Facebook is the only convenient alternative if you do not want to transfer files via cloud storage. © NextPitĮven worse is if you would like to share images with others Gear VR owners.
This is not exactly convenient, but at least displays images and videos. Whether a _playback in filenames remedy would have worked here, I wasn’t able to try myself.Īlternatively, in the Oculus Store, there is at least a VR Gallery app from Samsung. But even then, the video app content doesn’t play, but rather shows only a still picture. Feasible, but cumbersome and not very intuitive. So you have to change the filename manually. But there’s really a different problem: it detects 360-degree video only if stated with the filename _360 - which the Gear 360 Manager does automatically. The photo app does not even display self-made content that the video app could also play. Now things get a bit crazy: Oculus Photo and Video apps can’t do anything with Gear 360 shots. The Oculus app starts automatically when the phone is inserted into the VR goggles. The Gear 360 Manager sometimes inexplicably stops displaying the Gear VR button, without which you can’t really make use of Samsung's VR headset. That’s simply because it’s not so ergonomic to display this kind of content the Gear VR. If you want to view images only with Gear VR glasses you might run into problems. Viewing Gear 360 images with the Gear VR is not so easy. Without VR goggles you can use a smartphone display to select segments.
Special software needs to be used to view 360-degree images either with the Gear 360 Manager, but also Facebook, Google Photos and even normal web pages with a Javascript plugin. At a distance of a few meters, hardly any stitching errors can be discerned. However, the closer to the camera an object is, the more errors can be seen. There are hardly are errors during stitching of panoramic shots. The 60 fps mode is better but lower resolution leads to a poorer image.
Fast movements of a ball, for example, aren’t so clearly visible with a typical 30 fps recording. The image quality of videos is fine, but the fine detail is not so high. Whoever wants to take fast action video can set the mode at 60 fps, with resolution dropping to 2,560 x 1,280 pixels. Here, the maximum resolution is 3,840 x 1,920 pixels, with the camera shooting 30 frames per second (fps). Photos are only half the battle as the Gear 360 can also record videos. Given the extremely small focal length of the lens, this is probably just the technical limit of the hardware. This applies, for example, to a picture in which deciduous trees can be seen about 50m away: Their leaves are pretty washed out. The picture quality is very good, but there are some areas of the image that do not come off quite as good. These images have a resolution of 7,200 x 3,600 pixels. When running the camera with a cell phone, images are converted to an equirectangular format. The Gear 360 snaps pictures with two lenses at a resolution of approximately 15 MP, with the originals having a strong fish-eye lens look. Use with a tripod or in your hand. / © NextPit
This brought with it the advantage that I could, on the one hand, hold the camera to a reasonable height (approximately 1.4m) and on the other hand, I could mount the camera as well. In my testing, the solution proved to be a compact tripod. You can use other conventional tripods and monopods with the 360. The Gear 360 has a tripod thread. / © NextPit Fortunately, there is a solution: the Gear 360 has a tripod socket.
With this, the Gear 360 stands quite low, which is not necessarily ideal for some photos because the ground is overemphasized. The included mini tripod is used - as already mentioned - also as a handle. Make use of that protective bag that comes with the Gear 360.Ī gray carry case is supplied. Try to avoid scratches on the glass front of the lens as they’ll be clearly visible in pictures. And the 360-degree underwater panorama that you always wanted to shoot will remain wishful thinking with the Gear 360. It’s no action camera with this IP standard. Regarding water spray and dust, this device is only protected with an IP53 rating, so the camera should be able to at least withstand a rainstorm. It doesn’t really fit as a pocket camera, so transportation is somewhat unwieldy. A foldable mini tripod stand acts as a handle. The Gear 360 is a small ball that has a diameter of about 6 cm.