The best 360 ° cameras you can buy now

It's no secret that 360-degree cameras can take video shooting to a whole new level. Instead of,

to capture only part of the scene, you can fully capture everything that surrounds you, which makes the end result even more exciting.

Videos created in this way can be published,for example, on YouTube or Facebook, and I can view them both from a PC and from mobile devices. Such content is especially popular with virtual reality fans who can view it on VR devices like Samsung Gear VR or Google Daydream.

If you are interested in 3D video technology,but you are new to this and don’t know where to start, the first question that interests you is which model of the 360 ​​° camera to choose? Today we look at the most popular devices with a price tag of up to $ 500. Of course, it’s naive enough to expect a professional level of 3D shooting from a camera for such a price, but for fans and as the first such camera “for trial” all of the above devices are great.

Samsung Gear 360 (2017)

Samsung's new 3D camera revision wasintroduced in March this year along with the flagship Galaxy S8 / S8 +. It is quite small and light (weighs only 130 g), making it convenient to carry with you. It is equipped with two 8.4-megapixel CMOS sensors, which allows you to take photos in a resolution of 15 megapixels and video in 4K.

1 160 mAh battery for recordingup to 130 minutes of video. There is moisture protection according to the IP53 standard and support for microSD cards (up to 256 GB). The camera itself does not have a display, however, video from it can be viewed in real time through a proprietary application. The same application allows you to upload finished videos on YouTube and Facebook.

The only problem with this camera isa small number of compatible smartphones. These include only a few devices from Samsung (Galaxy Note 8, S8, S8 Plus, S7, S7 Edge, Note 5, S6, S6 Edge, S6 Edge Plus and A7 / A5 (2017) and Apple (iPhone SE, iPhone 6s and newer.) There are restrictions on the OS version: not lower than Android 5.0 and iOS 10. Synchronization with a computer is via USB-A, which provides not the best data transfer speed.

In Russia, the cost of the device is from 10 to 15 thousand rubles *.

* hereinafter - according to the Yandex.Market resource at the time of writing.

Samsung Gear 360 (2016)

SONY DSC

Last year’s version of the same camera is optimal forthose who want to save a little money on buying a camera and do not mind that the characteristics will be slightly worse. Frankly, the 2016 model even has advantages in the form of a more capacious battery (1,350 mAh) and two sensors of 15 megapixels each.

The design is also different from the 2017 revision. The camera looks like a golf ball with a removable tripod underneath. The device is a bit heavier (152 g), but still quite comfortable and compact.

Gear 360 (2016) is also protected from dust and moisture byIP53 standard, supports microSD and allows you to upload videos to YouTube and Facebook through a companion application. The number of compatible devices is also limited to several Samsung and Apple smartphones.

You can buy this model in Russia much cheaper: from 7 thousand rubles.

Ricoh theta s

This 360 degree camera from Ricoh features twosensors of 12 megapixels and allows you to shoot video in Full HD resolution. This model has 8 GB of internal memory, and the battery lasts about 25 minutes.

From a design point of view, the camera looks perfectusually, however, is compact enough. In addition, it weighs only 125 g. Photos and videos taken with the Ricoh Theta S can be transferred to a mobile device using a proprietary application. The same application allows you to control shooting modes and publish videos on social networks. It also has a built-in editor for images.

Unlike Samsung Gear cameras, this model is suitable for all smartphones running Android 4.4 KitKat and higher, so you do not have to have a Samsung Galaxy or iPhone to work with this camera.

In Russia, the Ricoh Theta S can be bought at a price of 25 thousand rubles.

Ricoh theta v

Ricoh Theta V looks almost the same asprevious model, and is similar to it in many ways. It is also equipped with two 12-megapixel sensors, however, it supports shooting video in 4K (also no more than 25 minutes due to limited battery resources).

The camera has 4 built-in microphones forindependent recording of audio from different angles. The device has 64 GB of memory (microSD support is not available). The Remote Playback function allows you to stream footage to your TV without using wires.

The functionality of the proprietary application is similar to RicohTheta S. The cost of a camera in Russia is approximately 30 thousand rubles. This is somewhat more expensive than the previous model, but, in our opinion, this difference is justified by the support for 4K and additional gigabytes. The latter is especially important for a camera without support for memory cards.

360fly 4K

A 360fly camera can shoot 360-degree video in4K, although equipped with just one 16-megapixel sensor. It has many nice features like time-lapse capture and front-facing shooting mode (hi, 3D selfies). Also, the model is equipped with many sensors like an electronic compass, gyroscope and GPS.

The camera is quite suitable for outdoor activities: It is protected from dust, drops and immersion in water to a depth of 1 meter. It has 64 GB of internal memory, and in size a little less than a tennis ball. 360fly connects to a proprietary application on Android, in which you can view and edit videos, and then upload them to YouTube or Facebook - and all this right from your mobile device!

In Russia, this model can be purchased for 44 thousand rubles, which sounds somewhat cruel, given that on the same Amazon it costs only $ 349.

Nikon KeyMission 360

Unlike all other devices in thislist, this model can be called a full-fledged action camera with support for shooting at 360 °. Perhaps Nikon KeyMission 360 is suitable for any activity you can imagine. It can be immersed in water to a depth of 32 meters, used at a temperature of -10 ° C, and dropped (inadvertently, of course) from a height of up to 2.2 meters.

The camera can shoot video in 4K and take pictures in a resolution of 23.9 megapixels. A proprietary application allows you to copy the footage to a smartphone, control the camera remotely and do many other things.

This model is compatible with Nikon branded accessories - for example, with mounts for helmets or bicycles.

In Russia, Nikon KeyMission 360 costs from 31 to 35 thousand rubles.

Insta360 Air

This camera is different from all others in ourthe list and is, in fact, an accessory for the Android smartphone. All you need to do to record 360-degree videos is to connect the Insta360 Air to the charging port of your smartphone. The camera is capable of shooting video in a resolution of 2560 × 1280 pixels and photographs with 3008 × 1504 pixels. The videos created using this device can be uploaded to YouTube, Facebook and other platforms.

Online streaming is also supported at allpopular sites, as well as 360-degree video calls on Skype and similar services. The camera is plastic, looks quite minimalistic - and is the most compact among the models in this list.

Insta360 Air is compatible with all devices onAndroid 5.1 Lollipop and newer is offered in two versions: with micro USB and USB Type-C connectors - depending on which standard is used in your phone. Both of them cost from 9 thousand rubles.