[Ominous Music]
If you are wondering, my Qoocam 8K is okay.
It fell pretty hard on my hardwood table.
But lucky, there is no scratch on the lens.
The build quality of this camera is pretty solid, including the lenses.
Welcome to this exclusive Hands-on First Look of the brand new Kandao Qoocam 8K from your
BOI Hugh.
What you just watch is my 4K reframed footage shot on the Qoocam 8K pre-production unit
during my trip to Brazil.
I will post the 10-bit 360 video right here - click the link on YouTube VR.
To download my real-world samples, the link is in the description below alongside with
my Mistika VR template for the advanced viewers to stitch.
I have been shooting with the Qoocam 8K beta unit for more than 3 weeks now, so I have
a lot of hands-on information to share that you won't find anywhere else on the internet.
Before I start the review, I have to make a disclaimer, like all my other review videos,
this is not sponsored.
Kandao did not pay me.
They send me the beta units for testing and feedback, and I actually need to send them
back after I am done.
So, I can say anything I want.
I also pre-ordered the Qoocam 8K just like many of you here.
And hopefully, I get it in the mail soon.
There are problems like chromatic aberration and blurry stitch line on these beta units,
which will not happen in your production unit.
Are you sick of watching reviews from others
don't even have the camera.
Me too.
That is why I am going to show you my unit and why I think this is the easiest to use
consumer 360 camera with its large 2.4” Touchscreen.
So Pilot Era right here is the first 360 camera that has full onscreen control, but it is
well over $1000.
Then GoPro MAX introduces Touchscreen in consumer 360 cameras.
But Qoocam really takes it to the next level.
Take a look at the side by side comparison here, Qoocam 8K touchscreen is so much bigger
than the MAX.
You can preview, control, and review what you just shot.
As you see right here, I can pan around to see a high-quality preview on what I am going
to capture.
Compared to GoPro MAX - you only see one lens and have to guess what you will capture on
the back lens.
There is no touchscreen panning.
If you are familiar with GoPro, you actually only see LRV preview file when you review
what you just shot.
You see full 8K RAW data on the Touchscreen within the Qoocam 8K.
The reason why is because Qoocam 8K has a very powerful onboard GPU, more powerful than
any mobile phone CPU to run 8K decoding.
Interface Tutorial Let me show you a quick user interface tutorial.
You hold the power button for 3 seconds to turn the camera on.
You can hear the fans turn on - which to keep your camera cool when it is not shooting,
just like Insta360 Pro 2.
And don't worry, the fan will turn off while recording.
You get SD card remaining, mode indicator, wifi indicator, and battery level on the top.
And mode-specific features on the bottom.
Right now, we are on auto exposure, 8K 30fps mode.
Hit the AE icon will bring up exposure control.
As a 360 Video professional, I never trust the auto-exposure, so I hit the AE and switch
to manual mode.
This is the mode I will recommand you to use.
This is NOT a sports camera, and will not replace your GoPro MAX - which turns everything
in auto.
To truly utilize its cinematic power, you need to learn how to set your camera, which
is why you follow this YouTube channel - to learn 360 filmmaking techniques beyond just
camera reviews.
To a reasonable well-lit condition, you want to set your ISO as low as possible - which
is 100 here.
And you adjust your shutter speed accordingly.
Use a light meter if you have to.
Hit the 8K 30fps mode, and you see 4k 120fps mode.
This is the only camera that can shoot 4K in 120fps - and more on that later.
Here is white balance mode.
If you don't want a color correction nightmare, set it accordingly as well.
One great feature of this camera is 10-bit color depth.
So if you can't nail your color, you can still fix it in post.
Touch anywhere in the screen to turn this menu off.
Now slide your finger on the top of the screen to bring down the setting menu.
Here, the first thing I will do is to set it into 10-bit.
Hit the gear icon, under color depth, choose 10-bit - as you see right here.
Don't worrying if you don't understand 8-bit vs 10-bit.
I will explain it later.
So just do it now if you have your camera with you.
Right here, you see USB - click it; you see iOs, Android, and USB Mass Storage.
If you transfer your footage into your computer via USB, select this one.
If you transfer your footage to iPhone or iPad, use iOS.
Android phone uses Android.
Unlike GoPro MAX, which only available to transfer your 4K video via wifi - which will
take forever and most of the time, crash your phone for large video files - Qoocam 8K allow
USB cable to transfer files.
It will come with both iOS and Android cables when you receive your package.
I also want to point out Custom Mode right here - which is one of my favorite features.
Now I can set 4 instead of 1 quick capture mode.
As you see right here, I program a 8K mode, and 4K 120FPS mode, a DNG 8 mode, and a timelapse
mode.
I can switch between them by hitting the Q button - a very convenient feature for run
and gun 360 videographers.
Shooting Mode Menu Now let's take a look at the shooting mode.
Slide from right to left on the right edge will bring up the mode menu.
As you see, there are many modes here.
From left to right, we have the photo mode, video mode, timelapse mode - which allow shooting
DNG + jpg in an interval as low as 2-second.
Compared to GoPro MAX in 10 seconds without DNG and Insta360 Pro 2 in 4s with DNG.
So a lot faster even compared to a $5000 professional camera.
DNG 8, more on that later.
Sport mode - which is high shutter speed mode to avoid indoor motion blur when you move
the camera with stabilization on.
A very common issue you still see in the brand new GoPro MAX.
And also, the custom mode if you set your Q feature.
You can also quickly switch from here.
Let's check out the photo mode.
In photo mode, you can set auto or manual exposure just like video mode, white balance
and self-timer.
Self time has 3, 5 or 10 second.
Here you can set the format from jpg to jpg + DNG.
Go back to the mode menu, choose DNG 8.
The camera will just take 8 DNG photo for you to reduce noises and bump your photo into
16-bit color depth, which will give you DSLR image quality.
This is the mode you should always use instead of just the regular photo mode.
DNG 8 is patented Kandao technology.
Like the Google HDR+, it allows you to merge multiple DNG files together to reduce noise
and increase the dynamic range.
So you can take breathtaking low light photography without motion blur.
Please watch this in-depth tutorial on DNG 8 and understand why you need that as a 360
photographer.
Slide on the left, you see all the videos and photos captured with the camera.
Hit the video, you can play them back.
No phone or transfer on set required.
Now pick the video mode and shoot some videos by hitting the big shutter button in the middle
of the camera.
As you see on the side of the camera, we have Mic in for external shotgun mic or better,
wireless lav mic like what I use here - the saramonic blink 500.
Plug it in and you can hide the receiver under the Qoocam 8K or on the side.
I will recommand a long audio jet cable tho so you can hide the receiver all the way at
the bottom of your monopod.
The USB-C plug into your phone or your computer.
On the other side, we have a micro SD-card slot.
Please use V3 micro SD card for 8K recording.
My initial thought of Qoocam 8K
This is not yet a review video.
I want to be fair for the review, so I will wait for the actual unit I pre-ordered.
But here are my initial feedbacks after using the camera in Brazil shooting for a client
for 3 weeks:
Don't expect magic from the Qoocam 8K.
This camera is a little over hyped by different YouTubers who don't even own the camera.
The YouTubers who really shot with the camera are myself and Mic Ty from 360Rumors.
I will be going forward, focus more on professional review of this camera - teaching you how to
maximize the image quality using the art of post-production.
To answer the original question from my initial Qoocam 8K video, which you should really check
out, Qoocam 8K is NOT a GoPro MAX killer.
It is actually a great companion of the GoPro MAX.
It is capable of doing what GoPro MAX can not - which is low light shooting using 10-bit
color depth and DNG 360 photography.
But Qoocam 8K is not a sports camera.
I will personally not strap this camera on my body to go snowboarding or surfing.
8K quality with a larger sensor does capture a clearer image for video.
You will not see this unless you really put it side by side with GoPro MAX and Insta360
ONE X, on the latest 2.0 firmware with Color Plus.
Looking at the full 360 video zoom out, you actually see GoPro MAX and ONE X is sharper
than Qoocam 8K.
Wow, little bit disappearing, right?
Don't be.
If you zoom in to the Video Chart in 100% - you see that reason why GoPro MAX or Insta360
ONE X look sharper is not b/c the sensor capture sharper images - but because both cameras
have digital sharping done in the ISP level.
Pay close attention to the ring charts - which I purposefully put it against the wind to
give it some motions.
You see, both the GoPro MAX and ONE X have oversharpening artifacts.
You see the lines blended together to create second or third rings - which are not really
there in the chart.
You can see it clearly in the Qoocam 8K footage - which is what reality looks like
Will you say Qoocam 8K is better in image quality.
Not necessary.
It really depends on who you are speaking to.
If you are speaking to video professional who will process this footage using a laptop
or desktop - then yes, you get more data to play with.
If you are talking to a consumer that do all their works on a mobile phone, then prob not
really.
The mobile phone screen is too small to tell the difference.
Having an in-camera sharpening will usually fool most of the viewers on Instagram if you
are just doing simple reframe videos or Tiny planet.
On VR headsets like Oculus Go or Oculus Quest - well, you need all the information you can
get.
Then Qoocam 8K makes lots of sense.
I hope this video answer some questions from my viewers.
A lot more in-depth technical reviews and hands-on tutorials are coming when I have
the production unit of this camera.
Meanwhile, if you want to check out my 360 short film shot on the Kandao Qoocam 8K beta
unit, GoPro MAX and Ricoh theta z1, I will provide the link download below.
It is still in post-production but will be out on Oculus TV very soon.
So you can watch it with your Oculus Go or Oculus Quest.
In the next Qoocam review video, we will focus on Low Night quality - as you see right here.
The result is actually not what you think.
Qoocam 8K is actually noisier than GoPro MAX and Insta360 ONE X at first glance.
But Qoocam 8K captures so much information, including untouched sensor noise instead of
removing information like GoPro MAX or ONE X - it turns out better when you apply everything
you learn on this channel.
If you are into Virtual Tour, or want to take 16-bit color depth 360 photos - you def need
to hit the notification bell for the Qoocam 8K vs Ricoh theta Z1 video.
And don't worry Theta fans, Z1 is still a better camera b/c of sensor size.
But Qoocam 8K with DNG 8 can do something that even Z1 can't do - and I will show you
in that video.
I honestly can't wait to share more.
But I need to keep a fair - this is still not the final production unit.
This only means your unit will be even better, or at least we hope.
iOs software is not even ready yet at the time of recording so I can't even test that.
Do expect the early release will be just like GoPro MAX - full of problems.
So break the hype and set your expectations.
And don't worry.
Your Boi Hugh will help you to get the most of this camera, and GoPro MAX and also the
upcoming Insta360 camera - whatever that is.
Like this video, share to your friends, and stay tuned for more reviews coming next.