AKASO 360 Weatherproof 360° Action Camera – 5.7K 360 Video with 1/2″ 48MP Sensors, 72MP 360 Photo, 360-SuperSmooth, 2.29″ Touchscreen, Invisible Selfie Stick Effect, 360° Horizon Lock, AI Tracking

Excellent entry-level 360-degree camera
For months I have been researching 360-degree cameras to document my motorcycle road trips. I’ve compared all the available options from the big-name brands, but frankly, the prices are a real roadblock. Even the three-year-old models were priced out of reach. They all seem geared for the hardcore adventurer or professional videographer rather than a retired techno-geezer like me. I just need an entry-level camera that won’t break the bank.Well, I guess good things do come to those who wait. For several years I’ve known AKASO makes affordable action cameras that compare quite favorably to the more expensive brands, so I was super excited to stumble upon the July release of the AKASO 360. I am typically skeptical of any first-generation product but given their stellar reputation I just had to give it a try. I’ve now had time to put the 360 through its paces and I must admit, I’m impressed.I won’t rehash the spec sheet here or iterate all the features that are documented on the product page. Instead, I’ll point out some of the things that are important to me:1. Not having to worry about aiming the camera. While riding treacherous two-lane mountain roads you can’t always stop to capture that stunning vista, or record that herd of elk keeping pace with your bike in the field beside the road. Now I just start the camera rolling and frame perfect shots later, using the phone app or the 360 Studio computer software. Never a missed shot.2. Great image stabilization! This was my #1 requirement. The video from my previous action camera looked like I was constantly in an earthquake. It could not handle being mounted to an American V-Twin motorcycle, so it had to go on my helmet. I HATE wearing a camera on my helmet. The image stabilization in the AKASO 360 is nothing short of spectacular. Check out the video clip of my motorcycle going over the railroad crossing.3. Invisible selfie-stick. Yes, this is pretty much standard-fare for 360 video cameras today, but it is still something I didn’t have before, and this camera supports it very well.4. 4K video. Yes, 8K is the new hotness, but 4K is mainstream and is more than enough resolution for the videos I make. Why pay for 8K when I’ll never use it, at least not during the useful life of this camera and my computer system. It would take my computer weeks to render a half-hour 8K video. Not happening, so why would I want to pay for it?5. Great 360-degree photos. Sometimes I want to stop and smell the roses along the way, especially in some of our marvelous national parks. Videos are great, but often I like to take still photos and the AKASO 360 takes awesome 72MP 360 photos.6. Can take videos while charging. The 360 comes with two batteries, but each is good for about 60 minutes of recording. When I’m riding that lonesome desert highway I don’t want to stop to change batteries. So, I plug in the camera’s USB-C cable to the bikes USB port and keep recording until the 512MB microSD card fills up. I do keep in mind that the camera could overheat under continuous use, so I only hit the record button when there is something to see.7. Rainproof. I don’t go diving or swimming with my camera, but sometimes I must ride through a rainstorm. My equipment, therefore, must be tight against the elements so that Mother Nature doesn’t creep in and ruin my work. The 360 is fully weatherproof against rain and snow, but don’t take it diving or swimming without a waterproof case.8. Great quality outdoor videos and photos. The AKASO 360 takes great quality video in normal lighting conditions and acceptable quality in lower light. I took some videos in my garage to test the lowlight quality. It was fine, but so much better when I turned on the overhead lights. However, one thing to note is that it does not have HDR. HDR is technology mainly for enhancing contrast and colors in low light conditions. But I never take videos in those conditions, so HDR is a luxury that I don’t want to pay extra for. And, frankly, unless you compare videos side-by-side, you would be hard pressed to know the difference. Fun fact – I see an inactive HDR setting in the AKASO 360 Studio software, so infer what you will from that.9. Good customer support. After sales support is essential, especially for a new product. I can honestly say that product support has been impressive, with exceptional communications. See the two things of note below for examples of questions that customer support helped me with.Things to Note:1. The camera does not ship with a memory card (are you listening, AKASO?). Naturally I wanted to get started right away, so I put in a used 64GB U3 microSD that I had laying around from another camera. Big mistake. I tried several different old cards and none worked. I got errors, format problems, data loss, and the screen was sluggish and locked up. File transfer speed was abysmal, when it worked at all. Then I got a 512GB Samsung PRO Plus microSDXC rated for 4K video cameras and all is great. Super smooth performance, responsive screen, and fast file transfers. So do yourself a favor and spring for the best microSD card you can get. 512GB is the maximum size the camera can use.2. It will be another few months before all the accessories are available. I asked about lens protectors, extra batteries, and an external battery charger. AKASO said they would be available within two months and a remote shutter control by year’s end. So, I need to be patient for a little while longer before I can fully kit out my camera the way I would like.The bottom line is that, for those with modest needs like mine, this is a 5-star product all day long. Sure, if you’re diving off the Great Barrier Reef you should look at the brands that cost 3x more. But the great thing about this camera is that it has all the features that the average person needs to make stunning 360 videos and photos but leaves out some of the stuff that would price it out of reach for someone like me. But other than full waterproofing and HDR, I can’t see anything that the other brands have that the AKASO 360 doesn’t. And with the money I save, I’ll just ride further and make more videos.

Akaso 360 Camera’s Debut
Easy to set up; I have had 360 cameras for 8 years or so and brought many of those cameras here on Amazon. This is the latest one purchased and I love it so much. You get your moneys’ worth out of this 360 camera.

Awesome!!
Great camera and the mic is super impressive. If you need a vlogging camera, this could be a good option. I bought it as an addition to my other cameras to get unique footage in scenic locations. Excellent product and support software for editing 360 footage. No complaints when it comes to 360 mode! Single lens mode could be better and allow higher resolution shooting. The brand I believe it .

I’ll be holding on to my insta360 x2 for a bit longer
I wanted to love it, but the image looks blurry without good lighting. It’s easy to use, the insta360 app is better. I wanted to replace my insta360 x2 for this but I’m going to hold off.Looks grainy.