In one of earlier posts this week, we provided you with reviews of an entry level 360 spherical camera with two lenses. For the pros, Theta S may not provide all the desirable features that one is looking for. QBIC is a Japanese made camera that provides some serious and cool features for the money.

For $1,399, QBIC is a serious piece of gear to contend with. The QBic camera is small, lightweight and shoots full HD 1080p with 60fps. The sharp super-wide fisheye lens makes it an excellent candidate for a 360º video setup. Thanks to a horizontal field of view of 185º only four cameras are necessary to capture the full sphere, 360 x 180 degree, without nadir hole (no blind spot). The top connector can be used to mount 3D microphone arrays, or additional gear such as lights. The complete setup is water resistant. Conventional 360-degree panoramic video recording systems use many cameras that require a lot of time and work for stitching videos after recording. The QBiC Panorama X uses only 4 cameras. Fewer cameras will increase the accuracy of the stitching work and reduce the amount of work needed. The camera has no dome lens cover. There are no reflections or glare from an external lighting source such a fluorescent light. The QBiC Panorama X allows you to make 360-degree panoramic video recording without being affected by lighting in the environment. This set up will be at least three times cheaper than a 360Heros rig and six GoPro cameras 3+ Black Edition. One of the important features is the Wi-Fi synchronization. Wi-Fi is used here, as in other similar devices to synchronize with your Smartphone or tablet, which can serve as a viewfinder.

Simultaneous recording of 4 cameras can be done from QBiC app (on iOs and Android) by connecting 4 cameras to Wi-Fi. No need to press the recording buttons of each camera to start recording.

Check these cameras out for your Christmas 360 shopping!