Can't believe how small it is, it's like a toothpick.
Okay, so now I've got some more cool 360 camera accessories
from Bushman.
The first one being, this thing
which is called the Bushman Halo Light.
And what it is, is a light that was built for 360 cameras.
As you can see, it's got a one quarter inch tripod thread
on the top and on the bottom,
it's got the female one quarter-inch.
And what it is,
is a light
that gets brighter, and brighter,
and brighter, and brighter, and brighter.
That is like ridiculously bright,
for something that fits in the palm of my hand.
It's pretty much as strong as my video light.
So I've got my video light there.
It's a big Aputure, 120D II,
and this is the Bushman Halo Light, in a similar position.
So if you look at my face, you can see a similar amount
of light coming from each light.
So that is pretty incredible given the fact
that this is only like a 10th of the size
of my aperture light, and it was perfectly engineered
for 360 cameras because you simply take your monopod,
screw it onto the top here.
So now you can put your camera at the top,
and have the light, lighting your scene
or put the light at the top of the monopod,
and then put the camera on top of it.
So you have the light even closer to the lens of the camera.
Will I use this for 360 photography?
No.
It's not necessary because with 360 photography,
you don't need to use lights.
When you can simply change your exposure,
change the settings within your camera,
and you can lighten even the darkest dream
unless it's really, really dark.
Then any kind of light would be beneficial.
So consider it for that.
But the main application I see
for the Bushman Halo Light would be for 360 video.
So if you're shooting 360 video at nighttime,
let's say you're walking around a dark environment
and you want to capture it as a 360 scene,
play it back in 360m
you could walk around with a monopod set up like thism
put your camera on top, walk around, talking to people
interviewing people and so on.
And they would have a good amount
of light hitting their face.
And you can even change the colour temperature as well,
to match the colour of the light,
that is in your environment.
So there you go.
That's pretty cool.
That's the Bushman Halo Light.
I'll put a link to that down below.
The next accessory on this list, is this angled thing,
also, from Bushman.
And what it is, is a tripod thread extender,
that can also be angled.
And while this isn't an obvious thing that you would need,
because if you know the basics
of 360 photography and video, anything that is directly
beneath the 360 camera is invisible.
Which is why naturally a selfie stick extended,
such as this one, will completely disappear from your shot,
because it's hitting the blind spot underneath the camera.
So then why would you need this angled thing?
Well, good question.
So, you would use this angled thing,
and see it just screws into the bottom of any monopod.
Let's say, you want to put your selfie stick out
on an angle and you need to attach this
to a tripod that is hidden behind something.
So in this situation here, I'm hiding my tripod,
and counterweight behind this bench.
And I want the selfie stick to be angled
out across the bench.
So because of this angled thing,
I'm able to do that,
and hide that weight,
whilst still sticking myself to stick out
and knowing that my camera is going to be relatively safe
and not blow over.
All right,
the next 360 camera accessory,
you'll want to consider is, another one from Bushman.
And this one is called the Popeye.
What it is, is a giant magnet
with a tripod thread on it, enough said.
The next must have 360 camera accessory,
is probably something you already have.
And, you already got when you bought your 360 camera.
And that is some kind of case.
I like using the Neoprene cases that come
with most consumer point and shoot 360 cameras
like this one here, and this is essential.
Don't throw it out.
Don't walk around with your camera uncovered
and put it down on the lens.
That is the fastest way to get scratches or smash the lens.
Always bring your case, either the one that came
with the camera or get a better one, like a lens pouch
or some kind of small padded bag.
I like the Neoprene ones because they naturally
clean the lens when the camera goes in and out of it.
So if you accidentally smudge the lens,
you can clean it as you're taking the camera out.
The Number 10 must have 360 camera accessory.
And by must have, I mean, must have,
if you like buying all the cool stuff.
Then I guess is it's not a must, but the number 10 accessory
on this list is choosing the right SD card.
And I've been using this one,
the SanDisk Extreme 1TB micro SD card,
in my One X2, since I bought it.
And you know how much space I've used?
Probably about 50GB.
And while 1TB is absolute massive overkill.
When you think about it,
if you only ever use this card,with this camera,
and you used it let's say, for two or three years
you would basically never have to format the card.
And it would act as a permanent backup of all your files.
So while you might take them off onto the app on your phone,
or your desktop and back them up to another hard drive.
You will always have a copy here, when you have
an SD card this big with this much capacity.
So I'm actually a big fan
of massive SD card for that exact reason.
It never hurts to have more backups of your files,
and 1TB will mean you can store everything
you ever shoot with your current camera,
with your next camera even,
and you won't have to format the SD card.
And while it is definitely overkill
and probably a bit too expensive.
A good second best option I would suggest is the card,
I've been using with my One R.
And that is the Lexar 633x, 512GB card.
And I know this is going to serve a similar purpose.
I will never have to format the SD card
with my One R, potentially ever.
So it means firstly, I can go out,
and shoot as much content as I want,
and I don't have to worry about the SD card filling up,
but also it backs up the files forever.
And I think that's a really powerful thing.
So I'll link both of these micro SD cards down below.
Pretty sure they're compatible
with most 360 cameras out there.
All right, now I know that's 10 accessories already.
But I have a bonus one, an 11th.
And, that is the VR headset I use right now.
And the VR headset, that has become the most popular headset
of 2021 already.
And it's something that I really do consider to
be a must have accessory for any 360 camera owner,
because when you can watch back your photos
and videos in virtual reality,
it's like you're actually standing there.
It doesn't compare to looking
at your photo on a phone or on your computer.
That's just looking around on a small flat screen.
That's kind of far away from you.
Whereas when you look at it in VR in 360,
it legitimately feels like you're standing there
in the photo, in the video that you took.
And how cool would that be?
When you can go back, let's say 10 years from now,
and look at a photo of your wedding
and be able to stand there at the altar or at the reception
and look around like you were standing there once again.
A 360 photo on Facebook simply doesn't
do the 360 medium justice,
as much as it is a really cool thing.
It's an innovative piece of content.
There's no question about that.
But in terms of creating a really immersive
and accurate and lifelike experience, a VR headset
is something you just need to try to understand.
And the one I'm using here is the Oculus Quest 2.
Not only can you put your own media on it,
but it's got apps, games, VR experiences
and it's absolutely incredible.
I don't spend enough time using it.
I can admit that, but when I do,
I'm reminded of just how powerful the 360 medium can be.
It's one of those things where you've just got to do it
to understand, and then you're totally hooked.
So if you don't own a VR headset, I would suggest this one.
It's not super cheap, but it is the newest and best,
at the time of making this video.
If you can't afford it, just get a cheap Google Cardboard
or a generic VR headset, put your phone into it
and see your photos come to life in VR.
And that's it for my top 10, 360 camera accessories.
Hope it was helpful.
Hey, let me know which one do you find most interesting.
And, do you have any other accessories
you would add to this list?
Let me know down there.
And yeah that's it for this video.
It's been fun.
It's been real.
I promise to post more videos more often.
I know, I always say that.
And then I go two or three or four
or five weeks without posting.
So, sorry about that.
But the reason I went a few weeks
without posting this time.
Was that I had a pretty significant life event
in that I proposed to my girlfriend of five years.
And she said, yes.
Yay!
Here is a photo of us shortly thereafter,
shot on my Theta Z1,
and Bushman Monopod outside the Sydney Opera House.
So yeah, there's gonna be a Mrs.Ben coming soon.
And on that note, I'll see you soon.