Kodak Pixpro SP360 4K Dual Pro Pack
With support on the likes of Facebook and YouTube, 360-degree photos and videos are all the rage and Kodak’s action camera bundle has everything you need to create your own 360-degree content.
Design
The nature of having two separate cameras to create a 360-degree setup is fiddly and cumbersome. The more user-friendly options out there require little more than switching on and hitting the shutter button. Sadly that couldn’t be further from the truth here. For starters, you’ll need to insert the batteries and each camera requires a memory card (not included). Plus, there’s just one battery charger – another annoyance as they will run out at the same time being used as a pair.
You’ll also need to make sure you’ve fully charged the battery and have enough space on the memory card before screwing the cameras onto the mount as there’s no access once they are in and it takes a while to disassemble the whole thing.
The SP360 4K is a well-made action camera and certainly looks the business with that huge domed lens on the front. On the side are four buttons, which control settings such as resolution and stabilisation.
Be warned that the SP360 4K camera is only splash- rather than waterproof, so don’t go dunking it underwater. It doesn’t come with a case either.
Performance
Setting up and using one of Kodak’s cameras on their own is easy, but operating the two together is a very different matter – during testing, the dual-setup took us a long time to set up.
While it’s great that the cameras have features such as Wi-Fi and NFC for easy pairing, you can connect to just one device at a time. We weren’t to know this as the instruction manual fails to mention this. Instead, you need to connect each to the smartwatch-esque remote control.
That’s easy once you know how, but means you can’t make use of your smartphone to get a live preview and adjust settings. The remote only lets you switch between photo and video and global or front display modes, so you’ll have to tweak anything more advanced on the cameras themselves.
You can capture content with just one camera, but the idea is to unite the two for a full spherical result. Unfortunately, combining the files together with the PC software isn’t easy.
Verdict
Although there are high quality results on offer here, the high price will put many people off. Plus, there’s how complicated this two-camera system is to operate, which will be too much for most consumers. We’re still trying to get our head round it, which says a lot.