How people use 360-degree cameras

Abstract

A variety of new kinds of consumer cameras that capture the full 360-degree surroundings in a single panorama photo or video has recently been introduced to the market. In addition to conventional viewing devices, such as smartphones and computers, the 360-degree photos and videos can also be viewed with a virtual reality headset for a more immersive experience. In this paper, we present a field study where 14 consumers used 360-degree cameras freely in their everyday lives for a period of four weeks. We describe the strategies that the participants applied to capture 360-degree content in different situations and discuss the opportunities, challenges, and limitations of using a 360-degree camera compared to conventional cameras. We identify four common practices of consumer 360-degree camera use: Panorama Capture, Experience Capture, Automatic Capture, and Document Capture. We also report on the participants' habits of viewing, sharing, editing, and managing consumer-captured 360-degree content.