Camera Reviews

Last year, Insta360, one of the first few companies that made 360-degree video recording accessible to the masses, launched the Insta360 ONE. It offered more ways, many of them novel and fun, to create 360-degree content without having to carry bulky equipment. But while it mostly did deliver on those creative features, the actual quality of the output still left some things to be desired. This year, the company is coming out with the Insta360 ONE X and it’s like a completely different product. We take it for a long ride, actually multiple ones, to demonstrate how much it has improved in just a year’s time.

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Wyze made a name for itself with the launch of a $20 cube-shaped home security camera, and it recently brought attention back to that model with an update at the same price point. Now the company is back with yet another model, the Wyze Cam Pan. As the name suggests, this new model is capable of pan and tilt, greatly expanding its abilities for only ten bucks more.

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Virtual reality is gaining steam, but what if you want to create content for the new headsets, not just consume it? That's where Lenovo's Mirage Camera comes in. Launching today alongside the Mirage Solo standalone VR headset, it's a twin-sensor camera designed to capture 3D photos and video without demanding professional videographer credentials first. That's a pretty big promise for a gadget under $300.

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Ricoh arguably created the consumer 360-degree camera market, and now the Theta V wants to retake the crown from those that followed it. Making a welcome move to 4K Ultra HD, it adopts a new Android-based architecture that Ricoh promises should deliver far greater flexibility down the line, too. Indeed, the Theta V promises plenty for its $430 price tag, but has it done enough to fend off competition in what's become a crowded segment?

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360-degree video may be niche, but startup Rylo wants to do more imaginative things with spherical video: shoot first, then worry about composition later. Brainchild of two former Instagram engineers, the $499 camera can happily capture all the 4K 360-degree footage you want, but it really comes into its own when you use its powerful editing options to extract a regular 1080p with virtual pans, tracking, and more. Factor in excellent stabilization and a simple app, and you have to ask whether this is the future of action cameras.

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Garmin is a name mostly associated with navigation devices, but it has been branching out to other consumer electronics markets, from fitness trackers to dash cams. A 360-degree camera, however, is probably the last thing you thought it would get into, and yet here it is with the VIRB 360. In a market already crammed with GoPros and action cam knockoffs, does the Garmin VIRB 360 have what it takes to stand out? We took it for a spin and was quite floored by what this newcomer was able to pull off.

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A year or so ago, live streaming events was more of a fad that only the very tech savvy or very social user would do. As we near the close of 2016, however, we look back at how the Internet has been flooded by this type of “democratized” broadcasting, ranging from sports and music events, to political debates, to witnessing crimes as they happen. But while live streaming has mostly been associated with smartphones, there is always a need for more professional, but still accessible, recording devices. That’s where the Mevo camera from Livestream comes in, developed by the company whose very name is synonymous to its purpose.

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Samsung hasn't just made a bet on virtual reality being the future of entertainment, with the Gear 360 camera it wants VR content creation to be accessible to the masses, too. Hot on the heels of the Gear VR headset comes the perfect camera companion to actually shoot your own 360-degree photos and videos, though it finds itself in the early stages of what may well be a significant learning curve for users.

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The Olympus PEN-F is retro done right: not just classic looks for the sake of tickling your reminiscence glands, but for delivering the best aspects of old gear. Launched back in January, the micro-four-thirds camera introduces several "firsts" to the PEN line-up, fittingly given it's also styled after Olympus' first PEN rangefinder from eighty years ago. Camera technology may have moved on hugely since the original PEN, but the key lessons are just as relevant today.

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This is the Panono, a camera which exists in a spherical configuration, one that you're able to toss into the air to capture unique images. Back in 2011 when we first discovered this piece of technology, it was just a student project. Fast forward to now, the year 2016, and we're getting to experience the magic in final form - ready for consumers - for the first time. Is this the way of the future? Or was this an awesome idea formed before its time, executed too late to make a giant impact in its natural home market - virtual reality?

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In a few years from now, cameras like the Ricoh Theta S will be standard. Maybe not even a few years. Maybe this year. Samsung just released their VR camera, the [Gear 360], and LG just released a VR camera called [LG 360 CAM] as well. LG's camera is, shall we say, very INSPIRED by Ricoh's design. But the Ricoh Theta was first. By a mile. By several years and a whole new iteration, in fact.

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When I was a teenager, my morning routine consisted of a panicked, headlong rush down the ice-covered dirt roads that separated my rural ancestral home from the gravel parking lot at my high school. My steed of choice in those days was a decade-old Ford pickup, whose four-speed manual gearbox and 70/30 weight distribution ensured that I spent most of my commute completely sideways with the tachometer (aftermarket and strapped to the steering column, of course) pegged in the red.

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