27.6.2020

As (at the time of writing 27.06.20) Insta360's Evo has apparently been discontinued, and the 3D mount for their newer One R has yet to launch, the Vuze XR is left as the only option (that I am aware of) for 5.7k VR180 video at a consumer friendly price. The good news is it's a great camera.What I would stress though is that buyers need to have realistic expectations. VR photography is incredibly resource intensive, and compared to conventional 2D stills and video, it may well seem like quality has gone backwards. The Vuze XR is the VR equivalent of a compact camera, it is equipped with 2 Sony IMX-378 Exmor sensors of a type fitted to good quality mobile phone cameras and 2 extreme wide angle circular fisheye lens,all for the price of a budget DSLR or CSC. A significantly better VR camera will come with a 4 figure price tag.The camera feels well made, and the design is both stylish, and somewhat practical. It is possible to hold the camera in such a way as to ensure your fingers don't appear on-screen when shooting VR180, though it is a little awkward and i would definitely recommend using the supplied wrist strap. In 360 mode the handle allows you to hold the camera away from yourself for selfies or above your head where you will be less visible. You can use the Vuze XR app to preview the scene, control the camera, and adjust settings (which has to be done with the app), this works fine for me on both Android and IOS devices. Most of the time though I just use the very simple on camera controls.Once you've taken your photos and or video the next stop is the app, or Vuze VR Studio on the desktop, to render them into formats you can view and share. There is an issue here in that the IOS app has more features than the Android app, which in turn has more features than the desktop software. This is a shame as rendering on PC is a much quicker process.At the end you get the results, unlike some other reviewers I'm impressed, and on my Oculus Go both video and photos look good. While it's not like "being there" the experience still amazes me in way non-immersive content doesn't. Do be aware that the audio is what you would expect from tiny onboard microphones, and as with any kind of filming or photography, you do need to think about what you are doing.A few points that I hope will be helpful:-If possible, don't update the firmware with the app, just download the latest version from the Vuze XR website and put it in the root folder of your Micro SD card.Do make sure you use a V30 Micro SD card.Vuze VR Studio on a Windows PC requires a graphics card with at least 3gb of RAM. I was able to use it with an older GTX 670 with 2gb, but the software did crash frequently.Selfie sticks are pretty much essential for 360 shooting, ironically they actually work to take yourself out of shot too. Do get one designed for 360, mine actually comes from Insta360, but works just fine with the XR.Remember that a conventional tripod will be very obvious in your shot, a selfie stick or monopod, with a tripod stand at the bottom will be far less obtrusive, lighting stands with a 1/4 inch thread at the top work well too.The lenses are easily damaged, this isn't a fault as such, pretty much all 2 lens 360 cameras have this issue.If you don't need VR180 and just want a 360 camera, then while the Vuze XR is still a good option, and can do things like stabilisation, tracking, hyperlapse etc. pretty well, GoPro and Insta360 cameras do seem to have the edge. (Based solely on watching other peoples videos)

16.5.2019

My first Amazon review, but wanted to share a few tips to save other perhaps much research time.This camera was bought with the sole purpose of watching back 3d 180 photos and videos via and Oculus Rift.The results once steps below were taken were absolutely mind blowing, I have been waiting for a product such as this for 3 years and to finally have it and have it work as well as it does is mind blowing.To do the above you will need, this assumes shooting in 180 3d.1) Download Vuze software, all images and videos will need to be "Rendered" by the software and saved. You can edit some aspects of the videos, lighten etc. BUT no opportunity to crop or merge clips. So very basic.2)But once you have your rendered files time to create folders on your PC in my pictures and videos under the name '360 Photos' and '360 Videos' drop the files into these folders. You will need to re-name the end of your videos files to _180.mp4 (or _360 etc).3) You will need to download and but "Virtual Desktop" from steam store or Oculus store - I would recommend Oculus store.4) When you open up this application top right will be the 360 tabs to view in VR and your images are there. Don't use folders within the main 360 folders as that can cause problems.5) You will need to change the video or photo view setting - for photos to Dome 180, this in the pictures, in the tab bar just above the tiled photos displayed - this gives you the 3d - for vide its bottom left under tiled videos and you will need the side by side square icon to view 3d videos as 180 vs them duplicated in a messy 360 view.5) The rendered photos can be edited as long as you broadly edit side by side photos the same using a third party photo app.6) Videos once rendered can be edited, cropped (in length, not picture size really), and merged together etc. the trick then is exporting them in an .mp4 fie as .mov files won't work (but try just changing the file name manually to .mp4 as this worked - bit then no sound). Conversion tools to .mp4 compress so much that this isn't great given VR scale playback. You will also need to manually select image size 5760 x 2880 - all other setting sound etc will be typical - this 5760 x 2880 post vuze render process.7) The other purchase was a "Fantaseal Action Camera Grip Mount, Handheld Stabilizer Selfie Stick w/Smartphone Clamp Mount Compatible for Gopro Sony Action Camera and More, Action Cam Handle Grip Micro Movie Shooting System" cheap but brilliant - This as I found when you held the camera my knuckles always appeared in the bottom of the shot - this grip kept your hand safely back out of shot and was more comfortable. Plus you could also then use the phone app as well.8) Don't take photos with the camera pointing down, keep vertical or it will make you feel unwell looking back at them. It catches floor to ceiling so no need to tilt anyway.9) Keep in pouch as very easy to scratch a lens.10) Oculus video will play but not in 3d - 360 fine but really not as good as the virtual desktop app which is strange in my opinion.Other than that I can't rate it high enough......the future and it is here today.....any family photo not taken in 3d vr will look silly 5 years from now! Like photos in an album do today, and a wasted opportunity. Hope this helps.

15.1.2019

I have a had a keen interest in 180-degree VR cameras since the launch of the Mirage last year but soon felt very restricted by what was clearly a “gen 1” product. I got the Kandao Qoocam as an early backer and although could see its potential felt that its was ultimately limited by its resolution quality and stitching. Enter the Vuze XR.. Rejoice! In my tests so far XR offers superior colour balance, contrast, dynamic range and all round picture quality with the 5760x 880 mp4, H.264 making a huge difference. Even the audio is better as the camera has what I believe to be 4x 48KHz microphones. The XR App offers everything you need for on the fly editing (although I would think mostly for 360)

15.1.2019

[I never really write reviews for products but this camera actually inspired me..] I have been interested in getting a 360 camera for some time now as was keen to replicate some of the amazing tiny planet shots I kept seeing online. Was looking at the Theta V and Insta360 One X but then discovered the Vuze XR and was so happy I waited! Not only does it have better photo and video (5.7k!) resolution but it also supports filming in 3D! Wasn’t even aware “VR180” was a ‘thing’ but having since played around with it using some VR goggles it actually creates a really impressive effect. This has inspired me to create 3D content which you can upload to YouTube and watch in VR – VERY COOL.

30.7.2019

I was looking at this camera for some time as was really interested in getting a VR180 camera but didn’t think the Lenovo Mirage offered enough spec and was put off by the parallax issues of the Insta360 Evo. After the latest firmware was released I decided to finally purchase and haven’t been disappointed! The 5.7k really makes a huge difference when outputting to a VR headset and the 3D makes a really immersive experience. Arguably the best value of the of the product comes from the Studio software that comes with the camera – the VR180 alignment tool makes it easy to check images have perfect disparity before rendering.

13.2.2019

So my friend recently purchased the Vuze XR and after seeing some of the content a purchase was inevitable.There are alot of nice features such as the two shooting modes (360 or VR180) both capturing video in 5.7k. At first I thought the video editing would be a bit overwhelming as I am by no means an expert, however the mobile app was great for some quick editing and quite easy to pick up. The app also provides a live preview which you can remotely record from, something I personally found really useful.You can go on to do some more advanced video editing through the desktop software, something I've been getting better at each day! The audio is really high quality as well.Carrying it around was no problem,

29.7.2019

Bought alongside the waterproof carry case with the intention of taking it to the bottom of the sea as soon as possible!SD card also required but everything else you need comes in the box.Took for a test ride mounted on the back of my bike as soon as it arrived and very impressed with the performance and video quality.The mobile app allowed me to control the camera settings and stop/start recordings without stopping to unmount it from the back of the bike.Video recordings offer 360 degree 4k 60fps or 5.7k 30fps, something for everyone whether your preference is buttery smooth framerates of ultra high resolution.A press of a button switches to 180 degree VR mode, recordings are immersive,

24.7.2019

My brother has this camera and the images he has produced convinced me to give it ago. I'm not much of a photographer but this camera is so easy to use because I can do it all on my smartphone!The app is really easy to use (once you get the hang of it) and allows you to preview the shot and and act as a remote to take pictures/videos. I can just transfer them on to my phone and then edit them using the directors cut feature in the Vuze XR app. This is awesome and allows you to reframe the shot, add filters like Instagram and more. Once I have finished editing I can just render to my camera reel and then upload to social media. Easy!I would also strongly recommend joining the "Vuzers" group on Facebook once you have /

22.7.2019

I've been an (amateur) traditional photographer for a long time but was interested to explore the possibilities that 360 capture and VR presented.I went for the Vuze XR are because it offerd both these capabilities and wasn't disappointed!The camera was really easy to use and I was really impressed with the supporting pc software which is free.The Vuze studio automatically injects metadata for upload, enabling platforms such as Facebook and editing software to instantly detect it is a 360 degree photo allowing me to easily share my shots.I was fortunate enough to take XR to Cape town where I created some amazing panoramic shots of tabletop mountain.I was really impressed with the stitching and

10.5.2019

The electrically locked lenses would not release into the 3D position. Returned to Amazon and got a refund so I purchased an insta360 EVO which has machanical a release from Amazon and have had no problems. I see Kodak are releasing a 3D 180 / 360 camera and it has a mechanical release too.I purchased 2 insta360 EVO cameras. One failed after a month and took 8 weeks for Insta to return it to me and it still wasn't working and they won't respond to me emails any more. If you by a camera like this for 3D 180, maybe you should superglue it in the mode. Thin cables don't like being bent though 180%

26.2.2019

The camera offers good definition at 5.7K. However the Vuze Android App at the moment is very limited, I hope that future releases will improve over time. The Vuze VR Studio on my PC is also limited at the moment in functionality. Present software capability is my only complaint. Vuze fix this soon!!!

1.7.2020

The camera is great, I found the app that supports the camera really easy to use. Battery life is about 40mins, it’s sturdy compact and has great image quality. I struggled a little with the editing software but that’s probably more a reflection of me than the program. I highly recommend this camera.

13.7.2020

Working good i like it

10.12.2019

Excellent product

VUZE XR Dual VR Camera - Reviews

Info

Analysis

Detail