Giroptic’s little, pear-shaped gizmo claims to be the “world’s first full HD 360-degree camera.” It has three cameras with fisheye lenses that can take either eight megapixel images or capture 1080p video. The 360cam will then sew the imagery together into one panoramic shot or video that users can later export to mobile devices, computers, or even to the cloud.
Though users control the 360cam with their smartphones or mobile devices, they can also attach an Ethernet video-streaming base if they’d like to live-stream.
Interestingly, there’s a lightbulb socket mount that allows a user to screw it into an overhead fixture, where a lightbulb would normally go, and draw power from it. Coupled with the ability to stream footage live over the cloud, the it can work as an instant surveillance camera.
The 360cam is also perfectly suited for adventure photography, too. Though it’s yet to be discovered if it’s as rugged as a GoPro, the self-contained 360cam has a rubberized skin that’s air-tight and water resistant to depths of over 32 feet. It also has multiple mounting options. Plus, it has image stabilization, so no matter how screwy its orientation gets–no matter how much it twists and turns–the video will remain stable.
“GoPro’s and similar cameras are a great product for the active photographer who wants to shoot video from a skateboard to the ski slopes,” says Fred Tilner, Sales and Marketing Manager at 42nd Street Photo, a popular camera store in New York City. “Although there are some similar and emerging products on the market, GoPro has packaged their cameras together pretty well and is the clear market leader.”