360/VR camera INFO needed

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crankyrayhanky

crankyrayhanky

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So I just went to a wedding where a 360 camera posted some footage and I was blown away. This was not the crazy artsy looking stuff I see on youtube, but rather a virtual perspective of "being there" as a VR (Virtual Reality) experience. Using my iphone, I could move my phone around and see the whole scene as if I was standing there: up to the sky, left right, behind me, down to the tripod. I think this would be awesome for band applications :yes:
Check out this video link on a smartphone:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFq9wbr ... 8DufjgvxNn

Anyone have any insight on which camera to purchase?
A quick Google search shows
  • LG for $199
    Kodak$269
    360fly $399
    360fly 4k $499

On the LG review, it says
you can upload it to YouTube and watch it on a cardboard after, however there are no apps to view it in cardboard.

I'm not sure what cardboard is...I assume I would be happy to just upload to youtube for sharing(?)

I'm thinking of recording practice/live sessions with ProTools and then bringing that wav file into a video editing program to put on top of the 360 video. Would Sony Vegas do this? If not which program?


Thanks in advance! :rock:
 
Maybe someone has a link to camera forum that could help? I feel confused....
 
Hi. I saw your inquiry about 360 degree cameras. I've been using one since June of last year, and have used several of them, so I'm quite familiar with them.

Which camera to purchase? It depends what your budget is, and what your priority is (image quality? convenience? etc.)
- Absolute best photo or image quality: get a GoPro rig. There are several of them. These rigs combine several GoPros to provide a spherical photo or video. The quality is amazing but the hardware is very expensive and it takes a lot of time and effort to edit the photo or video.
- Best image quality for photos with an all-in-one camera: Panono (1500 eur). It's expensive and can't take videos. Can only take photos, but the photos have very high image quality.
- Best image quality for photos and videos in a camera under $500: Samsung Gear 360 (around $400 on eBay). Officially not yet released in the US but you can buy it on eBay. The photo and video quality are very good. However, it is compatible only with the latest flagship Samsung phones (S6 and above). I got one even though I don't have a Samsung phone because I like the image quality. But I found out the software can be picky. Right now I've been able to process the videos but not the photos.
- Fine image quality for photo: Ricoh Theta S (around $350). Very good image quality for photos. I have a Theta S as well and I love it. Compatible with iOS and Android. Unfortunately the video is low resolution.
- Best value: LG 360 Cam ($200). Image quality is somewhat similar to Theta S, and video is higher resolution than Theta but not as high as that of the Samsung Gear 360. Compatible with iOS and Android.

Google Cardboard is Google's version of basic VR. Instead of a fancy $600-800 headset and powerful desktop, you use a viewer (some as low as $2) and your smartphone. To use it, you insert your phone in a Cardboard viewer. When you LOOK up, down, or rotate left or right, the view adjusts accordingly. However, unlike the Oculus Rift or HTC Vive, it doesn't adjust if you MOVE up, down, forward, backward, left or right). There are many apps on Android and iOS that have Google Cardboard capability. If they do, you'll see a logo that looks like the Google Cardboard viewer.

I'd be happy to respond any other questions.

If you want to know more, check out www.360rumors.com.
 
megaboogie":3sx7kjt7 said:
I've seen this too, very cool!
I know Samsung is coming out with one too pretty soon.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1 ... amera.html
Click to expand...

Yes I have a Gear 360 and the image quality is excellent but FYI it is compatible only with the latest flagship Samsung phones (S6 and above).

You can use the Gear 360 without a smartphone, but you can't adjust some of the controls such as the exposure (how bright or dark the photo is), and you can't view the photos or videos until you process them on your computer with the included software (Gear 360 ActionDirector).

Another issue is that the software doesn't seem to work with older computers. For example, my laptop has an Intel i5-2450M and Intel HD Graphics 3000 integrated video card and runs Win 10. The software doesn't allow me to process the photos. I can only process the videos. If you don't process the photos or videos they will look like two circular fisheye photos, and you won't be able to view them properly on a Cardboard viewer.
 
Thanks for the great info!
I'm interested in an affordable all in one solution
I would go for Ricoh Theta S, but I am reading that it was originally designed for photos and after the newest updates can only take about 3 minutes of video. Also it does not allow for editing, like putting audio on top of the footage.

Main purpose is to capture a live band performance, slap the mp4 into a program such as Sony Vegas and impart a high quality audio wav on it and share it for iphones and androids

I think the fly360 will do this (?) It says the final video comes out as an mp4. This is is some breakthrough stuff!
 
Anyone have any insight on which camera to purchase?
A quick Google search shows
  • LG for $199
    Kodak$269
    360fly $399
    360fly 4k $499
Click to expand...
Just to add to the cameras I suggested previously: FYI, Kodak SP360, SP360 4k, 360fly, 360fly 4k are 360 degrees but they're not fully spherical. If you look "down" there will be a large black blindspot. See samples on Youtube. The Samsung Gear 360, Ricoh Theta S, LG 360 Cam are fully spherical.

I'm thinking of recording practice/live sessions with ProTools and then bringing that wav file into a video editing program to put on top of the 360 video. Would Sony Vegas do this? If not which program?
Click to expand...

Yes Sony Vegas can do that. You can use almost any regular video editor. The videos you get from a 360camera will look stretched out (equirectangular) but that's ok. Just edit it like a regular video. After editing, you need to use the YouTube metadata editor to let YouTube know it's a 360 video. Here's the metadata editor (see step 2): https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/6178631?hl=en
After the metadata is injected, upload the video to YouTube, and wait a few minutes for YouTube to process. The video will then look like a 360-degree video.
 
Thanks! For an affordable all-in-one, I would suggest the LG 360 Cam. Its photo image quality is similar to the Theta S, and the video is significantly better, and the cost is almost half of the Theta S. To give you a better idea of the video image quality, here is a playlist of LG 360 Cam videos (note: you need to switch to the highest image quality for best results). https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL ... 05sS9nKsEG

crankyrayhanky":3m2cn9y9 said:
I would go for Ricoh Theta S, but I am reading that it was originally designed for photos and after the newest updates can only take about 3 minutes of video. Also it does not allow for editing, like putting audio on top of the footage.
Click to expand...

Re the Theta S, it can take longer videos, not just 3 mins. But the video is low resolution (look on Youtube for samples of Theta S videos).

Editing 360 video is generally like editing other footage. The differences are: you may need to rethink your videography, and adding titles or graphics can be tricky (if you put the title in the middle, it will appear normal, but if you put it at the top or bottom, it will look warped unless you use a panoramic editor to warp the title first so that it looks normal on the VR view).

Main purpose is to capture a live band performance, slap the mp4 into a program such as Sony Vegas and impart a high quality audio wav on it and share it for iphones and androids
Click to expand...
Yes you can do that with the 360fly, or Theta S, or LG 360 Cam. 360fly is 360 but it's only hemispherical, if you're ok with that. The advantage of 360fly over its competitors is that it is water-resistant, so it tends to be used for action footage.

Best regards,
Mic
 
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