Two more 360-degree cameras are coming to the market, joining an emerging trend in photography and video.
JK Imaging, which licenses the Kodak brand, released the Kodak PixPro SP360 Action Cam late last month in the U.S., and in September in Europe, while VSN Mobil’s V.360 camera will be out this month. They are each 16-megapixel cameras priced at US$349.99.
The cameras have wide lenses that capture 360-degree panoramic video and pictures. They won’t replace conventional cameras anytime soon, but could be attractive to people who want to take videos of downhill ski runs, bike stunts, surfing or skydiving.
The Kodak PixPro weighs 103 grams and has a larger vertical range than the VSN Mobil V.360, which weighs 250 grams.
Both cameras have wireless connectivity and can be controlled from Android and iOS mobile devices.
The Kodak PixPro SP360 can take 1920 x 1080 pixel video at 30 frames per second. Lower-resolution videos play at more frames per second. The camera can split video into two 180-degree angles simultaneously and it can also take a “dome” picture at a 214-degree angle, which could be good for capturing sunrise or sunset.
The camera has 8MB of internal storage, and an additional 32GB could be added through a Micro-SD slot. It shoots roughly 160 minutes of video on a single battery charge. A handy feature is NFC (near-field communication) so video or pictures can be transferred to other devices. The camera has HDMI and USB 2.0 slots. A 1-inch LCD shows the status of the camera.
VSN VSN’s V.360 camera
VSN Mobil’s V.360 camera can take video at 6480 x 1080 pixel resolution at up to 30 frames per second.
It has micro-USB 3.0 and HDMI ports. Other features include Bluetooth 4.0 and an SD card slot that can support up to 128GB of storage. The camera runs on Android 4.4 and has a Qualcomm 64-bit 810 processor.
The camera also captures data through its GPS, barometer, accelerometer and altimeter. The camera can be immersed in up to 1 meter of water for up to 30 minutes.
For special effects, both cameras have shooting modes such as burst, time lapse and loop recording.