Just Because You Can...

Doesn't mean you can't as well.

And always remember that you might not, should not, and would not...if it wasn't for fact that the makers of the new camera made it possible that you can. To clear this up a little imagine being a magnificent Bengal tiger, burning bright in the forests of the night and that sort of thing. People may go to a great deal of trouble to dig you a pit and line it with sharp stakes, but if you know about it in advance and have time to think, there is no need to fall into it just to please them. Stay out to please yourself.

This reflection was brought about by seeing a well-respected video maker who films things for a model-building hobby fall into the tech trap of a 360º camera. Someone loaned him one and he decided to take his audience on a virtual tour of his hobby room.

We've seen sections of his place for years as he videos his activities each week - and he's well organised for his hobby. And neater and cleaner than a lot of the rest of us, I might add. However, the 360º panoramic tour was one of the most unpleasant things I've watched for a long time - a swooping torture of distortion that would have made Vincent Price nervous.

I daresay the camera was working perfectly, and the host was entertaining, and the subject interesting - but watching it on a standard iPad was excruciating. On another device it may have been tamed. Unfortunately, shows air on multiple platforms and it is not just the format or picture ratio that is important.

I am hoping beyond hope that this was just a novelty experiment and that Marty's Matchbox Makeovers will return to the classic video form henceforth. Give us the workshop and not the House Of Mirrors.

Note: Don't let me stop you from buying an action camera or a panoramic camera or a virtual environmental camera system. You may be the person for whom it provides precisely the right view of the world. For that matter, don't let me stop you from digging a pit and lining it with stakes...