Review of 360fly HD Camera
360fly is a 360 camera which shoots 360 degree panoramic video, in this review we will be telling you what we thought of the camera and if its worth the price tag!
What’s so special about the 360 Fly?
The 360Fly boasts that it has a 360 degrees camera which shoots 360 degree panoramic video using the single fish eye lens – which isn’t exactly 100% accurate as its more 240 degrees than 360 however none the less it’s a pretty cool device.
Design and use:
360fly’s camera is best described as a small black orb/eye. The controls are simple as there’s just one button. Press and hold it to turn the camera on or off, it also vibrates to acknowledge the command or you can press it briefly to start and stop recording (something I didn’t realize until I had used it a few times, to make a video I had to try juggle my phone and the camera – on an short GoPro stick I have). Don’t be a wally like me, make sure you properly read the manual not just skim read. (In my defense I was a little short on time… anyway….)
The 360Fly has built-in memory and battery, and has no Micro-USB slots on the camera, which means you always need the cradle for charging or transferring files to your laptop/computer. Speaking of the battery, the built-in battery lasts for about 1.5 hours of straight recording and the camera’s internal 32GB of storage holds up to three hours of 4K-resolution video.
The video and Audio:
The video from the 360fly looked excellent, it capture vibrant colors and crisp video even with the miserable weather we had while in New Zealand.
The audio from the camera’s two microphones picked up voices well, however I found if you are more than a couple feet from the camera it came through as low and muffled, which is likely because of the waterproof design (it requires a little plug for its mic opening to make it water resistant).
Make sure that the lens is clean and smudge free as even a small smudge will be magnified, I found that I had to clean it every time I used the video as it doesn’t come with a pouch or cover to protect it while you have it attached to a handle/grip.
**Note i am a little crushed as i did not set up my profile through the app properly and therefore it didn’t save the video i took directly to my phone! Sadly i had to send the device back as it was only on loan for us so we sadly cant show you the amazing footage we got of New Zealand!!**
So instead here are some of the amazing footage directly from 360Fly website.
The App:
I found it easier to turn the camera on and off as well as start recording through the app as I found using the device itself a little confusing (more than likely because I skim read the manual – whoops)
The app makes editing the video very simple to do, letting you quickly select the sections you want to include, then add music and/or an image filter, or you can adjust the playback speed for part of your clip.
You can also select screen grabs from your video via the app editting tool.
The awesome part about the app is that you can share your videos to the 360fly’s site, YouTube or Facebook straight from the app.
Annoyances
I found that several times in the app, when I looked at what I was recording, it was always upside down and difficult to get a good picture of what I was videoing.
Specs:
Recording
- Video Format – H.264
- Video Mode (Resolution) – 1504 x 1504 @ 29.97fps
- Video Recording Rate – Up to 20 Mbps VBR
- Audio Format – Mono, 48 kHz, 64 kbps AAC
Optics/Lens
- Lens Type – 8 Element Glass Ultra-Fisheye Lens
- Aperture – F2.5
- Field of View – 240°
- Focal Length – 0.88mm
- Minimum Focus Distance – 30cm
Features
- Keys – One Operation Key (Power ON/OFF, Recording Start/Stop
- LEDs – 3 Color LED (R,G,B)
- Vibration Motor – For device feedback when out of view
- Microphone – Built in Microphone
- Accelerometer Sensor – For camera orientation
- Storage – Internal 32GB
- Wi-Fi – IEEE 802.11 b/g/n (2.4GHz band)
- Bluetooth – Bluetooth™ Smart Device (BT LE)
- USB – USB 2.0
- Remote Control – Viewfinder, control, edit & sharing via smartphone app
- Supported Mobile O/S – iOS 8+, Android 4.3+
- PC Software- 10.8 or later / Windows 7
- Supported PC O/S- Mac OS X, Windows
Environmental
- Water-resistant – 5 ATM
- Dust-resistant – IP6X (Without Mic Plug)
- Shock-resistant – Up to 1.5 M
- Operating Temperature -20° to 40° C / -4° to 104° F
- Storage Temperature -20° to 60° C / -4° to 140° F
Power
- Power Source – Built-In Li-Polymer battery (1600mA)
- Charging Method – Through Cradle using bundled USB cable
- Full Charging Time – Approx. 2.5h with 1A charger
- Battery Life – 2+ hours
Size and Weight
Dimensions
- 360fly camera (61mm sphere)
- PowerCradle (46mm x 12mm(H)
- TiltMount (50mm x 26mm(H)
Weight
- 360fly camera 138g
- TiltMount 30.6g
- PowerCradle 15g
What you get in the box:
- 360Fly
- Quickstart Guide
- Warranty Card
- USB Cable
- PowerCradle: a small round dock that magnetically attaches to the camera’s bottom.
- TiltMount with curved and flat baseplates
- Pouch
- Mic Plug + Lanyard
RRP: $649.95 – However now its currently $549.95 via the 360fly website
Disclaimer: Thank you to 360Fly who lent us a device for review. All opinions expressed are my own and have not been influenced in any way.
