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Samsung Gear 360 Camera

An incredibly smart gadget for filming and photographing the world in more ways

While unveiling the brand new Samsung Galaxy S8 last month, Samsung announced another exciting product: the Gear 360 camera. An update from their original 360 camera, the intuitive device captures complete 360-degree images and video thanks to a pair of back-to-back fish-eye lenses, each capturing 180 degrees horizontally and vertically.

To celebrate the arrival of this compact, splash- and dust-resistant camera, Samsung approached a diverse group of very talented artists to see the creative ways they would announce the launch of the Gear 360. From Markus Magnusson’s cute and crisp animation, to CH favorite Jon Burgerman‘s creations, Adam Hale’s collage, Daniel Aristizabal’s CG, and Quyen Mike’s creative take, numerous imaginative countdown videos were produced, leading up to the camera’s release this week.

One of our favorites, Sam Cannon and Joseph’s Machines‘ first Rube Goldberg invention, was filmed with the Samsung Gear 360 camera. Made in collaboration with creative agency BLKBOX—and Samsung + Verizon—the film evokes childlike wonder in viewers of all ages as you follow a kinetic cascade that reveals each number in the sequence that unfolds around all sides of the camera. Cannon says of her approach to using the Gear 360, “My work is usually so manipulated and I wanted to create something completely in-camera.”

The Gear 360 also shoots up to 4K video resolution and 15MP photo resolution with its f/2.2 lenses. Of course, it can also be used to capture high-quality images and video using just one of the two cameras and the addition of a handle at the base makes it far more ergonomic and usable than the first generation device. Sharing your photos and videos with the Gear 360 is incredibly easy, as the simple-to-use Gear 360 app (for Galaxy devices and iOS) lets you preview, edit and then share your 360 creations via Samsung VR, Facebook, YouTube and more. (Live video preview/streaming and Samsung VR not available for iOS).

The Samsung Gear 360 is available online tomorrow from Verizon, for $229.99. But if you purchase a Samsung Galaxy S8 or S8+ from Verizon, the new Gear 360 is just $49—redeemable at online at Samsung.

Images courtesy of Samsung

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