Life In 360: The Go Pano Micro Review

panoramic shots and videos are all the rage, but taking them requires a steady hand and moving in a perfect circle for a perfect 360 degree shot (this shot, btw was taken with a Sony lifecam)

Compared to last year, we don't have a whole lot of trips scheduled for this year (yet). We have one planned in April (and probably one in May) though and that being said, we felt that documenting every aspect of our next trip should be a priority, to give you, dear readers, a better TMW experience. 

For this, our resident technophile, Phil has another new gadget up his sleeve in the form of Go Pano Micro! From the makers of Go Pano, the Go Pano Micro is a lil thingamajig for your iPhone 4 or 4s that allows you to take 360 degree videos without having to move around and trying to make sure you don't move too fast and blur the video. Just point your lens forward and voila! It will take the 360 shot for ya! 

Lightweight, it's such a breeze to carry with you on your travels. If you want something like this for your cameras instead, there's the GoPano Plus (a bit pricey for us mere mortals at around $600).  It takes both 360 degree videos and panoramic images.

Here's more on the Go Pano Micro (from the Go Pano website)

Tech Specs

Compatible with iPhone 4/4S only.
Ultra-wide field of view (360° horizontally and 82° vertically).
Resolution: 1920 x 456 for iPhone 4S, 1280 x 304 for iPhone 4
Records complete 360° videos. (not photos).
Dimensions: 47mm diameter/82 mm height / 28 grams(lens) & 28 grams (iPhone case)

The company also has a free web hosting of your 360 degree videos that can easily be embedded in your websites, blogs, Facebook and Twitter.

Go Pano Micro costs around $79.95 (US for all the monetary values in this blog). Add shipping, Phil spent around $120 - $130 for it. 

Now you may ask, is it worth buying? Depends on your needs. If you have all the time in the world to take a panoramic image or a 360 video during your travels, don't buy one. If you're the type who's always on the move, but wouldn't want to miss a thing,  (like us) this one's for you. Phil tried it out on the golf course while driving a golf cart. One hand steered, the other held the Go Pano Micro. The result? A great 360 degree shot of the course, his golf buddies riding in the cart with him and the interactive experience of seeing things from his point of view. On the iPhone, just swipe the video up and down, left or right to see the world inside that video. On your computer, just mouse over the video and direct it to where you want to look! Pretty fabulous stuff :) 

** Sample videos loaded on the Go Pano website. Will upload one of our own soon...(try this link here)

On a practical side, it's a perfect tool for realtors, surveyors, cinematographers and any one who would have the need to document an ocular inspection and make sure they won't miss a thing. 

And hopefully, we won't miss a thing when The Mediocre Wanderer hits Bangkok next month =)

From TMW, may all your wanderings be better than ours!