We recently purchased a Rylo 360 Video Camera and LOVE it. Here’s an in-depth review of the Rylo 360 written by Mountain Dad. Enjoy!
Used by real estate agents and car dealerships for interior tours for years now, 360 photography/videography has seemed like a bit of a niche for the rest of us, kind of like 3D cinema. Until now.
Simply put, the Rylo 360 Video Camera changed my mind. Why? It’s not JUST about taking immersive 360 video and photos, it’s how this 360 camera can change the way you approach your videos and photography in general. More about this in a minute.
We originally explored the idea of getting a 360 camera as a way to provide interesting new content Mountain Mom and Tots. The new crop of 360 cameras targeted at the “action camera” market seemed like they would be a good choice to explore 360 video further.
These new cameras are more cost effective and easier to use than the pro models. They’re smaller, lightweight, and produce good quality video and pictures (4K spherical video, 6K panorama photos).
Rylo 360 Camera Features
Basic Rylo 360 Video Camera features include:
- Dual 203 degree lenses
- Video and photo support
- 360 and 180 degree shooting modes
- Video/Photo mode switching button
- Image stabilization
- Removable batteries
- LCD status screen (battery, memory, video/photo mode)
- Built-in mic
- LED status indicators
- Numerous accessories
Having had the Rylo 360 Video Camera for a month now, I can say without reservation that we love this thing! The single greatest thing about these cameras is that you can spend more time in the moment and less time composing shots and worrying about angles.
Know that look on your kids faces when you say “Wait, just one more!” Or “Let’s try that again from this angle!”? GONE. Why? Because you can do all of your framing in the editing software AFTER you shoot, and then export in either 360 or good ol’ 1080p HD video for sharing on social media or YouTube!
Rylo 360 Software
The Rylo 360 Video Camera was created by the team that brought you Microsoft’s innovative Hyperlapse technology and their software expertise really shows. The Rylo’s biggest differentiator vs. its competitors (GoPro Fusion, Insta360 ONE) is it’s SOFTWARE image stabilization.
It. Is. Amazing.
Video comes out smooth and fluid no matter what you are doing. Hiking? Check. Mountain biking? Sure thing. Swimming? Yep. Skiing? Oh for sure.
Throw most any situation at it and it shines. No gimbal, no tripod, just you and the camera.
Out of the Box Easy to Use
Of course, the Rylo 360 Video Camera is incredibly easy to use as well. I was up and running with Rylo in less than 5 minutes and editing my first video on my phone within 10. It is literally just point and shoot.
Actually, you don’t even need to point! Just mount the camera on the included handle, a selfie stick, or GoPro style mount and turn it on.
One click to take a pic or start recording, one click to stop.
Plug in the included sync cable to the camera and your phone, start the app, and download the content to your phone to begin editing. Pro Tip – the sync cable provides a much faster download than wifi or bluetooth.
Rylo 360 Video Editing Software Features
- Computer free editing (support for Android and iPhone)
- Horizon correction
- Image adjustments (brightness, contrast, highlights, shadow, saturation, etc)
- Timeline trim
- Crop
- Hyperlapse (sped up footage with Motion Blur option)
- Digital zoom (with Tiny Planet option)
- “Look Here” panning/tilting
- “Follow This” active tracking/panning/tilting
- Automatically removes the mount from footage so it looks like it’s floating.
The Rylo app is where the magic happens. Open a video and begin editing.
Trim out the start and stop seconds where you were pressing the record button, and then explore your footage to decide on focal points of interest in what you captured.
Press a spot on the screen and select “Look Here” to pan/tilt the camera to look at that spot OR select a subject for Rylo to follow using “Follow This.”
Since the footage is 360 degrees around the mount point, it is incredibly hard to miss a shot!!!
Use the app to get the lighting and contrast right and then export.
Your 1080p HD video is now ready to share. This also means you can edit several different narrative arcs from the same footage! Or export as 360 video to YouTube or Facebook and give people the fully immersive experience.
In my opinion, the Rylo 360 Video Camera is truly the ultimate social media camera system. Check out this video and be sure to click around on the arrows in the top corner to see the footage in 360 degrees!
You can obviously still pan and tilt the camera around manually, but this “post-shot” panning/tilting ability opens up an incredible number of possibilities and can save outdoor enthusiasts a significant amount of time and anxious minutes ensuring they are “getting the shot,” allowing them to enjoy the moment more.
This is a particular boon for anyone trying to shoot outdoor sports action, since unless you do something pretty dumb, you should get some nice, usable footage. And after a while, you just kind of forget it’s there, which is kind of the point for me.
Pros and Cons of the Rylo 360 Video Camera
Pros
- Setup is fast and intuitive.
- Image stabilization is AMAZING!
- Image quality is solid, but not full professional quality. Worst case, it will make awesome B roll footage though, so get it anyway! (Can’t wait to see what the inevitable version 2.0 will offer.)
- No computer required – mobile editing software is powerful enough to get the job done, assuming you have a reasonably new device
- Incredibly intuitive user experience. The download, editing, and exporting process is fast, easy, and even fun!
- User replaceable batteries (i.e. you can charge and carry as many as you want)
- Fit and finish is excellent – feels like a nice Apple product
- Android and iPhone compatible
- Uses ubiquitous GoPro mounts, or spend $5 and get a GoPro>¼” thread converter.
- Waterproof action case available.
- Totally changes the way you think about taking video and pictures
Cons (Yes, there are some, but mostly nit picks)
- Software needs a few more features like capturing stills from video and simple titles would be nice, but these guys are awesome software developers and I expect they will deliver. For now, you can do that in another app or on a computer if you really want to.
- “Follow Me” editing function needs some improvement. It loses track of it’s subject too easily.
- Would love slow motion support…might need new hardware, but these guys are software wizards, so who knows.
- Some features come out on iPhone before Android – Bluetooth remote support I am waiting for you
- A longer sync cable would be nice.
- LCD status screen is a little dull for bright sunlight, particularly with the waterproof case on.
- Price. It is cheaper than the GoPro Fusion, but still $500 before accessories. Add the Waterproof case, a 128GB card for your Rylo, another for your phone and it starts adding up fast. But considering what this thing does, it seems ridiculous that we can get this kind of functionality in such a small package for less than $1000. So cool.
Rylo 360 versus the Insta360 ONE
I initially tried out the $299 Insta360 ONE 360 Camera since it was $200 less than the Rylo, and it had pretty positive reviews on Amazon. I wanted to love it, but ended up returning it and keeping the Rylo.
In short, the Insta360 ONE 360 Camera image stabilization wasn’t even close on Android at the time, even after applying the latest firmware update. In addition, the Android user experience was pretty terrible, and you can’t replace the battery. If you want to know more, I posted a more detailed review on Amazon, which you can view here.
The maker of Insta360 ONE 360 Camera responded to that review and claims that their image stabilization and user experience are much better on iPhone currently, so it might be worth a shot if you are an iPhone user and want to save some cash.
Based on my viewing of newer Insta360 ONE videos posted on YouTube, I can confirm that it is definitely better for iPhone users than what I experienced, but Rylo’s image stabilization and video quality STILL look superior to me.
No time frame was provided on when Android users could expect the same level of image stabilization support for their devices. But if you are an iPhone user and don’t care about some of the other Cons in my comparison of the two, the Insta360 ONE 360 Camera might be a good choice for you.
It’s very clear they have checked out their competition and are striving for a Rylo-esque experience for the future, which is a good thing.
We purchased the Rylo 360 Video Camera all with our own moolah so you know our opinion is unbiased. However, the links in this post are affiliate links meaning we get a small commission if you purchase something after clicking the links. Please do so! I’ll love you forever!
