IronFilm Posted March 23, 2016 Share Posted March 23, 2016 Noticed the Soocoo Cube 360 would be just US$150 for two (as each would cover half of the sphere), before I pull the trigger on it, is there anything else which is an even more frugal 360 degree video purchase than this? I'm thinking to get this just to dabble in making a few 360 degree videos, perhaps a short film or two, and then move on up to multiple array GoPro capture rig once I'm confident in it. http://www.gearbest.com/action-cameras/pp_311067.html Specs: 360 x 190 degree panoramic camera Achieve a certain range of 360 degree no dead angle shooting Hemispherical, circular, segmentation and panorama 4 recording modes controlled by smartphones through WiFi Support recording on while charging Support WiFi function, can connect to 2 devices at the same time Compatible with iOS and Android smartphones WiFi protocol: WiFi 802.11 b / g / n With standard 1/4 screw interface Ultra small mini appearance Video resolution: 1280 x 1024 at 28fps USB cable length: 80cm approx. ( USB cable for charging only, not for data transfering) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinegain Posted March 23, 2016 Share Posted March 23, 2016 I always say 'don't go amature, gopro'. I've started way back when the 808 cams and MD80's were the main thing. More recently tried a bunch of these actual action cams, incl. SJCAM, Xiaoyi & Soocoo. But they aren't for anything serious. For family trips and crash cams... maybe. You can make out who's there and what they're doing (it's proper quality... for like a dashcam). But just not for filmmaking. It's not very visually pleasing, it takes a lot of effort to get it that way and only in certain conditions. So... for some fooling around to figure it out... perhaps. But don't think you'll be using the results any day soon. I know GoPros are overpriced and not all too exciting either, but their image is still the most usable I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toxotis70 Posted March 23, 2016 Share Posted March 23, 2016 Is there anything else for 360 videos under 200$ ? Gopros can't shoot 360 videos.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinegain Posted March 23, 2016 Share Posted March 23, 2016 You can if you rig 'em up to do so... just not for 200 bucks. On 30-10-2015 at 6:19 PM, Cinegain said: I thought this was very well done (they've sent me a free Google Cardboard): http://www.mini.com/360/en/index.html Some behind the scenes stuff there as well... kaylee 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronFilm Posted March 24, 2016 Author Share Posted March 24, 2016 22 hours ago, Cinegain said: I always say 'don't go amature, gopro'. I've started way back when the 808 cams and MD80's were the main thing. More recently tried a bunch of these actual action cams, incl. SJCAM, Xiaoyi & Soocoo. But they aren't for anything serious. For family trips and crash cams... maybe. You can make out who's there and what they're doing (it's proper quality... for like a dashcam). But just not for filmmaking. It's not very visually pleasing, it takes a lot of effort to get it that way and only in certain conditions. So... for some fooling around to figure it out... perhaps. But don't think you'll be using the results any day soon. I know GoPros are overpriced and not all too exciting either, but their image is still the most usable I think. Xiaomi Yi is rather good however. Not GoPro 4 good, but up at GoPro 3+ BE level quality. So the biggest downer is the lack of 4K, which would be ideal for VR needs, however.... higher frame rates are also really important. So dunno if I'd want to use the 4K 30fps of the GoPro 4 anyway, instead using the higher frame with the lower resolutions. By which point the gain over using the Xiaomi Yi's 1080 60fps is not much at all, if any. I hope the GoPro 5 puts greater priority on achieving 4K 60fps than doing 8K, as I'd much rather have 4K 60fps than 8K 30fps! I'm starting to lean towards skipping the Soocoo Cube 360 x2 as a stepping stone into this, and instead leap straight for the multi sided action camera approach! It is a bit of a risk, but I will be using the much cheaper Xiaomi Yi. Then hopefully by the time the GoPro 5 gets announced with 4K 60fps, I'll have the 360 degree reputation and clients to justify the US$4,000+ investment which is the cost required to build up a 6x GoPro 5 360 degree video rig. & then I'd likely reuse the Xiaomi Yi cameras as one half of a 3D 360 rig (which needs twice as many cameras as normal, at least. And if Xiaomi Yi has seen a further price drop by then... that would be extra nice! They've already come down in price somewhat since their release last year). Or..... maaaaaaybe, if the GoPro 5 doesn't come this year, or it disappoints us, I might opt for a BMMCC rig with Rokinon 8mm lenses on focal reducers. Maybe, but now I'm speculating and dreaming too much! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronFilm Posted July 31, 2016 Author Share Posted July 31, 2016 GizChina put up a review of the Elecam 360, by far the most affordable entry point to 360VR filmmaking: http://www.gizchina.com/2016/07/26/elecam-360-review-360-budget/ http://www.aliexpress.com/item/EleCam-360-Video-Camera-WiFi-H-264-720-Degree-Panorama-Camera-Double-lens-1920-1080-Large/32695990603.html (US$120) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimmy Posted July 31, 2016 Share Posted July 31, 2016 Even the best 360 cameras still looks a bit crap in a VR headset.... at least when headsets go 4K+, the footage will improve (assuming it has a 4K+ finish). The consumer stuff looks absolutely dreadful in VR though and will be useless when the next generation VR comes along. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markr041 Posted July 31, 2016 Share Posted July 31, 2016 FullHD from each lens from the Elecam 360 will produce horrible 360 video. Even 4K from each lens (the only available one to actually do that is the dual Kodak 360 4K) produces a just barely watcheable movie. This camera on the web site shows a 1920x960 360 video. This compares with that produced by the GoPros, the Samsung Gear 360 and the dual Kodaks of 3840x1920 (although at that resolution you can see the quality difference between them). The resolution in stills is really low too. Cameras like this will give 360 video and stills a bad name, and turn people away. This is pure junk. The best 360 stills - Samsung Gear 360 (7776x3588); the best 360 video - the dual Kodak 360 4K's (not very different in quality from the multiple GoPros). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronFilm Posted August 1, 2016 Author Share Posted August 1, 2016 Oh for sure, if you have more money then spend more! Though Jimmy also makes the good point as to why a person shouldn't spend too much, & instead just spend the minimal amount to dabble in this area. Which is what this is. I see this as serving two key areas: A) people brand new to 360VR and want to dip their toe into the water as cheaply as possible so they can get experimenting B) people who already have a bigger/better 360VR rig (such as myself) who want a smaller/cheaper/casual/disposable 360VR set up to use in small snippets of a longer 360VR shot (such as on a drone, or whitewater rafting). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markr041 Posted August 1, 2016 Share Posted August 1, 2016 53 minutes ago, IronFilm said: Oh for sure, if you have more money then spend more! Though Jimmy also makes the good point as to why a person shouldn't spend too much, & instead just spend the minimal amount to dabble in this area. Which is what this is. I see this as serving two key areas: A) people brand new to 360VR and want to dip their toe into the water as cheaply as possible so they can get experimenting B) people who already have a bigger/better 360VR rig (such as myself) who want a smaller/cheaper/casual/disposable 360VR set up to use in small snippets of a longer 360VR shot (such as on a drone, or whitewater rafting). This will do nothing but discourage, as the results are conspicuously awful, even worse viewed in a VR headset. The video from this will look so much worse than from your "bigger/better 360VR rig" that it will ruin the video by distracting the viewer. If you can afford "a bigger/better 360VR rig" costing 4 figures then you can spend the $349 for the Samsung Gear 360, which is just as easy to carry around, is fun, and gives substantially higher quality photos and videos than this piece of junk. Who is your post aimed at? Not relevant for you, evidently, with your big rig. Or are you just fantasizing? I thought people here care about quality, and I don't see people here acquiring junk, or recommending it. No, $349 is the minimal amount (right now) you need to spend to get just passable 360 video that won't embarrass you (the Gear 360 stills are pretty good). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronFilm Posted August 1, 2016 Author Share Posted August 1, 2016 It is a bit like people complaining about how awful GoPro footage is vs from an F5, true!! But can be worth it for the little niche it serves and what it adds to the overall story. But yes, I won't disagree for a second, if you can afford the extra cost of a Gear 360 then get that instead. I've used the Gear 360 a lot as well: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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