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WIRED headed to the Snetterton Circuit in Norfolk and Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium with a Caterham Seven Supersport car and six 360° cameras. Each was tested in the paddock and attached to the vehicle. Points were scored on quality of footage and ease of use.
The 360fly 4K scores with its fine build quality and waterproof housing, which reflects the hefty price tag. The 4K camera is a 61mm sphere and weighs 172g. Its viewfinder, editing and sharing functions can be used remotely via a smartphone app. There's a one-button record function and the app is simple to operate; the internal 64GB memory, meanwhile, equates to two hours of footage. It only has one lens, so there's no stitching to worry about, but it's not true 360° - there's a significant blind spot at its base which may put off some users. The files also have to be converted to an equirectangular format, but once that's done, the resolution is a solid 3840 x 1920. 6/10 £489 from 360fly.com
The KeyMission attempts to bridge the gap between consumer and prosumer 360° devices, and its high price reflects that. The high-quality 3840 x 2160 resolution footage, for example, is recorded on to the external microSD card and the replaceable battery will suit heavy users. Footage is recorded in an equirectangular format for ease of editing. But the Nikon is let down by the SnapBridge app, which has poor connectivity and confusing instructions. Its failure is compounded by the absence of a display screen on the camera itself. With a better app and control system, the Nikon may well have won this test. 6/10 £420 from europe-nikon.com
With its built-in Lightning connector, the Insta360 Nano is designed to work with an iPhone (generation 6 onwards). Capable of recording both 360° video and stills, it features a one-button control system and has an external microSD card, which makes it easy to manage data. The accompanying app is simple to operate and offers a live preview function using the phone. Resolution is acceptable at 3040 x 1520 and the automated stitching is impressive. However, the iPhone-based connectivity system limits its flexibility - WIRED couldn't attach it to the car - and it feels less robust than the Nikon or similarly priced Samsung devices. 6/10 £209 from insta360.com
Samsung's latest 360° camera takes a significant step forwards. It's easy to use, with a simple display showing the current shooting mode, even if it's not connected to a phone. This display also shows remaining battery life, but heavy users will find it frustrating that it's not possible to supplement the internal battery. The app is intuitive to use, but because the footage is processed in the camera first, it can take a while to create editable files. With a resolution of 4096 x 2048, the Gear's image quality is the best on test and all the data is saved on to an external microSD card. It doesn't feel as sturdy as the Nikon and lacks waterproofing, but overall, this was the best camera on test. 8/10 £219 from samsung.com
Conceptually similar to the Insta360, the Giroptic iO is built to partner with a smartphone or tablet. However, whereas the Insta360 is limited to Apple devices, this model will work with either iOS or Android. Small and slightly flimsy, it clips to the top of the phone and has no memory source of its own - instead it records directly to the phone or tablet and is wholly controlled through its app. It offers two lenses and competent, automatic stitching with a final resolution of 1920 x 960. The Giroptic iO is the most toy-like of all the cameras tested and has the lowest resolution, but it will appeal to casual users for its size and simplicity. 4/10 £220 from giroptic.com
The Ricoh Theta S is simple to use and well built. Its app is also among the most intuitive on test, so it's a real shame that, although it's possible to check the framing in stills mode, there's no live preview when shooting video. You're also restricted to using the camera's internal 8GB memory, which equates to just 44 minutes of filming. The footage needs to be converted into an equirectangular format using the supplied software, and 16 minutes of video took WIRED more than an hour to post-produce. The converted content is then outputted at a modest 1920 x 1080 resolution. 4/10 £299 from theta360.com
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
