I love 360 cameras but I couldn’t love this one

Craig Wilson July 20, 2021 Reviews The pen-shaped Iqui 360 camera is packed with good ideas and incredibly user-friendly, but it's far too expensive for what it offers.

I love 360 cameras

Seriously, I’ve been using them since LG released its 360 Cam back in 2016. Craig Wilson / Input

I even have a dedicated 360 Instagram account (@craigaroundtowns).

So I jumped at the chance to try the Iqui (pronounced, “ee-kwee”), especially since the company behind it, Vecnos , is an offshoot of Ricoh, which makes the Theta range of 360 cams. Craig Wilson / Input

The Iqui is pen-shaped (and sized) and only has three buttons: power on/off, a shutter release, and a toggle for switching between stills and video. Craig Wilson / Input

4 How many lenses and sensors the Iqui includes (three on the sides, one on top). Craig Wilson / Input

It also comes with a USB-C charging cable, soft carry case, and stand (which fits around the charging dock).

That means no tripod mount, but Iqui’s recently released an optional $25 accessory to make up for that omission. Craig Wilson / Input

The slim form factor makes it easy to carry in a pocket or bag, and it weighs just 2.2 oz.

It comes in four colors: gray, mint, pink, or champagne gold. Vecmos

Open the Iquispin app, pair the camera, and any pictures or videos you’ve captured get sucked into it.

The Iqui app's primary purpose is enabling you to edit your captured 360 stills into short, cute, videos that pan around the image... and which you can overlay with animated items like balloons or fireworks or UFOs. Or a combination of up to two.

...and there are Instagram-style filters, of course.

100 How many stills you should get per charge of the 720mAh battery. Craig Wilson / Input

Video recordings are limited to 30 seconds each. But it doesn't really matter...

...because, like low-light stills, videos captured on the Iqui are bad. Really bad. Craig Wilson / Input

Image quality is:

❌Grainy ❌Poorly-exposed. ❌Wobbly. ❌Just bad. Craig Wilson / Input

But then, video capture clearly isn’t a priority. There isn’t even a way to edit or export videos in the Android version of Iquispin so I had to resort to a screen recording to extract footage. The priority is cutesy videos made from 360 stills. And, granted, those can be very cute indeed. Vecmos

Balloons! Cute!

One surprising feature of the Iqui is that it can be used to edit any 360 image, so I can finally edit pictures from my 2017 Samsung Gear 360 cam again... a camera Samsung still sells even though it’s stopped supporting the app it requires. Craig Wilson / Input

But that’s still not enough to make up for the Iqui’s biggest failing: its hefty price tag.

$300 How much the Iqui 360 costs. Craig Wilson / Input

Vecnos says the Iqui is intended for “snap-and-share 360-degree photos.” It’s managed that, and if it cost $100 to $150, I might be able to recommend it. But $300 is a tall ask, especially given its serious limitations. Maybe generation two will fix the resolution, image quality, and video capture. Until then, though, there are plenty of better options out there for your money. Craig Wilson / Input

Can holographic picture frames possibly be as cool as they sound? ⫸⫸⫸