Page 5 - Conclusion
With YouTube and Facebook supporting 4K 360 degree videos, is the Camorama worth buying for next-generation storytelling? While I agree that not every story should be told with a 360 degree camera, the Camorama certain fills a niche that will unquestionably gain popularity in the future. The Camorama's ability to do 4K 360 degree videos with a single lens is the most novel part of this product. Sure, you will not get true 360 degree view in all directions -- it is better off described as a 360°x230° camera -- but the fact it can do that with a single lens is quite impressive. See, 230 degrees on the horizontal means the Camorama can see slightly below its plane, which is incredible. As far as performance is concerned, video quality was generally great in daylight conditions and acceptable for indoor use, but if you are shooting things outside at night, you will be disappointed. An improvement in overall detail would be nice, even in daylight conditions. Having 64GB memory as the base model is a good choice, although its read speed has room for improvement at 15MB/s. The Camorama's biggest downfall, however, is its microphone. It was terrible at picking up voices and completely hopeless in filtering out any wind noise. The Camorama desperately needs a better microphone. Its tested battery life was very close to the manufacturer's rating of 1.5 hours at room temperature, which is in line with the competition. However, it is very concerning that the battery life drops like a rock to only 20 minutes when it is operating in an environment at 0 degrees Celsius. Unless you live near the equator, 0 degrees in December is what I would consider a warm day. On the physical side of things, the Camorama has a very reasonable form factor, and comes with an IP54 certification. My only major complaint is the tripod thread socket is in the wrong location. Instead of placing it on the side, it should be placed at the bottom opposing the lens. A minor suggestion for improvement is to have USB Type-C rather than Micro USB. Furthermore, they could possibly make the Camorama even smaller if they eliminate the internal vibration motor and side speaker, both of which is probably unnecessary in the grand scheme of things. Its 20 second startup time is too slow by 2017 standards. Lastly, when it comes to the software, both the smartphone app and the PC program was decent to use, but has some bugs to work out. For $350 for the 64GB model and $370 for the 128GB model at press time, the Camorama is priced quite reasonably. The truth is, even GoPro was not that great when they released their first camera. I truly think the Camorama has a lot of potential, and the company has done a great job in making a single lens 4K 360 degree camera a reality with their first product ever. What Camorama needs to work on, however, is to focus on the details. I am sure refinements in the hardware, firmware, and software will unleash this 4K action VR camera's potential to the mass market.
Camorama provided this product to APH Networks for the purpose of evaluation.
APH Review Focus Summary:
7/10 means Great product with many advantages and certain insignificant drawbacks; but should be considered before purchasing.
6/10 means A product with its advantages, but drawbacks should not be ignored before purchasing.
-- Final APH Numeric Rating is 6.2/10
Please note that the APH Numeric Rating system is based off our proprietary guidelines in the Review Focus, and should not be compared to other sites.
The Camorama is a novel single lens 4K 360 degree VR action camera that needs further refinement in its hardware, firmware, and software to unleash its full potential.
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Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. Physical Look - Hardware
3. Mobile Application and PC Software
4. Sample Videos and Analysis
5. Conclusion
