By Harriet Hadfield and Sarah Redohl
This is your one-page guide to your new Garmin Virb 360. Download the full guide at the bottom of this article to takeIndividual instance of a shot; a take = each time the camera is started and stopped. with you on your first shoot, or gift it alongside any YI 360 VR cameras your friends, family or co-workers will be unwrapping this holiday season.
Why this camera rocks:
This camera is waterproof, tiny, and perfect for POV shots.
What comes in the box:
Camera, battery, charging cable, tripod and action mounts, tripod/handgrip
What doesn’t come in the box:
- Micro SD card
- Extra batteries
- Camera pouch to avoid scratching the lenses
- Loads of mounting accessories
Helpful hints:
- A lot of updates have happened since it was launched this past summer, including capturing 4.7K video at 60fps, a night photo shooting mode, and live streaming in 4K resolutions.
- The camera’s battery lasts only an hour–or even just 40 minute shooting 5.7K–but it’s removable and you can buy spares. You can also use the camera while charging from an external USB cable, but it will be in your shot.
- The camera records in two resolutions, but 4K is its standard. To achieve 5.7K, you’ll need to connect to the app and select ‘5.7K RAW’.
- Beware of sudden temperature changes. Some conditions can cause a foggy spot to form in one or both of the lenses. This happened to three cameras we used and there’s nothing you can do about it.
- Although the camera is waterproof, light refraction is still an issue when it comes to stitching underwater footage. In-camera stitching is limited to 4K; 5.7K video can be stitched on desktop. But, Garmin’s own desktop software can now stitch this footage, so you don’t need Mistika or AVP.
- The camera itself is pretty rugged, but if you do break a lens, they are replaceable.
- If your hands are too busy to control the camera or its app, you can use voice control by saying, “OK, Garmin. Start recording.”
- The camera’s other features tend to overshadow this feature, but the Virb does have 360 audio capture.
- The Virb’s internal stabilization follows the direction of movement, rather than staying locked in a particular cardinal direction, which is ideal for biking, running and other direction-based movement.
- Even though the camera has internal electronic stabilization, we’d recommend using a gimbal for even better results.
- There are fun G-Metrix augmented overlays to show how high, fast or far you’re going, and other types of data.
- The desktop software now has a what Garmin calls “hyperframe director” to essentially overcapture 1080p fixed frame video with pans, tilts and zooms out of the spherical content.
- Even if you capture video in the Virb’s vivid mode, it can look flat. But, you can really improve this in post.
Support:
Visit Garmin’s website for tutorials and support. There’s also a Garmin Virb 360 user group on Facebook.
Enter your email address below to get the printable one-page PDF:
Download the file
Consider supporting Immersive Shooter by buying accessories through our affiliate links
Need more help? Join Immersive Shooter’s free 360 Video Beginner’s course.
