A decade ago, 360 degree images and videos were often relegated to the likes of Encyclopedia Encarta and the Matrix movies. The camera spinning around Keanu Reeves, while not being the 360 degree imagery we see today, was awe inspiring and appealing to the eye. And now, over the past few months we’ve seen 360 degree imagery form its own branch in technology with social media platforms like Facebook giving it a home as well as creating their own 360 degree camera, the Facebook Surround 360. But another advocate for 360 imagery has been Samsung, who unveiled their Gear 360 four months ago.
The ability and specifications of the Gear 360 have been known since day one: it has the capability to shoot 30 mega-pixel spherical photos as well as 3840 x 1920 video. The Gear 360 is mostly featureless on the outside, with just menu, record, and power buttons and a tiny monochrome PMOLED screen dotting the white plastic finish. There’s also a slot for the microSD card (up to 200GB supported) and a swappable battery, both of which are hidden behind a small door.
But what makes it tick? What goes on behind the spherical face of the Gear 360?
The Gear 360’s frame is what catches the eye first. Small, spherical and streamlined, letting it easily slip into your pocket to be taken out in a jiffy to record all manners of activities and events. The fact that the case is IP53 dust and splash resistant, ensures it can take the toll in nearly all situations.
Once you get over the adorable design, you’ll notice the gaping feature that are the lens. Taking up enough space for the Gear 360 to be cast in a Monster’s Inc movie, the lenses are made up of the industry’s first tempered glass with a circular design. The tough, tempered glass makes the camera good for indoor or outdoor use, to best suit your needs. The camera module itself is a behemoth. The Gear 360 features two CMOS 15 megapixel fisheye lenses, each of which can capture high-resolution images and video in 195 degrees. The overlapping ensures and helps the software stitch together both perspectives, creating uninterrupted 360-degree content. Housed inside the Gear 360 is a gyroscope and accelerometer which ensures the stitching is perfect and smooth, and helps the camera adjust its movements. Furthermore, both lenses are also great at capturing vivid and bright colours in lower light conditions and even has the capability to shoot timelapses and infinitely looping video.
On the inside, the front bracket of the Gear 360 ensures that the many cogs and wheels that run the camera are securely fastened and functioning optimally. Also housed on the bracket, albeit on the outside is the 0.5-inch PMOLED display. The 72-by-32 pixel screen is convenient and user friendly, letting people change the camera’s mode and settings amongst other things. Meanwhile, the rear bracket lets you navigate shooting options and choose between 180 degrees of 360 amongst other things.
Ever gadget has a motherboard and the Gear 360 is no different, with its motherboard housing the CPU and the DRIMe5s image processor. The DRIMe5s image processor is a powerful piece of technology and offers superior color reproduction and reduced noise, with the power that serious photographers need for high-speed imaging. The microSD card slot here can support memory cards of up to 200GB, so you’re assured you’ll always have plenty of space to record all the content you want.
When it comes to portable gadgetry, the selling point has always been the battery. Suffice to say the Gear 360 can shoot footage for up to 140 minutes, in 2K resolution, so long as the WiFi is switched off.
Yes, the Gear 360 does indeed have WiFi as well as Bluetooth, NFC and a USB port, letting you easily share your videos and photos to your smartphone or PC. Furthermore, the Samsung Gear 360 Manager is a mobile app that lets you control and view the Gear 360 content from your smartphone in real time, as well as share those videos and images. For the PC, Gear 360 ActionDirector connects to the Gear 360 for editing, viewing and sharing pictures and videos. Gear 360 ActionDirector makes it easy to share your content, too, whether with YouTube, Facebook, Google Street View or other online services.
