The Rilo: A Dual Lens 360-Degree Camera that Redefines Video Creation

When it comes to capturing immersive experiences, one might think of virtual reality (VR) headsets and specialized cameras designed for that purpose. However, the Rilo, a dual lens 360-degree camera, takes a different approach by emphasizing flat or fixed frame video over immersive content. This unique focus allows for more creative freedom during editing, thanks to its ability to record a full spherical area.

The hardware of the Rilo is indeed impressive, but it's the software that truly sets it apart from other small 360-degree cameras we've tested. Instead of connecting via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, users simply plug the camera into their phone using a standard USB cable. This straightforward method ensures quick video transfers and automatic app launch when the device is plugged in. Once loaded onto the phone, tapping on a clip allows for playback, while panning around the spherical area mimics the experience of other 360 cams.

What truly makes the Rilo stand out, however, is its innovative software features. Users can add points by "3D touching" on the screen and saying "look here," allowing them to scroll forward and point the camera in a different direction. This process enables the addition of as many points as needed, spaced far or close together, which then animates the camera from one point to the next. Furthermore, the Rilo can follow an object, working similarly to the "points" feature but instead asking users to say "follow this." While this feature doesn't work flawlessly all the time, it provides a convenient way to keep the frame locked on subjects.

One of the best features of the Rilo is its stunning electronic image stabilization. Since it captures the full 360-degree spherical area, it can stabilize footage without losing quality by cropping at any point during panning or scanning. This results in smooth video playback and an experience that showcases the creative possibilities of standard flat video output.

However, there are some drawbacks to consider. The camera's exposure settings cause issues; because it captures everything around it, including the sky, the camera tends to expose more for highlights and underexpose shadows significantly. While this is an inherent challenge of immersive video capture, it does affect the overall image quality. Additionally, when viewing videos on a computer, one notices that the resolution in any single direction is limited to 1080p, despite the actual capabilities of the camera.

Despite these limitations, the Rilo remains the most useful and enjoyable 360-degree camera we've tested. Its unique approach to video creation, combined with innovative software features and excellent image stabilization, make it an attractive option for those looking to expand their creative horizons. With its affordability at $4.99 and a range of additional cases available (including waterproof options), the Rilo is an excellent choice for anyone looking to explore the world of immersive video capture.

For those interested in exploring this format further, we highly recommend checking out the Rilo. Its potential for creative expression and user-friendly design make it an attractive option for content creators and enthusiasts alike. Whether you're looking to capture stunning landscapes, create engaging stories, or experiment with innovative techniques, the Rilo is an excellent starting point.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enhey I'm Davin with Digital Trends and this is the Rilo it's a dual lens 360-degree camera but it does things a little differently from the other small 360 cams that we've seen rather than put the focus on creating immersive or virtual reality video it emphasizes good old flat or fixed frame video but because it records the full spherical area to begin with it gives you a lot more creative freedom when it comes to editing and while the hardware is very nice as it says in the Rilo box the magic is in the software now you connect the Rilo to your phone not via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth but actually buy a good old USB cable and the great thing about this is that there's no wireless setup to go through and all the videos transfer very quickly and the app automatically launches when you plug it in so once you have your videos loaded onto your phone you simply tap on a clip to load it and you can tap again to begin playing while it's playing you can pan around the spherical area just like you'd expect from any other 360 cam but where things get interesting on the Rilo is that you can add points by 3d touching on the screen and saying look here and then you can scroll forward and point the camera in a different direction let's say over here and you can add as many points as you want they can be as far or as close together as you need them to be and now when we play in real time it will animate the camera from one point to the next in addition to points you can actually have it follow an object and that works very similarly to how points works except that instead of choosing look here you just say follow this and then it will keep the frame locked on whatever that subject is now the follow feature doesn't work perfectly all the time as you saw right there it lost it but the nice thing is you can stop and reef all o at any point and you can also sort of smooth things out by just adding points to look at rather than using the follow feature if you need to so while rhino has a lot of great features the best part is simply its really stunning electronic image stabilization because it has the full 360 degrees spherical area to work with it doesn't have to crop at all when it pans and scans to stabilize the footage so you don't lose any quality by having stabilization on and it just works incredibly well everything is super smooth so you can see how shooting in 360 degrees opens up a lot of creative possibilities for outputting in standard flat video but there are some problems with it for one if you take a look at this shot here you can see that this looks pretty dark this is why I would say significantly underexposed well the reason for that is that the camera is seeing everything around it including the sky so the sky is perfectly exposed that looks really great but because it's capturing everything at once it has to expose for one area and it seems that Rilo has gone the direction of exposing for the highlights and letting the shadows kind of get way too dark so one other thing is that you know resolution when you're just looking at in any one direction is limited to 1080p now even though it is 1080p it's not true 1080p it doesn't really look as sharp as as 1080p could but on a phone screen it's totally fine you really only notice the deficiency when you look at the videos on a computer so while the Rilo still has some of the problems inherent to immersive video it's still the most useful and most fun to use 360 cam that we've yet tested it's available now for $4.99 and includes this everyday case an optional waterproof adventure case is sold separately for $69 that's a little more expensive than some of the competing 360 cams out there but we really do think that this is the future of the format and it's worth checking outhey I'm Davin with Digital Trends and this is the Rilo it's a dual lens 360-degree camera but it does things a little differently from the other small 360 cams that we've seen rather than put the focus on creating immersive or virtual reality video it emphasizes good old flat or fixed frame video but because it records the full spherical area to begin with it gives you a lot more creative freedom when it comes to editing and while the hardware is very nice as it says in the Rilo box the magic is in the software now you connect the Rilo to your phone not via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth but actually buy a good old USB cable and the great thing about this is that there's no wireless setup to go through and all the videos transfer very quickly and the app automatically launches when you plug it in so once you have your videos loaded onto your phone you simply tap on a clip to load it and you can tap again to begin playing while it's playing you can pan around the spherical area just like you'd expect from any other 360 cam but where things get interesting on the Rilo is that you can add points by 3d touching on the screen and saying look here and then you can scroll forward and point the camera in a different direction let's say over here and you can add as many points as you want they can be as far or as close together as you need them to be and now when we play in real time it will animate the camera from one point to the next in addition to points you can actually have it follow an object and that works very similarly to how points works except that instead of choosing look here you just say follow this and then it will keep the frame locked on whatever that subject is now the follow feature doesn't work perfectly all the time as you saw right there it lost it but the nice thing is you can stop and reef all o at any point and you can also sort of smooth things out by just adding points to look at rather than using the follow feature if you need to so while rhino has a lot of great features the best part is simply its really stunning electronic image stabilization because it has the full 360 degrees spherical area to work with it doesn't have to crop at all when it pans and scans to stabilize the footage so you don't lose any quality by having stabilization on and it just works incredibly well everything is super smooth so you can see how shooting in 360 degrees opens up a lot of creative possibilities for outputting in standard flat video but there are some problems with it for one if you take a look at this shot here you can see that this looks pretty dark this is why I would say significantly underexposed well the reason for that is that the camera is seeing everything around it including the sky so the sky is perfectly exposed that looks really great but because it's capturing everything at once it has to expose for one area and it seems that Rilo has gone the direction of exposing for the highlights and letting the shadows kind of get way too dark so one other thing is that you know resolution when you're just looking at in any one direction is limited to 1080p now even though it is 1080p it's not true 1080p it doesn't really look as sharp as as 1080p could but on a phone screen it's totally fine you really only notice the deficiency when you look at the videos on a computer so while the Rilo still has some of the problems inherent to immersive video it's still the most useful and most fun to use 360 cam that we've yet tested it's available now for $4.99 and includes this everyday case an optional waterproof adventure case is sold separately for $69 that's a little more expensive than some of the competing 360 cams out there but we really do think that this is the future of the format and it's worth checking out\n"