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.
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