GoPano micro
02 February 2012 12:25 | Posted by Philip
Ok so last week we picked up a little gadget that received massive attention at CES 2012 despite it being launched back in 2011.
The GoPano micro is an attachment for the iPhone 4/4s that allows you to record video in a 360-degree view. What is not apparent prior to ordering, is that the software needed to un-wrap the end product is only available on the gopano.com website. Alternatively if you want to download the software, you can also watch the unwrapped version on your laptop or desktop.
Essentially GoPano have installed a tactic to drive people onto their own site and as one reporter mentioned, they are in effect trying to build their own YouTube of the 360-degree variety. Fair enough we say.
The beauty of this when used on GoPano (or have the video embedded, as below)is that the video is fully interactive. You can navigate what the camera has taken in, in its full 360-degree capacity.
Click and drag you mouse on the video screen to take a tour of the Lucidity offices
If however you are watching it through YouTube, it will appear as so:
Taking in every angle the lens has seen.
This is the only flaw we have with the product in that YouTube (for the most part) is the destination of choice for video watchers.
Recently however, you can share your videos directly from the phone (once you have downloaded the GoPano app) on Facebook and Twitter but the option to do so on YouTube is not there.
As a result, if you were looking to see our videos in their unwrapped form, we would have to direct you to the gopano.com website to have a look at the Lucidity Digital uploads or in an embedded format.
We ordered it on the Friday and having paid a small fortune for P&P (express was the only option) it arrived early the following week.
As a web design company we saw this as something that would greatly add to the experience of a client/ potential client for their websites build and interactivity.
Initial stages of testing have resulted in fun, but a more thorough outdoor check will be carried out over the weekend so stay posted. A potential 360-degree video of Ireland Vs. Wales on Sunday at Lansdowne Road may be here for you to experience on Monday morning…
As usual, comments welcomed below.
Hi, Martha
Thanks for the comment, yes the quality issue is something that has raised much debate since the release of the micro. If like me you allowed the 'fun' behind this product to take over you'll be acceptant but the truth is, it is quite poor. some critics have even gone as far as to accusing gopano of using the professional lens model in their 'example' videos on gapano.com. which needless to say is not the same quality as the micro.
For an attachment for an iPhone there is not a whole lot more one can expect in our opinion and while it is not in fact crisp imagery the fun element is definitely there.