LG 360 CAM: Our complete test

Our editorial approached a little to the LG 360 Cam and gives you the point on its strengths, but also on its weak points, because there is no shortage.

LG 360 CAM: external design and construction

The Camma LG 360 resolutely sounds the simplicity card on the design side. Its Unibody design with beautiful finishes is strengthened by plastic coverage. The latter has the double advantage of protecting the objectives from scratches, but also of a support. When installing the cam 360 in this long shell, you can archive it in a pocket or bag, without fear, but also lift the 360 ​​photographic module.

This second intelligent feature is a bit to forget the table tripod that is not there, unlike the Samsung Gear 360. Furthermore, LG has not failed to provide a universal screw, which you can use to correct the camera on any tripod.

Although even the construction of the Camma LG 360 is breathing in terms of quality and shows solidity, we are sorry that, unlike the march 30, there are no resistance for water and splashes. However, the design of this photographic module is practical.

Easy to manage, this camera is not crowded with buttons: the acquisition of cars -porttrait and 360 ° video recording is performed via one and the same touch right under the goal. As for the power button, it is positioned on the side, while a hatch gives access to the micro SD memory card – not provided for the purchase – and the USB port of type C.

Image quality

Before attacking the technical sheet and the performance of the LG 360 CAM, it is good to know that its operational principle is the same as that of its direct competitor The Gear 360. This video photo module, also intended to be used with a smartphone connects through Bluetooth or Wi-Fi connectivity. It is not supplied with a screen, it is through that of the terminal.

And for this, it is necessary to download and install the mobile application LG Cam Manager compatible with Android and iOS. We tested the camera with the two rooms and responds better to the Google operating system. On iOS, there is truly a pronounced latency when one or the other of wireless connectivity (Bluetooth 4.1 and Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n) is saturated.

On the technical point, the LG 360 CAM is based on two corner objectives of the grandfather, able to sweep every 200 °. The latter are accompanied for the occasion of two 13 megapixel sensors. The combined action of these components allows to obtain large coverage and to create spherical images. We therefore have to do with a configuration very close to that of Samsung Gear 360, but the quality of the photos and videos at 360 ° is more modest on the module signed LG.

With Samsung’s 360 ° camera, we are entitled to an architecture based on two CMOS sensors of 15 MP with double fish target, able to turn 360 ° in 4 k 3840 x 1920 px and photograph in 30 mp. As for this form of Samsung, the catches obtained with CAM 360, thanks to their definition, offer a whole screen display experience mixed on large screens or by a virtual reality headset.

However, the LG Cam 360 offers a good balance of whites and an attenuation of the cut made better, compared to the Gear 360. The latter book, however, a more interesting quality of the image when registering videos in a weakly illuminated environment.

Characteristics

As we indicated, the LG 360 Camma is used with an Android or iOS smartphone through its dedicated application. It is the place to greet the choice of LG that has not closed to a single system, as in the case of Gear 360 compatible only with high end Samsung devices.

Once associated with any phone with the function of the gyroscope, Camma 360 gives access to many features and offers an intuitive experience in general. From the interface of the manager LG Cam, we have the choice between different modes and settings.

Able to function automatically, for overall satisfactory results, this camera can also be controlled manually. Among other things, you can adapt according to your comfort: white balance, ISO sensitivity, shutter speed, etc. Better still, you can enrich the content of 360 ° with geolocation data. In addition, two video acquisition modes are possible: 180 ° mode, which uses a single objective or 360 ° capture, for which the two objectives are required. The LG 360 is therefore not used to obtain panoramic catches.

The LG 360 cam camera incorporates a software processing that allows you to create and/or optimize the 360 ​​° effect from acquired photos and videos. For photos, the operation is quite simple: an algorithm deals with the display of flat shots, which gives a panoramic effect. In the case of videos, the process for a 360 ° effect is more complex.

The edition is carried out by both software provided by the manufacturer or through another assembly program. In any case, the operation is not simple, all the more with the software house that requires the download of an decoder package. In addition, both the display and the assembly require in advance a transfer of the content on the smartphone, which can be long, especially for videos.

Note that it is possible to share photos and videos on Facebook, Street View (Google), YouTube platforms, which allows you to better enjoy the 360 ​​° effect compared to Flickr, for example. In terms of autonomy, LG CAM 360 is going well with its 1200 mAh battery that manages to maintain a video recording rate of about 1 hour 30 minutes. It is also able to continuously record until the SD memory is full.

Our final opinion on the Camma LG 360

With his Cam 360, LG offers a credible alternative to Samsung Gear 360. Although the quality of the image provided is not the same as that offered by the latter, the LG 360 CAM has the merit of viewing compatibility with any Android or iOS smartphone and to offer interesting characteristics and performance, for a more affordable price.