Customer Ratings & Reviews

very good surround shots, long battery life, small, fun.

Works great husband is loving it. Perfect for him.

works great. Couldn't ask for a better christmas gift!

I paired this with awesome playback on VR Gear. A+

It isn't that good. Battery goes out quick and it isn't exactly seemless. You would actually see how the picture isn't connecting 100 percent.

Samsung offers an easy entry into a consumer-friendly 360-degree action VR camera world! The Samsung Gear 360, will be priced at US $349 upon release on August 19th this year, and will allow consumers to enter this brave new world of 360-degree capture and exploration. PROS: The two separate 15MP CMOS sensors on either side of the camera's shockproof, weather-resistant body capture a 360x360 degree Field-of-View resulting in fully spherical recording. Simply turn the camera on, select the photo or video mode using the Menu button and hit the red capture button up top which is situated next to the bright, easy to read LCD status screen. This screen will also give you a read out of the battery life, estimated number of pictures or hours of video you can take, and is also used to navigate the simple menus. The first time you power on the device, select to record in 4K. The Gear 360 is supremely easy to use, offers little customization but the most simple way to capture and share photos and videos in 360-degrees. You can select to capture using both lenses for full spherical video/photo or use one side for hemi-spherical (imagine half a globe instead of a full globe of video/photo) capture. The package comes with a nice, padded carrying bag, a microfiber cleaning cloth and a wrist strap that can be attached securely to the included, cute & adorable, mini-tripod/selfie (all-ie?) stick. This ingenious design really helps in being able to use the camera in a variety of situations from clubbing to dash-cam(ing) to capturing while walking (et al a walking tour if you will). The included li-ion battery seems to last easily for over an hour of recording 4K video and the microSD card slot will accept up to 256GB easily. There's also a microUSB port on the body of the camera hidden behind the weather-resistant flap on the side which will allow you to connect the camera to a computer so you may use the Action Director desktop software to quickly process captured videos to have them stitched and become ready for uploading to YouTube/social media. For on-the-go, Samsung provides a mobile app only available on its compatible Galaxy phones; Galaxy Note 5 & 7, S6 and S7 family. It can be assumed the Galaxy S8 in 2017 will be supported too. The app acts as a sort of remote control via Bluetooth/NFC and will allow you to capture, setup and share. Speaking of the battery lasting a good duration to capture, the Gear 360, for as easy as it may be to do what it does well enough, had an issue I've seen in other 4K-capture devices: shutting down due to overheating. During a drive around town and also during a TV wall-mount installation, the camera overheated and had to shut down for about 5 minutes to cool down and be used again after recording for about 20+ minutes. The Kodak PIXPRO SP360 4K cameras do this as well, and many mobile phones that capture 4K video have also done this in the past, either shutting down the app or the device itself to cool down due to overheating. It's just the nature of the tech itself, the nature of the beast that is 4K and shouldn't be considered detrimental to your decision in choosing to buy one of these devices or not. The software that is bundled with the camera is actually quite awesome! It's very easy for an inexperienced individual like myself to be able to produce an almost professional quality edited 360 video and post to Facebook and YouTube directly. It's created by Cyberlink, same team behind PowerDirector video editing software suite for the past 15+ years. A product code to activate your copy is included inside the packaging. CONS: In comparison to the SP360 4K Action VR Cameras as well, the picture quality on Gear 360 is not as clear or sharp as it is on the Kodak PIXPROs. But it is still a world better than the LG 360 and Ricoh Theta S. Other thoughts/Conclusion: The real benefit here for the Gear 360 is the performance per dollar you are getting here. Which will be sure to draw in alot of attention at launch. I give the device and it's solid experience an 8.5/10. The points I've docked are solely for the lower image quality than competition and the isolated user crowd Samsung has pioneered this camera for - which is Galaxy phone users. Sure with a little bit of extra out-of-your-way work, any computer user can also make use of this camera, but it should've been available to be used with Android-wide and iOS-wide apps. Bigger target audience = bigger sales. Note: I received the product as part of an early reviewer program and my eligibility does not depend on the direction of my review. The product was not free, nor do I get to keep it unless I pay for it.

The camera was way too technical for a beginner camera. Involved using camera and phone at same time. Instructions very confusi g

It was fun to test it out and concept was fun, but the biggest problem was that the picture quality was not good enough.

Would chose another for this price. No live streaming

Update after Kwanzaa. Bought w/ Visa Checkout deal

I was not impressed with the 360 camera I feel like it's a waste of time and money not happy with the product at all. I am a Samsung fan but I feel like they dropped the ball on this one

Unboxing the device led to some specific expectations. The packaging reminded me of the Go-Pro range of cameras, and their action-capturing brethren. The eyeball-esque camera sits in a clear cylinder, with the accessories (tripod, battery, micro-usb cable) below. On a non-descript slip of paper resides an important code – the serial number for Gear 360 Action Director. This is the PC based editing software, necessary for those who are not pairing the camera to a compatible Samsung phone. It’s easy to lose, and the forums where Gear 360 users gather are full of people who have misplaced theirs. Be careful with it! There are no vehicle, helmet, or other mounts provided with the camera, but it is fitted with a standard ¼ inch tripod thread, so compatibility shouldn’t be a problem for those who need to attach the camera to something specific. One charge later (an LED on the side of the camera will switch from red to green when it’s done), and I was ready to set forth on my 360 degree adventures. But what to record? And here the film studies lecturer steps in. 360-degree filming is a new paradigm. The entirety of film making up until now has revolved around the cinematographer’s choices, and key among these has been ‘what do I include and exclude from my frame’. With 360 degree filming this choice has changed. We can still choose where to place the camera relative to the subject (or subjects), and we can include or exclude things depending on where we put the camera, but the concept of the frame has vanished. What sort of recording would benefit from allowing the view to make far more of the decisions when it comes to the camera? I’ve found myself using the camera for a few things, and all from a ‘documentation’ perspective. A few clips of a concert to show the crowd’s responses to the return of the 80s ‘most dangerous band’, photographs of my home to send back to my family abroad and, most effectively, recordings of the opening lectures of my classes this semester. These seemed to strike a chord with late-adding students, who’ve commented both on the technology and the way that the felt that they hadn’t ‘missed out’ as much as they would have usually by not attending the first class. Whether or not they truly gained anything by viewing a ‘virtual lecture theater’ is something I need to look into, but the fact that they could use a Gear VR, Google Cardboard or even the gyroscope in their phone to turn and follow questions and answers around the room seemed to engage them in ways a straight forward video would not have done. Its presence in the classroom also prompted questions which allowed me to expand on my usual section on technology in film making. From that perspective alone it was a worthwhile experiment. I’ve yet to use the Gear 360 to record footage of my daughter. She is close, but hasn’t yet begun to crawl, so a normal camera is more than up to the task! However, once she does become mobile the Gear 360 should come into its own, allowing me to share video with her grandparents of her early explorations without having to lock myself behind the viewfinder. I’ll get to be part of the experience, rather than watching it remotely on a tiny screen, and that makes the camera worth its weight in gold. From a technical standpoint, I’ve discovered a few things as well. I quickly switched the included tripod out for a slightly larger model (I opted for a Manfrotto PIXI, which would also be useful with my mirrorless camera), and paired it with a ‘selfie stick’(an X-Shot Pro, as it has a tripod thread on the base) to make a compact tripod system that I could collapse to take around with me. This has served me well, getting the camera up high enough that I’m not treating my viewers to an ‘ant’s eye view’ of the world, while not preventing me from wanting to take the camera out with me. For the lectures I mentioned above I opted to mount the camera on a lighting stand – effectively a lighter, slimmer version of a normal camera tripod. This helped to minimize the amount of the stand that was in the shot, giving a cleaner, less distracting recording. So, how has the camera performed. There are a few things that I want to cover, including image quality, camera controls, recording duration and stitching. For the first, there are a few things to be aware of. The device, by necessity, is working with small, dense sensors. These do limit the low-light performance. You will get far better images, with less blocking in the shadows, if you can capture your images and video in bright light. Outside, on a bright Santa Barbara afternoon, the images were great. They aren’t going to put your DSLR to shame, of course, but your DSLR can’t capture the world around you in motion. Think of a reasonable (not outstanding) cell phone camera, if that cell phone camera could see in all directions. Indoors, and especially when the lighting is lower, you’ll get exactly what you’d expect – lower contrast images and some crawling/blocking in darker areas which will clip quickly to black. However, for the price, and at the size of the camera, I was more than happy with the results. The controls are a little bit of a mixed bag. I’ve been pairing the camera to a Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge. Once the connection is established, it’s been very successful for the most part. However, if you’re in a ‘noisy’ Wi-Fi environment be prepared for long delays in pairing and occasionally in getting the camera to respond when you want it to record. In those instances, I found the physical controls on the camera were more effective. They are certainly straight forward – a power button, another to switch modes, and one more to start and stop recording or take a picture. They are quick to respond, and the small OLED screen does a great job of letting you know what is going on. A word of warning here though – when you are recording 360 video, think of that display as being like the LCD on a normal camera. Despite what the instructions say, and contrary to what happens when you select the ‘front’ camera for a 180-degree recording, that display goes at the back of the camera. With no way to alter the default viewpoint with the supplied software (phone or PC), it’s a hard lesson to learn if you get it wrong. I was lucky enough to have access to Adobe Premiere and was able to correct my mistake, but you may not have that luxury. Recording duration is subject to a variety of issues. The first problem you’re likely to encounter is recording ending due to excess heat. In a cool, air conditioned room, I was able to run the camera until the end of the supplied battery (around 90 minutes), but in warmer circumstances I ran into ‘overheating’ warnings and impromptu shutdowns at around the 25-minute mark. If you are recording a series of short shots and can let the camera cool down between takes, or just grabbing a quick photo or recording of the family for posterity, this is something you’ll likely not have issues with. If, on the other hand, you are trying to capture something longer (like a lecture), you’ll want to bear this in mind. I’ve a second battery on order to try some DIY cooling tricks on, such as adding a small heat-sink to the battery and leaving the side door open, but so far I’ve had to limit longer recordings to colder situations. Finally, then we have the stitching. This is the process where the two fish-eye images that the camera has recorded are converted into one cohesive image for viewing. Be prepared for some lengthy conversions if you like to record longer chunks of footage. Whether processed on the phone, or on a PC, this will take quite some time. My desktop is hardly cutting edge, but 8 4Ghz AMD cores and 16GB of RAM still left me taking most of a working day to render up 90 minutes of footage. If you do it on your phone, try leaving the phone on a metal surface (making sure to protect delicate parts from scratches) to carry the heat away and keep things moving along at a reasonable pace. If your clips are shorter, in the 1-2 minute range, then you’ll not run into these issues, and your phone will have you video ready for upload within 10 minutes or so. The stitching is most successful when the lighting is similar for the front and back cameras. When there is a marked difference I sometimes found a noticeable ‘line’ in the final product where the two cameras seemed to have worked at different exposure settings. The phone software also seemed to produce slightly better results than the PC did, though at the expense of additional rendering time. You should be careful when positioning the camera to make sure that a) your main subject is in front of one lens, rather than being positioned on the axis between the two, and b) that the subject is at least a foot from the camera. There is a small ‘dead zone’ to the sides of the camera, extending a few inches away, and you don’t want to lose your subject in that. Once you’ve finished you can send your video on up to Facebook (giving support for the Gear VR) or YouTube (Cardboard and Gear VR) with ease. The files can be large, but neither service has balked at the so far for me. This will allow you to share the videos remotely, though you can of course just pass your phone around. This latter might be my preferred method, though only so I can see the wonder on the faces of those new to the 360-degree video experience! All things considered, the Gear VR is an astonishing device. We are at the very beginning of a new form of video recording, and to see such a consumer friendly device so early on is very surprising. I’d love to see the quality of the images step up, and I’d like to see work done on the overheating issues, but right now there is nothing in the price range to compare. You’ll be spending thousands of dollars, and many more hours in an editing suite, to exceed what this little sphere can do.

   For years I have been interested in trying to capture life's moments in 360 degrees. What was formerly the domain of truly expensive cameras and hobbyists, has now been made available to consumers. (At least those using the last two generations of Samsung phones.)     I am not going to write about all the technical specs. This information can be found on the Samsung site as well as the product description itself. I am here to share my thoughts on this incredibly easy to use camera. When I received the product I was a bit worried about having to sync the camera to my samsung Galaxy S6 phone. I followed the set up guide. Before I could even attempt to sync the camera by "pressing the button" on the camera as stated in the guide, the camera and phone were already synced. I had simply installed some software  (Gear 360) from the Google Play Store and it just worked. It not only worked but it amazed me at how intuitive the capture software's to use. I was taking video and pictures within 2 minutes of opening the package and inserting the included SD card.    The picture quality is much better than I expected. The camera works great inside as well as outside. I have shot in low light situations inside as well as sunny bright days outside. The videos are incredible. On a Samsung phone the images can me moved with the swipe of your finger or by activating "Motion View" whereby you can simply move your phone and the image moves with you. Up, Down, or Around in a Circle! Amazing and fun!    The camera is fairly portable and I have been transporting it in the provided cloth bag. The bag is thick and sturdy and I have never felt afraid of the camera being damaged while taking it on short or long trips. The cameras built in tripod is sturdy but you might want to invest in a larger tripod if you want to stand the camera up at a higher height without your arm appearing in the shot like a bad selfie.    I will admit, I may not use the camera as often as my Samsung Phone camera, but when I am going somewhere special or simply out where I think i might be taking pictures... the Gear 360 definitely comes along for the ride. Everyday snapshots are not what this camera exists. It does take a second or two to sync the camera if it was not already on, but if left on between shots, there is no delay between pressing the button on your phone and the camera activating. There is a 3 second timer built in which gives you plenty of time to set up the shot. There is also an included live view of the image on your phone before you snap the picture to help plan ahead for your perfect photo or video.   Truly the only downside I have experienced is forgetting to transfer the photos directly to my phone to show off to family and friends. Even strangers have been blown away by the 360 degree photos and videos I am able to take. I have even had a few people suggest that they may consider a Samsung phone in the near future instead of their current iPhone. Posting on Facebook and Youtube is seamless and any problems with 360 degree videos are inherent in the various web browsers and are no fault of the Gear 360.     Overall, a great technology and something that will continue to amaze people wherever I go!

I've read and re-read the instructions and I'm about to lose my mind. I'm going to call Samsung to see why the item won't connect to my iPhone but simply put... if I have to take the time to call customer service to learn how to use this camera, then MAYBE it's not that user friendly.

This is a great little camera. Well-designed, well-built and easy to use. I'm a VR professional, and all cameras and systems have strengths and serious weaknesses. This one seems to avoid most of the pitfalls. It's a great entry level camera, but I am also able to use it professionally. It took a while for samsung to actually get the app to work, but now that it does, it's very easy to connect, shoot and edit on the Edge 7. This is the camera I always have with me, and I can go from in my bag to shooting in about 8 seconds. The action editor makes the importation of footage pretty easy. But this is where the biggest downside it...it takes a LONG time to import footage. You can view the raw output right from the SD card without having to do anything, but when you import the footage, it is also stitching it, so it takes a long time. But this is the case with any VR workflow, so I don't see that as a huge drawback, it's just something to be aware of. If you're savvy with Adobe CC, AutoPano, Mettle SkyBox Suite or other software there are ways to work with the footage as well. The resolution and record time are better than it's closest competitor the Ricoh Theta S. Price is comparable, but the Gear is a little bigger, where the Theta can easily fit in a pocket. But the Gear360 has a lot more features going for it and I highly recommend it for anyone interested in getting into shooting VR. Even on my shoots with a higher-end camera, this camera has proven invaluable both on set as well as doing pre-production of grabbing photospheres for 3D rendering. I did get mine for a discount in exchange for my honest review. Even if I paid full price for this, the Gear 360 would be totally worth it. Next stop is to get this on my drone!

I have the Gear 360 Camera and have been very impressed with it so far. Some things I was questioning and thought others would like to know as well are below. Quick Review: BUY IT if you are in the market for a stand alone 360 degree camera! Pros: The camera is extremely easy to use and set up with a Samsung phone. The battery life has been great for me so far. I've not been filming for hours on end, but the typical 5-10 minute video hasn't drained the battery much. The quality of the image is very good, the best of any stand alone 360 degree camera available today. It does NOT compare to the rigs with 12 action cameras mounted to capture the 360 degree video, but it is also $5-6k cheaper and the trade off is worth it! The stitching of the video when done on phone is very good as long as things aren't close to the camera (see cons for more on that). The Gear 360 feels like a quality piece, nice and solid. The included tripod/hand held thing works well at both! Cons: Picture stitching on things that are close to the camera on the sides disappear for a few frames. This camera is by far better than any other 360 camera that is currently available, but it is something to be aware of if you are wanting to film in small spaces. The microphone on the camera is not good for video when mounted to a car moving above 35mph as all you will hear is wind noise. I don't actually consider this to be a huge deal either since most action cameras have this same issue. Neither of these cons would have me tell someone to NOT buy the Samsung Gear 360, it is a great product! I have not tried the included PC software yet. Once I do I'll update this review with a video and my feedback on that software!

kind of complicate... just saw the video one time...

I've been using the Gear 360 for a couple of weeks now. Creating google streetview 360's, 360 videos for clients, and personal projects. The still quality is surprisingly good. The image adjusted in photoshop and given a little TLC is on par with most average Google Streetview shooters which is taken with much much more expensive equipment. Yes, you do have 2 inches of built in parallax but it's problematic. The 360 video function is great. It's an easy process with the desktop app and everything is already prepared properly for sharing on facebook/youtube. No mysterious exif editing. This is probably the FIRST 360 on shot device with acceptable quality for both stills and video. Yes, the Theta S can do pretty good stills but the video is just way to blurry, unlike the Gear 360. There are just a couple of idiosyncrasies which I expect will disappear with software updates. One such example is with another great feature. Stitching with autoleveling. If you shoot upside side or sideways, say you're using a pole extended under a bridge, and you use the mobile app to stitch.. the image will be stitched right side up. If you use the desktop app, it isn't so. Unfortunately, however the gear360 detects pitch and roll taken during the shot, it stores this in the final corrected stitch. Meaning you have a mostly right side up stitch, but internal data that says it was shot at a 90 degree roll and 45 degree pitch.. So if you use this image in streetview or facebook.. this great auto leveling feature becomes UNDONE. As a workaround, you can download the image to a computer and reset the EXIF manually. Another few things.. very strong light will generally affect the lens cover it's facing and you'll end up with a bit of a difference in image between front and back. Under normal light I've found the images to be very close in color/contrast. Also, in high temperatures, residual moisture can cause some fogging. I think for high end work, it may be a good idea to find a way to remove the lens covers/housings and not have to worry about these issues. Although, you'd have to be extremely careful with storage and use from then on out. Another bonus is the phone app. The live view and connection distance allows me to shoot the Gear 360 mounted to a pole and get off shots with no problem. Stills, videos, timelapse.. I can access all the settings right from the app. OR if I didn't have a Samsung Phone I can use the Gear 360 solo as long as I press the buttons on the device itself. Although you won't have the liveview tethering capabilities. Then you simply eject the SD card and use the desktop app for image processing. The Gear 360 EXCELS at being easy. It can go from my pocket to a completed shot in seconds. My professional rig would take a HUGE amount of time to setup and require forethought on whether I was going to shoot 360's. The Gear 360 is small enough that it fits in a pocket or purse and you can have it always close by. I've shown the Gear 360 now to lots of people. It's a helluva conversation starter. For the convenience, quality, and price it's a no brainer.

Don’t be confused by the description, this camera has NO LENSE! You must have a Samsung phone to use as the lense to view what you are shooting with this camera.

I got a chance to try out the Gear 360 recently, and so far I am pretty impressed with it overall. It opens up a new door for my casual/amateur photography expanding into the 360 realm. Strengths: * Impressive/cool and elegant product design - has a well built feel to it, is pretty, and people notice it. I like the little LED lights indicating which cameras are on. * Splash resistant - which was useful when Kayaking - but be sure to use the lens cloth supplied to clean the lens or you will get an unappealing 180 degrees with wet winshield! * Simple but effective Samsung Gear 360 Android app - allowing live view through camera, trimming of video, quick download of media from camera to phone, and ability to share clips to social media. * PC Software, "Gear 360 Action Director" offers easy downloading and auto stitching of your pictures and videos. It also has some basic production feaures, but I have only used the triming feature so far. * Takes pictures and videos easily with or without your mobile device connected and is easy to switch modes. Weaknesses: * Large external lenses can pick up reflections or lens flare if light source is too close or at steep angles to the device. * Not easy to keep the horizon level, maybe partially because of its spherical design. - As a beginner who did not know that keeping the camera level is very important for the navigation aspect of the stitched image/video, especially in a VR headset, I could have used a level indicator. There is a video image stabilizer option in the settings which is helpful. * On board LED user interface is small and a little hard to navigate to change settings, but how could you put a larger display on a spherical product anyway? Minor issues that could be easily fixed/improved: * Initial connection between the app on my Note 5 took a few tries but after that it was smooth sailing. * Time interval for Time Lapse mode can only be set from the mobile device. (minor, but could have used it when filming without my phone) * The mobile app's "View on Gear VR" button worked perfectly for 360 videos, but did not for 360 pictures. That should be fixed. * When connected to the mobile app the auto turn off feature does not engage even if you are not looking at the live feed. Other findings: I found that the default video resolution 2560x1280 was a little fuzzy more my taste even on a PC viewer, and I preferred the 3840x1920, which I'd say is required for decent view on the Gear VR. The still pictures at 30M (7776x3888) are pretty sharp which makes them a good experience on the Gear VR. Battery life seems decent for my purposes. After an afternoon shooting some short videos and stills on the water it dropped two out of three bars. But you should definitely use the auto shut off feature to save battery life. This may be a factor for any dual camera 360 device, but the greater the brightness difference there is between the two camera views, the more visible the stitching seam will be. I have enjoyed using the Gear 360 so far, and with it you can add easy to shoot, no nonsense 360 panorama stills to your repertoire as well as immersive 360 videos that will impress your friends on social media and capture more of the world than you could have even noticed when you where there!