Hi. Today I'll be talking about my top 10, 360 camera accessories. So if you own a 360 camera of any kind, doesn't matter what it is, and you're shooting professionally, or you're shooting just for social media, and you wanna get slightly better shots, or you wanna be a ninja,
that extra bit more, and leave people wondering how did he or she take that shot? Then there are a few accessories that are going to help you do that, which I'll go through in this video. You'll find links to
everything down there. And these are in no
particular order, by the way. They are 10 really awesome things I use in my 360 photo and video shooting that are all equally as good. But you could say the final
one is one of the best. So yeah, just saying, yeah. So stick around till the end. Number one, and potentially the thing I recommend the most
to people starting out with virtual tours for the
first time is a monopod. And not just any monopod,
but the Bushman Monopod. I made a video about two years ago, covering the Bushman version one. And since then they've
released a Bushman version two which is the one I've got here. It's a very similar design, but
it's actually a lot shorter. It has four extensions instead of three. It has four extensions instead
of three, the previous one. And as you can see, it's shorter. So that's a win all around, because not only does it extend longer, but it also reduces to a shorter length, so you can fit it in a backpack. Whereas this one was always poking through the top of my
bag, through the zip, and it's kind of annoying, isn't it? And, if you're someone that
is just getting started with virtual tours and you
need a good reliable monopod, then the Bushman has been my
go-to for the past few years. It comes with not only
this, but also tripod legs and a counterweight to
keep your camera steady. It will be great indoors. For outdoors there is still
a chance it could blow over. But, this is the one pod
that I've shot the majority of my virtual tours with, and have very rarely encountered problems. And when you remove the feet
and just use a selfie stick, this is the perfect
companion to any 360 camera, because it extends really far. I've used it all around the world, getting a really cool social media shots with my various 360 cameras. And it's just been a really
good compact monopod, that goes really far. Look, I'm touching the
back wall from here, and with the 360 camera on the end of it, you can get your camera so high, that it looks like you
took the shot with a drone. So yeah, not only is the
Bushman monopod great for virtual tours, but also
for social media content. When you need to get your
camera away from you, away from your hand, especially when you're in a cool landscape and you need to get your camera high, to get a really cool shot. But with that said, the Bushman
is not the only good monopod for virtual tours and
social media content. There are actually many
great alternatives. The first one is from a
friend of mine who is also a fellow 360 guy on YouTube. You know Shanil? Well, he has come out with his own monopod which looks suspiciously
similar to the Bushman Monopod. as you can see, they're
basically identical. His is actually a little bit shorter. There, he has got his logo on it. It says Best360. So basically it's the same design, whether that is right or wrong. I don't know you be the judge. But I think it is good
for the industry overall, to have multiple competitors
selling similar products. So there's always the
constant supply of gear and the prices remain somewhat affordable. Even though these aren't super affordable, they're affordable enough
if you plan on using them for a long time or you're
using them professionally, they both come in around 130. Wait a sec. The Bushman is 127 euros. And the Best360 Monopod is 129 pounds. 129, So right now, the Bushman
is 157 US dollars. And the Best360 Monopod is 179 US dollars. So it's actually a little
bit more expensive. And just like the Bushman,
the Best360 Monopod comes with a tripod and a counterweight. This time, the counterweight
is actually bigger. It's twice as heavy as the Bushman monopod which means your camera is going to be that extra little bit sturdier, especially if you're shooting
outside, when it's windy. Here they are side by side. They both feel really good quality. I can tell that this one
is a little bit heavier. The legs are sturdy and well-made. I'd be happy using both for virtual tours. So, overall I rate them
practically identically. Best360 is the new brand in town. So I'm sure they will take time, and improve the product over time, make it a bit more
different to the Bushman, and hopefully bring that price down a bit. I definitely think it's a great monopod. It's worth the price. And if the Bushman is out of stock, if it's taking too long to
get to you or whatever reason, if you don't want to buy the Bushman V2, which also happens to be
called "The Claremont." I have no association with that, other than, making a joke
to the owner when I met him, I said, he should call his
monopod "The Claremont." And he took my joke a bit
too seriously and did. But I don't work for
Bushman, it's not my company. So I honestly don't
care which one you buy. Just saying, that this one is a little
bit more expensive. It's just as good as the Bushman
and is a great alternative. If you don't want to buy the
Bushman for whatever reason. All right. So I know those were a little bit pricey. Not exactly the low end of the market, if you're just getting
started with virtual tours, or you just need some kind
of stand for your 360 camera. Well, if you're on a budget, I've got a great option for you. Here it is. And this is a light stand
by the brand Neewer. And I think it's on Amazon
for around $30 or $40. There we go, $29.99 for a light stand. And this actually extends higher than both the other monopods. When you go all the way to the
top, the Neewer light stand goes to over six feet,
which is really high. So if you want a high up perspective, or if you just want a
cheap monopod alternative for virtual tours, then
this is a great option. The only thing to keep in mind
is that obviously the legs are going to be quite a bit bigger. So will require more editing
out of your shots later on. I know this looks massive, right? But the 360 camera only sees it like this. So you'll only have to paint out those singular lines from
the bottom of the shot. So it's a little bit more
post-production work, to save a bit of money. Whether you want to do
that, it's up to you. What I would suggest, if you
are using it for virtual tours is do your first few shoots
for small clients using this, and then upgrade to one
of the other two monopods I just mentioned to make life easier. And make sure there's less editing work. You should be spending
your time on your computer, working on more important things
like the colour correction, like the actual hotspots, the creation of the
virtual tour and so on. That's where you should spend your time not editing out a massive light stand. All right. Number four, of my top
10 360 camera accessories is this counter weight or
counter weights from SmallRig. So whenever you're working with any kind of live
stand, selfie stick monopod or whatever, you need to
make sure it's bottom heavy. When the weight's in the bottom it means the top will be more secure. When the weight's on the top, it means it's going to tip
over as quickly as possible, and you want to avoid that. So you can do that by
adding counterweights. As you saw some of these monopods come with counterweights in built, but you can always buy more counterweights and just keep stacking
them on top of each other to create even more weight, or
you can do something clever. See this little hole at the
bottom of the tripod leg. Well, you can screw this, into that and create weights on
the feet of the tripod making it that extra bit sturdier, if you're shooting outside. This is definitely overkill for inside, but if you are shooting outside, you never know when a gust
of wind is going to come and total your camera so,
better safe than sorry. And yeah, you can buy these
SmallRig counterweights on Amazon, I'll link down below. They come 200 grams at a time. I think they were made for Gimbals. But, you can definitely
attach them to any kind of light stands, selfie-stick or monopod. Or tripod even, like I'm doing here. Number five, is an accessory
you've probably seen in my channel before. And that is the Joby micro tripod. I bought this about three years ago. And I've used it every time I've shot with my 360 camera ever. Anywhere I've been, I've always
had this thing in my pocket and it's been fantastic, because it means you can put your camera on the ground without worrying
about it falling over. It's got a one quarter inch tripod thread, which means any 360 camera
should be compatible with it. And if you find a cool spot,
you might be traveling, you might be walking around
your local neighborhood, and you feel like the shot would be best. If the camera was on the ground, don't just rest it on the
ground without any type of support. It's going to
blow over and smash the lens. Ask me how I know. So yep, this thing is
a must have, especially if you're shooting 360
content for social media. Can't believe how small it
is, it's like a toothpick. Okay, so now I've got some more
cool 360 camera accessories from Bushman. The first one being, this thing which is called the Bushman Halo Light. And what it is, is a light
that was built for 360 cameras. As you can see, it's got a
one quarter inch tripod thread on the top and on the bottom, it's got the female one quarter-inch. And what it is, is a light that gets brighter, and brighter, and brighter, and brighter, and brighter. That is like ridiculously bright, for something that fits
in the palm of my hand. It's pretty much as
strong as my video light. So I've got my video light there. It's a big Aputure, 120D II, and this is the Bushman Halo
Light, in a similar position. So if you look at my face,
you can see a similar amount of light coming from each light. So that is pretty
incredible given the fact that this is only like a 10th of the size of my aperture light, and
it was perfectly engineered for 360 cameras because you
simply take your monopod, screw it onto the top here. So now you can put your camera at the top, and have the light, lighting your scene or put the light at
the top of the monopod, and then put the camera on top of it. So you have the light even
closer to the lens of the camera. Will I use this for 360 photography? No. It's not necessary because
with 360 photography, you don't need to use lights. When you can simply change your exposure, change the settings within your camera, and you can lighten even the darkest dream unless it's really, really dark. Then any kind of light
would be beneficial. So consider it for that. But the main application I see for the Bushman Halo Light
would be for 360 video. So if you're shooting
360 video at nighttime, let's say you're walking
around a dark environment and you want to capture it as a 360 scene, play it back in 360m you could walk around with
a monopod set up like thism put your camera on top, walk
around, talking to people interviewing people and so on. And they would have a good amount of light hitting their face. And you can even change the
colour temperature as well, to match the colour of the light, that is in your environment. So there you go. That's pretty cool. That's the Bushman Halo Light. I'll put a link to that down below. The next accessory on this
list, is this angled thing, also, from Bushman. And what it is, is a
tripod thread extender, that can also be angled. And while this isn't an obvious
thing that you would need, because if you know the basics of 360 photography and video,
anything that is directly beneath the 360 camera is invisible. Which is why naturally
a selfie stick extended, such as this one, will completely
disappear from your shot, because it's hitting the blind
spot underneath the camera. So then why would you
need this angled thing? Well, good question. So, you would use this angled thing, and see it just screws into
the bottom of any monopod. Let's say, you want to
put your selfie stick out on an angle and you need to attach this to a tripod that is
hidden behind something. So in this situation here,
I'm hiding my tripod, and counterweight behind this bench. And I want the selfie stick to be angled out across the bench. So because of this angled thing, I'm able to do that, and hide that weight, whilst still sticking myself to stick out and knowing that my camera is
going to be relatively safe and not blow over. All right, the next 360 camera accessory, you'll want to consider is,
another one from Bushman. And this one is called the Popeye. What it is, is a giant magnet with a tripod thread on it, enough said. The next must have 360 camera accessory, is probably something you already have. And, you already got when
you bought your 360 camera. And that is some kind of case. I like using the Neoprene cases that come with most consumer point
and shoot 360 cameras like this one here, and this is essential. Don't throw it out. Don't walk around with
your camera uncovered and put it down on the lens. That is the fastest way to get
scratches or smash the lens. Always bring your case,
either the one that came with the camera or get a
better one, like a lens pouch or some kind of small padded bag. I like the Neoprene ones
because they naturally clean the lens when the
camera goes in and out of it. So if you accidentally smudge the lens, you can clean it as you're
taking the camera out. The Number 10 must have
360 camera accessory. And by must have, I mean, must have, if you like buying all the cool stuff. Then I guess is it's not a must,
but the number 10 accessory on this list is choosing
the right SD card. And I've been using this one, the SanDisk Extreme 1TB micro SD card, in my One X2, since I bought it. And you know how much space I've used? Probably about 50GB. And while 1TB is absolute
massive overkill. When you think about it, if you only ever use this
card,with this camera, and you used it let's say,
for two or three years you would basically never
have to format the card. And it would act as a permanent
backup of all your files. So while you might take them
off onto the app on your phone, or your desktop and back them
up to another hard drive. You will always have a
copy here, when you have an SD card this big
with this much capacity. So I'm actually a big fan of massive SD card for that exact reason. It never hurts to have
more backups of your files, and 1TB will mean you can store everything you ever shoot with your current camera, with your next camera even, and you won't have to format the SD card. And while it is definitely overkill and probably a bit too expensive. A good second best option I
would suggest is the card, I've been using with my One R. And that is the Lexar 633x, 512GB card. And I know this is going
to serve a similar purpose. I will never have to format the SD card with my One R, potentially ever. So it means firstly, I can go out, and shoot as much content as I want, and I don't have to worry
about the SD card filling up, but also it backs up the files forever. And I think that's a
really powerful thing. So I'll link both of these
micro SD cards down below. Pretty sure they're compatible with most 360 cameras out there. All right, now I know that's
10 accessories already. But I have a bonus one, an 11th. And, that is the VR
headset I use right now. And the VR headset, that has
become the most popular headset of 2021 already. And it's something that
I really do consider to be a must have accessory
for any 360 camera owner, because when you can
watch back your photos and videos in virtual reality, it's like you're actually standing there. It doesn't compare to looking at your photo on a phone
or on your computer. That's just looking around
on a small flat screen. That's kind of far away from you. Whereas when you look at it in VR in 360, it legitimately feels
like you're standing there in the photo, in the video that you took. And how cool would that be? When you can go back, let's
say 10 years from now, and look at a photo of your wedding and be able to stand there at
the altar or at the reception and look around like you were
standing there once again. A 360 photo on Facebook simply doesn't do the 360 medium justice, as much as it is a really cool thing. It's an innovative piece of content. There's no question about that. But in terms of creating
a really immersive and accurate and lifelike
experience, a VR headset is something you just
need to try to understand. And the one I'm using here
is the Oculus Quest 2. Not only can you put your own media on it, but it's got apps, games, VR experiences and it's absolutely incredible. I don't spend enough time using it. I can admit that, but when I do, I'm reminded of just how
powerful the 360 medium can be. It's one of those things
where you've just got to do it to understand, and then
you're totally hooked. So if you don't own a VR headset,
I would suggest this one. It's not super cheap, but
it is the newest and best, at the time of making this video. If you can't afford it, just
get a cheap Google Cardboard or a generic VR headset,
put your phone into it and see your photos come to life in VR. And that's it for my top
10, 360 camera accessories. Hope it was helpful. Hey, let me know which one
do you find most interesting. And, do you have any other accessories you would add to this list? Let me know down there. And yeah that's it for this video. It's been fun. It's been real. I promise to post more videos more often. I know, I always say that. And then I go two or three or four or five weeks without posting. So, sorry about that. But the reason I went a few weeks without posting this time. Was that I had a pretty
significant life event in that I proposed to my
girlfriend of five years. And she said, yes. Yay! Here is a photo of us shortly thereafter, shot on my Theta Z1, and Bushman Monopod outside
the Sydney Opera House. So yeah, there's gonna
be a Mrs.Ben coming soon. And on that note, I'll see you soon.
