Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Boy was I looking forward to this camera! The options for 360 cameras ranged between $100 "starter" cameras and $5,000 giant rigs, and the difference in quality ranged with the price. $799 seemed like it was wedged perfectly in between the toys and the pro tools. So when the Virb 360 was announced, I saw it had everything I wanted... small profile, rugged and waterproof, stabilization, voice activation... was it too good to be true? The Good: - The included tripod is fantastic. I'd buy one of these on its own — the build-quality was solid, it was small enough to be handheld, but didn't feel like it would blow over at the slightest gust. This alone is going to be one very overlooked aspect of this product. - The body feels really great. It feels totally solid, like it could be knocked around without being truly affected. - The setup is painless. - It's super adaptable. I loved that it came with a standard tripod mount and a GoPro mount, making this compatible with pretty much every camera mount that I own. - In-camera stitching is basically a must-include at this point. - It shoots RAW images, and while it's not well documented, it takes them from both cameras at the same time. So while it doesn't stitch them together in-camera, this can be done in post. The Okay: - The image quality is decent, but not any better than my previous camera, an LG that I bought for $100. It still had pretty noticeable stitch lines, even in perfect lighting. - Speaking of lighting, the grain is very real in anything other than optimal light. - The video quality was okay, but only in perfect light. In a dark-ish restaurant (yes, dark-ish is a technical measurement), the video quality was very poor. The Bad: - If you're buying this to use for Google Street View, don't. The exported images are incompatible. Google Maps, Facebook, and others require 360º photos to be at a 2:1 aspect ratio. Garm Virb 360 photos are exported at a 16:9 aspect ratio. Garmin's automotive support (the team you'll get if you write in about your camera) let me know that there likely won't be a solution for this, as Garmin and Google had a falling-out 4-5 years ago over Maps. - The firmware was still a little buggy. Using the latest-available firmware, I'd have to restart the camera if I wanted the Wifi to connect. I wasn't able to successfully connect it to my phone via Bluetooth, though that option is built-in. This is typical of a first-gen product, which wasn't a dealbreaker, however... - Images aren't accessible without either removing the camera's memory card, or linking it to your phone. The Virb app is completely unusable without it being linked to a phone, so there's no way to review images that are synced with your phone without the camera being turned on and connected, or without using a third-party app. - There are no accessories for it. None. Yes, it's compatible with a wide array of mounts, but there are no other parts for it. No spare batteries, so bring a charger everywhere, and especially no cases/pouches/bags, meaning that both lenses are exposed all the time. You'll need a third-party case for sure. Overall, I loved the design and the build of the camera, but that's about where it ended for me. The $800 price set my expectations high, which ultimately, is my personal problem. If you're looking for a rugged action cam that shoots in 360º and don't want to buy GoPro's big rig, then this is a solid starter camera for you. If you're looking to take 360º photos in anything but ideal light, or you're looking for a new camera to submit photos to Google Street View, I'd take your wallets elsewhere. I've since returned this camera, as it missed many of my personal expectations.