The Samsung Gear 360 was designed for creating immersive, 360-degree photos and videos. Although retailers have mostly sold it at list price ($349.99) — it briefly dipped just under $300 over the holidays and Amazon now has it on sale for $225.99. That's a solid $124 off and the best price we've seen for this recently-introduced camera.
To capture video and images from every angle, the Gear 360 uses two fisheye lenses (180 degrees) on opposite sides of the camera. Video is captured at 3840 x 1920 resolution while images max out at 30 megapixels. Once you've recorded your content, everything is stitched together on your smartphone.
We found it dead simple to use and were impressed at how seamless our videos looked, despite being recorded on two separate sensors. The camera isn't as rugged as we would have liked, but it is both splashproof and dustproof.
To make full use of the camera and its Android-only app, you'll need a Samsung smartphone such as the Galaxy S7 Edge, Galaxy S7, Galaxy Note 5, Galaxy S6 Edge+, Galaxy S6 Edge, or Galaxy S6. At the time, Samsung has no plans to make an iOS app.
As virtual reality becomes more popular, there will be additional VR cameras on the market. But unless you're prepared to wait for them to go on sale, this Amazon deal is going to be your best bet for quite awhile.
