I love a good action cam. For years I used a GoPro to film my mountain bike rides and even (after some significant setup changes) my first vlogs and even my tutorials.
Key points to remember for the KanDao QooCam 360 camera
- The QooCam 360 action camera currently costs €390.
- The video quality and stabilization are exceptional.
- It is impossible to film without the fisheye effect and the micro SD card is difficult to remove.
The problem with most action cams is the dreaded fisheye effect. With the GoPro you can get rid of this distorting effect (with a little work) and the footage is usable for just about anything. Other action cameras don’t offer options to get rid of the fisheye effect and, from my point of view, that’s a shame.
This is the case with the KanDao QooCam 360. I dug into the very limited documentation but there is no way (that I could find) to film outside of this fisheye mode. However, the QooCam 360 action camera has more than one trick up its sleeve. Unlike many other action cameras they don’t have this. With this camera you can film simultaneously with the front camera and the rear camera. And it’s a lot of fun!
You can’t have it all with just one action cam…
Imagine racing down your favorite mountain bike trail with a camera attached to your helmet or handlebars that shows not only what you see, but also (at the same time) the emotions (of joy or fear) that are displayed on your face.
Like I said, it’s a lot of fun. But it’s not perfect.
You can’t get rid of the fisheye look and even have to deal with the presence of edges around the lens in footage. This doesn’t matter, because you can always use your favorite video editing software (for me Final Cut Pro) to crop and adjust the captures. But for this, you will need to have experience with this type of software to achieve this.
According to QooCam, there is the QooCam Studio or QooCam app, which uses optical flow to stitch together videos and fisheye images from the QooCam and QooCam8K to produce stitched panoramic videos and images. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find a download link for QooCam Studio and the QooCam app does not support the 360 Action Cam. It’s a shame because it would have been interesting to see what apps can do to automatically stitch videos together side by side.
But OK. It seems you can’t have it all with just one action camera…
The technical characteristics of the KanDao QooCam 3
- Uses two ultra-wide-angle fisheye lenses to capture 360-degree footage.
- Can record in 5.7K/62MP.
- Can take photos or videos.
- Large f/1.6 aperture and two 1/1.55″ sensors with a pixel size of 2um.
- Six-axis gyroscope for stabilization.
- Works from 0°C to 40°C.
- The touchscreen makes it easy to navigate the menu and see what you’re shooting.
My experience with the KanDao QooCam 360 camera
As you might expect, an action camera from a lesser-known brand won’t offer as many opportunities for partnerships with third-party manufacturers. And because the QooCam 360 doesn’t have any mounting options aside from the standard-sized fitting on the bottom of the camera, you’re going to have to get creative to find a way to mount it.
I did some quick tests of the QooCam 360 and found it captured good quality video, even in low light situations.
It won’t blow you away, but with good lighting, its images can easily be used in a professional production (provided you can crop and stitch with your appropriate software).
Me and my cat, Bigen, aren’t quite ready for our close-ups. Jack Wallen/ZDNET
ZDNET Buying Tips for KanDao QooCam 360 Camera
At this price, I honestly find it hard to recommend the KanDao QooCam 360 action camera. Yes, it’s fun to see both front and rear views simultaneously, but for the same price, as of the time of publishing this review , you can get a GoPro Hero12 Black.
No, this GoPro model may not have the fun side of the 360° view, but I think that effect will quickly fade and give way to frustration with this camera.
I’ve used enough GoPros over the years and would choose any of the versions over the KanDao QooCam 360.