360fly - 4K Action Camera - black

I am a filmmaker and purchased this to use at Live Events, although I have not have a chance to use it at a Live Event yet - I have used it around the office doing tests. I knew nothing about 360 Video going into this purchase and it certinaly has a learning curve. After watching several reviews on this and tons of other 360 cameras, I would say this camera gives you the best bang for your buck! First of all, the 4K quality is a necessity if you want to have decent footage on a 360 camera. Compare this image to the 360Fly and the footage doesn't even come close to matching the 4K quality. Secondly, the app and desktop app that correspond with the camera are pretty cool & necessary features. Although, figuring out sharing, editing and exporting was a bit frustrating at first. There aren't enough tutorial videos talking about this camera yet so you have to do some digging to get the outcome that you want. So, the learning curve of this camera, the fact that it is "true 360," and that there is not video stabilization (making this camera not good for sports - I would rather use a GoPro or 2) are my only negatives. Other than that, the user face on the app makes it very easy to pick the setting you want to shoot on (timelapse, photo, POV, 360 view, etc). The Live Stream integration with Livit is pretty cool, although, that app still needs to gain more of an audience. All in all, easy to shoot with, fun to use, good quality and sleek design make this camera a very awesome purchase!

The 360 fly 4K is the best all around spherical camera on the market today. like its 1080 p predecessor, it's waterproof, impact resistant, and the included app lets you immediately choose your best shots and post them directly to your favorite social media outlet. I've had many action cameras, but this one is the most fun to use. gone are the days of having to "keep the camera pointed" at the intended target only to find out you missed the best part when you look back at the recording. with this camera you just set it up in the middle of the action and everyone that watches the video later can pan around and see whatever they want. I use it to take my facebook friends on jeep trail ride alongs, and glorious days at the beach kiteboarding. Mine has even been to the top of some of the best ski hills in the country and made me the envy of all my friends back home. As with any piece of tech, things can get broken. I broke my first FLY4K on a kiting trip, and Amanda at 360fly not only replaced it for me, but they drop shipped it to where I was along the way so I wouldn't miss the fun at our next stop. Great product, backed up by great people and service.

As an amateur motorcycle roadracer I am always looking for the best cameras and angles. For years I've used two gopros to capture front and rear footage. This past season a fellow racer introduced me to his 360fly footage and I was blown away. I purchased my own and haven't looked back. My gopros have literally collected dust since. Additionally I had a very positive interaction with 360fly support which was super fast and helpful. I highly recommend this camera not only for the technology but the people standing behind it.

This camera is outstanding! Super easy to use and editing is a piece of cake with their free editing software! Their product support is excellent with fast responses! People who watch my videos always ask how much I paid for this camera. They are always impressed with the quality of the footage and their first guess is always over $1,000. People can't believe how affordable this camera is! This camera is a game changer! -949 Productions

Here is the down and dirty. Before you read the whole thing - I would not recommend this camera unless you're a true enthusiast. I LOVE 360 and VR, and work with it A LOT. The camera is really a 4 star camera if you know what you're getting into, and it creates really cool stuff. Editing is expensive, but it's new tech and that's what it is. Customer Service is Good, but if something goes wrong you need to be tech savvy to probably fix it. The App, I never got it to work right, and I think it's junk - I can be wrong here, but that's why they are reviews. By now you know it's not a full 360 x 360 camera; it's 360 x 240 which means the area behind the lens is black. In some instances this is OK, but that's kind of a known. Editing - this is a PITA, but that's the nature of new tech. There is 'Director' which allows you to trim and to add music on your Mac/PC, but nothing else. You can't reorient the starting view easily or clean up the video. You basically have what raw footage you shot. Even for amateur video that takes a lot of the fun out of it. I tried editing on iMovie and it really didn't work. I have Final Cut Pro X and to do real editing I had to get a $120 BASIC package from another company to do decent edits. If you want a great editing suite, that's $1200. Basically to do edits like what you expect on your GoPro movies through iMovie you need $500 in software. The App is trash, at least for Android - it does work well for my girlfriend's iPhone. I never got it to connect my S7 completely to my camera. I film and move the files directly to my computer. If you contact them, their customer service is fast, but it appears to be one or two guys who work their email and their forums - seems small for a company that is selling stuff through best buy. They are very knowledgeable about their product but to get my App and my camera to talk they sent me a several page PDF that basically had me install a couple of small executables on my computer that reset several of the settings between my computer and camera. I can do it, you may be able to, but I know my family members would have been very frustrated. I know stuff sometimes doesn't work out of the box, but it looks like they are patching it together as they go. Again - new tech, and that's great, but if you're looking for GoPro ease, this isn't it. Also, the guy on the forums and YouTube who seemed to know the absolute most about filming and the camera and how to edit everything between the app, premier, and fcpx has left the company. They lost something there because I learned almost everything I know from that guy and as of late there hasn't been anyone producing content in the "how-to" realm for 360fly. Andy was a loss for the company. So. 2 stars on the app 4 stars on customer service - those couple of guys work hard with what they have. 3.5 stars on the camera. I'd really give it 3.5 stars, but Best Buy doesn't give that as an option.

The 360Fly 4K seems to be a well-built 360 action camera as it is water resistant (rated down to 1ATM, 30 ft), shockproof, and dustproof. It only has a single button, two pin holes for the stereo mics and the charger/USB connection is done through a proprietary magnetized base. So there appear to be no openings to sensitive components. It does provide a 360° left/right rotation around the center point, however it is only 240° up/down. For most shots this is fine as most the action is in front of or above the camera. However, it creates a stretched appearance at the low point and if it doesn’t just stop you from trying to look down you will see a void designed like the camera pattern below. The problem with this is that the higher you take the camera the more you lose in the image. If you sit it lower to get more in the image everything else looks stretched out. The best use I see for this is on the bottom of a drone, as it already removes the drone from the picture and the image you really want to catch is below and not just filled with sky. Though it claims to be 4K, the fullest resolution is 2880x2880 and when uploaded, the highest resolution YouTube gives is 1440p as opposed to 2160p for regular 4K videos. However, the picture quality is pretty good, just not as good as I hoped. Objects close to the camera are clear, but stretched, while objects further away look proportional, just fuzzy. The single button option on the camera limits what you can do by lengths of pressing. Such as 4 second hold can start Bluetooth scan, a longer hold powers it off, and pressing the button starts recording video. Other than that, everything else is managed through the app. The button and the bottom light up depending on the status as well so you can easily see if it is ready or recording. The app is simple to use, provides live video unless recording in 30fps, and allows you to make more advanced settings such as brightness, saturation, and exposure. It also allows you to edit and share the pictures or video from your phone. However, I had issues with the app locking up from time to time, or dropping connection with the camera which seemed to take much longer to get reconnected each time it dropped. Plus the fact that you can’t do anything other than record with the “one button” it became a bit frustrating to have to wait for my phone to connect just to take a picture. Also, on top of that delay, when taking a picture, there is a delay in when it actually captures the image. You can hear the audio on the phone, see the “one button” change colors, but the actual capture is a second after that, as I have a couple of pictures where all I see is my hand grabbing the camera after an intended shot. The app also allows you to follow motion, creating a security camera type feel and allowing you to focus on action automatically. There are planned updates for this functionality according to their website to include other plans for future updates. The computer software is really basic and I was hoping to have more editing capabilities. It actually seemed as if the app had more editing function than the computer program. It basically allowed you to open the files, delete, and share. I like that it is a single lens camera, as there are no stich lines to worry about, but the fisheye lens effect that it gives is very distracting. I like how rugged it is, but there is no storage expansion opportunity or way to replace a battery. I like that it is a standard tripod ¼ 20 thread and includes an action adapter that can be used for nearly any mount for other action cameras. However, for the price I feel there are better options out there. Just since my purchase they have already started an offer for $100 less (Till 8/1). I think with some software and firmware updates to help speed up the camera function, or maybe add a timer like other cameras, it is a decent 360 camera for those that are going to be rough with it. I’d give it 3.5 stars if it were an option and I personally would recommend a different 360 camera to a friend.

I am really enjoying this device. Here is what I like: After taking a 360 video, you can easily edit it to make a regular video. Most people I know don't know how or don't care to see the 360 video. Using the app you can record any part of the 360 view in a normal window and save it as a new regular video. So one 360 video can viewed from any angle and saved as numerous different views of a regular video. You can also freeze any shot and take a picture. Obviously, the still picks are not as good as a regular camera, but you capture moments that you would have certainly missed with other cameras. Many people don't like the fish-eye lens distortion, but it comes with the territory and does not bother me. The waterproofing is excellent. I am taking this thing to the beach and look forward to using it. What I don't like: the blind spot. With one lens, there is no stitching, but it does leave a blind spot. This actually only bothers me in one instance. There is a "tiny planet option" that wraps the photo around that makes you look like a big person standing on top of a tiny planet. I think they are really cool. Unfortunately, the blind spot is a big hole in the middle of the planet. Also, the depth of field is poor. Close object are clear but distant objects are blurred. To get a good picture of someone's face, you really have to be close to this thing.

I have compared a number of 360 cameras and landed on the 360fly 4k because of other expert reviews I had read regarding its image quality, app experience, and durability. In these areas, the camera has absolutely met my expectations. I have taken footage outdoors, indoors, and under water. The Point of View mode is nice to have when seeking a more normal camera experience. However, the 360 mode is the obvious draw and I've been able to capture great content with my family (the kids putting it on the bottom of the pool and swimming around it was awesome!). The best images out of the box are in good light situations. However, after some experimentation, I used the app to toggle image settings, which significantly improved low light performance as I was able to tune settings for different environments. (Note to 360fly--having some pre-sets would make this an easier, better experience for users who don't need all the extra controls) I also discovered some unexpected features that were a pleasant surprise. The camera has the ability to automatically record video, triggered by either sound or motion. This was cool feature that my kids liberally used to capture funny footage of themselves. The overall app experience is really solid--very easy to edit crop and share. Definitely the easiest to configure and use based on experiences I've had with similar devices.