2.5.2017

These are mostly first impressions as I've only had the 360 CAM for a few days.The first annoyance (for me) was almost immediate - after taking it out of the box (and being amazed at how compact it was) I tried to plug it in to charge it up and couldn't get my micro USB cable to fit. After studying the socket on the bottom of the device (under a little flap) I realised that it uses a USB-C connector. It does come with a cable with a full-sized USB connector on the other end, but as the first USB-C device I have, this means that I can't just throw it in a bag with my phone, camera, etc. (all micro USB at the moment) - I need to remember the cable too. This will probably be less of an issue over time,and it possibly means that it'll charge faster than if they'd used a micro USB connector.The cover slips easy over over the camera to protect the lenses, and is removed by squeezing two buttons on either side. It can also be fitted to the camera "upside down" to act as a larger handle/grip.The LG 360 Manager app for Android seems to work OK, and lets you upgrade the firmware of the 360 CAM (don't bother with the LG Bridge software - took ages to download and then on first running it updated a load of its sub-components, drivers etc.). The app first talks to the camera via Bluetooth, then fires up a WiFi hotspot on the 360 CAM which is what you then use to control the camera (being higher bandwidth and longer range than Bluetooth). If the camera is in standby mode (brief red flashes on the power LED) the app can wake the camera up, no need to push the power button. By default the camera goes back to standby after 2 minutes. This mechanism does mean that you need to be within Bluetooth range the get the app and the camera to re-establish communication again though.The app allows you to completely configure and control the camera, including viewing images taken by the camera - which are stored on the internal 4GB storage, or a microSD card (if you insert one), and triggering the photos or video to be taken. You can change the WiFi password (and probably should), adjust the angle of shooting (360 or 180 degree, and choose the camera to be used if 180 degree), you can also manually set the camera settings like white balance, exposure, AE-Lock etc., or just leave it all on automatic. You get a live preview of the camera image in the app if you're close enough - but this cuts out when I'm only a few meters away even though the WiFi signal is apparently still fairly strong. You can still take photos with the app even if the live preview isn't working.One of the big selling points for this camera is that it's one of only four currently that integrate directly with Google Streetview. This was a bit more hit and miss for me, I've not yet quite sussed out why the app doesn't always find the camera - I think it might be because the WiFi on the camera has shut off to save power. When it works, it allows you take a 360 photo directly within Streeview. This is in theory good, but because your phone is connected to the 360 CAM by WiFi, and because Android seems to only allow WiFi OR mobile data, Streeview can't upload the photos straight away via the mobile network. Streetview changes the operation slightly vs the 360 Manager app in that it transfers the photos directly to your phone after they've been taken. You can then select them to upload later, once you've disconnected from the 360 CAM's WiFi. Google has also ditched the full web-browser-based Streetview editor, so you can now only use the app to correctly position, rotate, link together and associate your 360 photos with places, which is a little fiddly compared to the videos that show how you used to be able to do it.One thing that I feel is lacking in both the 360 Manager and Streetview apps is a way to fix the "nadir" of a 360 photo sphere. The nadir is the point at the bottom of the sphere where the image joins up, and you'll find that it tends to have all kinds of strange views of of the top of your tripod, fingers, or whatever the 360 CAM is sat on when you take a 360 degree photo. There are various ways to fix this, but they all seem to involve fiddling around on a computer after the fact, sometimes to just insert a solid coloured disc to mask off the mess. If the app or camera could do this for you automatically it'd be really handy (and probably really easy to code). A close up view of your fingernails isn't terribly pleasing! The Streetview app does allow you to select squares of the image to fuzz out, but you can't adjust the size of these squares. You can get the app to do face detection and fuzz these out automatically, but it's sometimes faster and safer to do this by hand, plus you can use the manual method to obscure number plates etc. before making the photos public.The images taken by the 360 CAM seem pretty good considering the price and the extreme ease of use (just look at the faff that you have to go through otherwise using a standard camera). There's a separate LG 360 CAM Viewer app that friends/family can install to view any 360 photos you share with them, though I found that my HTC One M9 could handle them natively. You can also install an LG 360 viewer on a Windows PC. The images produced are about 5-10MB each. The 360 Manager app allows you to pull the images from the 360 CAM in about a second or so each, and marks the ones you've downloaded so you don't end up doing the same ones twice. You can also switch between the photos on the 360 CAM and those you've downloaded onto your device. If you switch the camera into 180 degree mode, watch out with subsequently using Streetview - it assumes the photos are 360 degree even if you've left the camera in 180 degree mode, so you'll get some strange results.Next steps for me is getting an extension pole for my tripod so I can make the pan/tilt arms further away from the 360 CAM lenses, sorting out an easy way to fix the nadir, getting used to this new way of taking photos, and the intricacies/vagaries of the Google Streetview app!

2.11.2016

Received today, sooner than expected by two days. Easy packaging, took it out, popped in a 128g Micro SD, downloaded the app and off I went. Super easy.The camera is very small and light, and the hard cover case which doubles as a stand is very good for protecting the lens. The camera itself has only 2 buttons on it - a power button (which responds differently depending how long you hold it) and a big shutter button on the "back" of the camera. You can also activate the camera from standby using this button for quick snaps and videos. This button is simple - short press for photo, hold for 3 seconds for video. Push again to stop. Simple.Also including was the charge/PC cable, but no block,so you'll have to use your phone plug or other USB charging point.Worth noting that despite buying this recently, I still had to manually update to the July update using my laptop and LG Bridge. But that was simple enough, and it vastly improved the camera functions.You have 2 types of photo and video - 360 and 180. There's an LED on the side that indicates whic mode you are in but again it's worth noting that it remembers what mode you selected using the phone app. So if you took a 180 photo and put your phone away, to get a 360 shot you need to reconnect and change it back.While I'm talking about the app, I'll just say that I have it installed on both my Galaxy S6 and my iPhone 6S - they both work fine, but there's a cumbersome connection method with iPhone involving going into WiFi settings and choosing the camera every time. On android this is automatic, but while in the app it disconnects from other WiFi networks. Once you leave the app it goes back to your remembered choice. The app is also how you change the settings for your exposure, audio channel choice, and downloading the pictures to your device. It is also the only way to check the battery state of the device.Sharing your pics is easy. Okay, you can't share to Facebook from the app, but download the pics or vids to your device then just upload them through your Facebook app. I did this and they all came out full panoramic on the app.Picture quality is as expected for a first generation, and - let's be honest - cheap 360 degree camera. It's not bad but you won't win any photography awards. For personal use I find it spot on. I won't go into tech specs cos they're everywhere on the net, but I will say that's it's easily as good for pics as most mobile phones, and the video is probably just as good.The camera has three microphones situated around each lens - two at the "back" and one at the front. This means when you record a video in 360 degrees, the sound is emmersive. The capture quality is, again, as good as most phones, but the 5.2 audio really adds to the video when viewed in VR. There's also a 2.0 mode which is perfectly usable too.Currently I haven't actually run down the battery since unpacking, so I can't comment on charge time or battery life, but I have used it A LOT since unpacking and it still says 42% in the app.I wanted a 360 degree camera for an upcoming trip to America and Canada, and this purchase certainly hasn't disappointed me.

23.5.2016

To start this review, I would say this product is not completely straight forward to use.In the box is the camera (with clip on case), a usb to usb C charging cable (no plug) and very basic instructions.The case slides over and doubles as a stand. On the bottom is a standard size tripod mount screw thread.On the camera are very simple buttons - On/Off - 180/360 (picture/video type) and the operational button.The camera requires a micro sd card and does not come with one. It supports bigger cards than you will ever afford at the moment.To take a picture push the button. To take a video hold the button down for a second. Simple.You download an app from the app store or play store and it allows various fucntionality such as live view (see whats being filmed),

8.10.2016

Fantastic camera, a real joy to use. I've used it in several locations and it's great to use. Took it on holiday recently, used it for a few shots per day, and the battery easily lasted the week I was away and it took some fantastic shots. You do have to take care when taking photos though. Ensure that faces aren't in the area where the two images will be joined, it often joins them in an odd fashion. It also isn't going to work great in every situation, low light or close quarters are two weak areas.Pros:• Simple to use. Only two buttons, power and shutter, and the shutter will turn the camera on.• Camera turns on instantly and is ready to take shots straight away.• App can act as remote shutter control.

20.4.2017

The LG 360 Camera is fantastic. It allows one-click capture of a 360 scene both in still image and video. The device is simple to operate, includes a USB C cable for charging and connection to a PC, Micro SD slot for expanding the available storage. The “lipstick” style case works great to protect the exposed lenses but mounting the camera in the inverted case is not ideal. The LG360 also has a standard camera tripod mount in the base.The resolution is acceptable but when viewing video you have to bear in mind that the resolution is spread over the entire 360 field of view so if you're uploading a video to YouTube you'll only see a small section of the scene and a small section of the 2k video.

26.7.2016

I love a gadget, and this is my favourite since my first camera phone over ten years ago. Everyone who has seen the results this produces is amazed and instantly wants to buy one.Plus points:Clever minimal design, buttons are exactly where you need them.Quick to charge and long battery life.Very clear and sharp pictures.Switches on quickly so you don't miss capturing that moment.Can take the highest capacity memory cards (up to 2Tb when available), so you can capture your whole holiday.The associated apps on my LG G5 are easy to use.Your phone can act as a remote monitor and shutter release, allowing you to set up and use the camera up at the limit of Bluetooth range.For me there are no real negative points,

24.12.2016

Just in case you dont want to read more, I completely and totally recommend this product.... the Sonos of 360 Cameras !!Here goes....So i have been looking for a 360 camera for a while now, to complete my current photo/video equipment setupI started with a Richo Theta, but didn't get very far, as I realised it didn't support SD cards.... why !I then did a pre-order on the Nikon 360, but cancelled before it was released due to the shocking reviews and sample reviewer footage !I then thought the insta360 would be a good choice, but then discovered it only supported the iPhone 6 size/shape, as I have the better 5SE, I was out of luckSo finally I came across this one, the LG 360:- Price : Perfect,

1.10.2016

Have had some good pictures but the quality isn't always great, along the border where the pics joint it can look quite blurry and there can be a significant colour variance depending on how each pictures white balance is processed. It doesn't always turn off and the battery is drained, you can change it to power down after 1,2,5 minutes but it seems to lose these settings every now and again?! If you press the button to take a pic in the unit you get a shot of you thumb in shot, if you adjust the setting to a 3 sec delay it gives you a chance to get you thumb out of the way, but as with the power off setting it does seem to lose this regularly. All that said for the price compared to others it's good,

14.8.2016

Sleek if not a little odd in its design but i suppose its the biggest thing to remember about 360 degree camera's is that you need to be able to hold the device without impacting on the overall shot you are trying to achieve as this will capture almost everything. Two 180 degree camera's, along with a little magic from the stitching software is all you need.Warning. when using this please to save on disappointment, take a bit of time to set up your shot and record a short test to make sure you are happy.Apart from that you will be very satisfied with this product and the videos made are alot of fun to watch! Maybe a need to be a little easier in the hand, but then again thats not really what this is designed for.

12.6.2017

One of the better 360 cameras I have used, mostly due to the price and decent quality of the image.Occasionally it can be rough around the edges for stitching but after tweaking and understanding the light for the product it makes your photos look incredible.Once saved the photos are also easily uploaded to facebook where they can be used through 360 viewing as well as this being a certified camera for google streetview for businesses.One problem with the camera is the settings, they have to be changed in the app and once they are changed in there they can only be edited from there meaning you could accidentally leave the higher quality audio on the settings meaning it can't be viewed on a

27.1.2017

I am disappointed with Amazon when advertising this product that they did not advise that this needed an additional item for it to work. If this was known at start I probably would not have purchased. On receipt discovered it need a micro card. No micro cards was advertised for this model and took a gamble an ordered one that seemed close and on receipt it did not connect, this is therefore is a complete waste of money. Will try to obtain the required micro card locally in which failing this will send everything back for refund of purchase.I would suggest in future that you make item requirements clearer. The operating instruction were written that small that they can hardly be read.

16.11.2016

Awesome to be able to capture photospheres and moving 360 degree video in such a compact package. Only gripe is the video quality is just okay and the smartphone control can be a bit slow to connect- but when you consider what you are able to achieve this is a small concern, and tbh there are no other options at anywhere near the price. Also if you want to capture those special memories in 360 degree they won't wait for something better and occur again. Buy it now and enjoy the future of video photography- and in a few years upgrade to the next iteration. In the meantime you have captured the 360 scenes and memories you would not have otherwise!

3.8.2017

Very easy to set up to my Andriod phone. Had no problems down loading the software. The battery hols its charge well. After reading some unfavourable reports about picture sharpness and stitching, I took a quick snap of myself at my computer desk and was surprised at the result. The only little niggle I have is to change from 360" to 180" it has to be done via your Smart phone. I have tried another more expensive make, but sent it back as it was difficult to set up ect. and chose this LG Android Model. I am pleased with this buy

26.4.2017

Bought as a present and had to return it, due to battery issue. The replacement arrived within two days and has fine since. 360 camera for this price the pictures are amazing, says the recipient, who can't put it down, although connection to the camera app can be temperamental. App is easy to use and produces excellent results. Very glad I bought this big boy toy, as my partner loves it.

19.12.2016

Very easy to use. Since it uses 2x180 angle lenses there are two points where the image is glued together. Need to think about this. Otherwise very easy to use. Downloading the smartphone app adds plenty of setting functionality as well and is recommended. Could have wanted slightly better night photography, but for its price it is an awesome camera.

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