Kandao QooCam EGO 3D Camera (Aurora White)

Not in the Box

• Essential Memory Cards (Not Included)

Nice 3d photos, not so nice 3d video

This camera is not super enjoyable to use for a couple reasons. One is, it overheats very quickly which seems to be a Kandao problem. Even when not recording, it will overheat just being on. It does shoot very nice still images. Nobody makes 3d cameras now, so there is no competition at all. So, whatever they do, they are the only ones practically. Video, not good. Its basically trying to shoot twin 1080p video and can do that at 60fps. Its not even 1080p obviously. When you compare the output from this camera for video, it clearly is shooting maybe 720p due to the massive jaggies you get on straight edges. You can compare this directly to the Gopro Dual Hero system that was a 3d system released 8 years earlier and the video quality of the gopro is radically better than the Ego. So, do not hope for great video quality with this thing, but it does work. It may shoot video a little better than the Fuji 3d W3 which came out many years ago and only did 720p per eye. Its sad that they cant get the video to be better, given 8 years has gone by with a competitor that kills them easily. The Gopro system you can still buy. You can also shoot 2.7k per eye with it at 30fps, which the Ego cannot compete with at all. Kandao really does not understand consumer camera video at all. Not even a little. Since they are using a modern sensor in the camera, the stills look totally normal, like what you would expect from a modern camera, so that is its strength - stills. Video, not so much, but it does it. Then it will over heat and eat the battery quickly. Its sort of what you get when there is no competition in a camera type and 3d has no competition right now.

a pretty cool ViewMaster

The Qoocam EGO is a digital 3D camera ( If you go back far enough in time - think of the old Viewmaster 3D viewers and picture reels). It has a horizontal field of view of about 66 degrees - not 180 degree hemispherical. It is a fine entry for it's intended purpose - being low cost ( relatively speaking), high angular resolution per degree of field of view and high 60 Hz frame rate. Because Kandao traded off resolution, frame rate plus 3D imaging for field-of-view, it is not technically a typical VR 180 camera. However, I believe - and I think I speak for many others - that the EGO is a great milestone camera entry for what it is and in many ways if you view its imagery properly in Skybox or DeoVR, it presents much sharper and smoother video presentation than many of the high end VR cameras out there costing thousands of dollars - albeit on a flat or curved 3D video screen with a narrower viewing window than 180 VR . When one considers that headsets like the OCULUS Quest 2 have viewing windows of about 98 degrees, it was a decent trade-of by Kandao to prioritize visual resolution and frame rate over extended 180 degree FOV which is way beyond what you can see in a typical VR headset anyways. Clearly, I believe it was a decent trade-off by Kandao and truly reduces the price barrier for entry into 3D VR for a lot of us. All that said, we who own the Qoocam EGO need to remember we are early adopters. The Qoocam EGO is not perfect by any means, ( you can read some of my critiques elsewhere), but it is a welcome milestone in 3D VR; but, perhaps not for everybody.

Caveat emptor!

I have buyers remorse. This item is not ready for prime time. The concept is enticing, however, needs much work and refining to make it user friendly. The focus is faulty on one lens and has other positional focus issues. The battery compartment is almost impossible to open. The memory card is difficult to remove without using tweezers, The unit severally overheats with minimal use and shuts off. The operational buttons are poorly designed and extremely difficult to press. The on screen navigation is difficult to use. The external and attachable view screen is just silly in its design and can not be used to compose and focus without bending over it like you are kowtowing. The unit is so small and hard to hold that you need to be constantly mindful to keep your fingers out of the line of site on the small lens. I belong to a Facebook page dedicated to this camera and my use, dissection and comments are born out by most users. You will be required to make mods or use add-ons to get some decent functionality from this device. At this point, most user are hoping for a specific firmware update to solve some of the major faults. I tried to return or exchange this product to the seller but was denied...

It is a stereoscopic camera

stereoscopic cameras are not easy to use. Buying a gimbal to record stereoscopic video is advisable. Good mechanical solid build. Very much like a GoPro. Video quality is pretty good. The optical viewer is a nice option to have. Buttons are too hard to push in. Battery life too short when used with WiFi and smartphone connected. Smartphone app below average. It seems this camera is at a very early development stage. Let's hope future firmware will improve this camera. Would i buy this camera again? Not sure, but if you are really into 3D and stereoscopy, then this camera is a good tool for you.

Performance

I liked the compact design and easy to use for recording 3D videos and taking 3D photos. There're few things need to be resolved or improved. Those include image downloading using USB connection. It still doesn't work even with new firmware update. Need good QooCAM EGO studio software for windows that doesn't require specific NVIDIA graphic chipset and driver. The camera gets hot while recording.

Kudos to Kandao

I had a focusing issue with my new Kandao QooCam EGO 3D Camera and asked the vendor to replace the item, declined, however, I contacted Kandao and without excuses or caveats, Kandoa sent me a new Ego that has no issues and functions well and as expected. I am having much fun and satisfaction using this one of a kind camera for recording 3D videos and 3D photos, I will be looking forward to incorporating it into my work flow as a professional photographer. Thank you to Kandao and staff for your professionalism and for standing behind your QooCam Ego 3D!