Garmin Virb 360 review

Waterproof with built-in stabilization, the VIRB 360 is a rugged action cam that just happens to be a 360 camera, too.

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When I first reviewed this camera I found it hard to recommend it, despite it having the potential to be one of the best 360 cameras ever. That potential has now been fulfilled, mostly. It’s still not the perfect camera and there are still some issues with software stability, but the improvement is immense.

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The VIRB 360 can quickly jump on almost everyone’s Top 360-degree cameras of 2017 list. With its cutting-edge automatic resolution stitching, data overlays with G-Metrix, and third-party Virtual Reality integration, Garmin has developed an impressive camera that really takes all of the post-production headaches away from the user without compromising resolution.

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The Garmin VIRB 360 is a for sure a big step forward in the spherical camera space. It’s Garmin’s first 360 camera and is the best one on the market as of this post.

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Now granted, that wasn’t exactly a high bar to overcome. The rest of the entrants out there have sucked to pretty significant degrees. But the VIRB 360 doesn’t win on the account of ‘sucking the least’, rather it wins on actually being a legit darn good 360° cam. One finally worthy of buying. The data overlay and internal stabilization piece works well (something not found on most units), and the much higher resolutions are easily noticed if you’ve got a capable device to watch it.

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Should you buy it? Yes, if you enjoy taking 360-degree photos and videos at parties or tourist destinations, and you want a 360 camera that can not only handle your active lifestyle but tell you just how active you are. The Virb is an excellent, though expensive, choice. An $800 price is nothing to blink at – you could get a good entry-level DSLR for that price – but if you want to venture into 360 action cameras, the Garmin Virb 360 is the ultimate. If you want to dabble with the technology but don’t need all the extras, you should look at lower-priced options like the Samsung Gear 360.

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Rugged exterior, waterproof up to 10 meters, hi-res 5.7K/30 fps recording, in-camera stitching, live streaming, post-process stabilization, G-Metrix telemetry overlays, and, most importantly, ease and speed of use. That’s just the tip of the iceberg of what the VIRB 360, Garmin’s ambitious first foray into the world of 360-degree cameras, is capable of. There are a lot more, and we’ll update the gallery linked to below with new shots and samples. But even with just those, the Garmin VIRB 360 is already a new contender that more seasoned players in the market can’t afford to underestimate. In the very words of our own Vincent Nguyen:

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While expensive, the Garmin Virb 360 could be the 360 camera to beat. It delivers excellent video, has an easy-to-use app as well as on-camera controls, and it lets you overlay all sorts of data on top of your videos. At $799, the Virb 360 costs $300 more than competing devices, such as the Nikon KeyMission 360, but other reviewers have complained about that camera's poor app and interface. We still have a bit more testing to do with Garmin's camera — which means more time outdoors — so we'll reserve our final judgment for now, but so far, the Virb 360 is looking good.

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