This Kickstarter-backed camera brings panoramic videos to the Oculus Rift

Giroptic’s little palm-sized camera looks like a kitchen timer, but it’s really a powerful video camera that records 360 degree video. It’s rugged like an action camera, loaded with connectivity options, and designed to work out of the box without any proprietary kinks. Giroptic has been in the 360 video game for years, but this is its first consumer camera, finally available for preorder after months of teasing. It’s a Kickstarter, so if you invest early you can get the camera for $250, half the eventual retail price. As always, Kickstarters come with risks.

With tools such as the Facebook-owned Oculus Rift moving into the mainstream, panoramic video and imagery are increasingly becoming necessary perspectives rather than mere visual curios. Helping to meet that need is a new Kickstarter-backed panoramic video camera called the 360cam. Created by France-based Giroptic, the tiny device might remind you of the roof-mounted camera seen on Google Street View cars. But this isn’t a tool for large corporations; it’s designed for the average user. Housed in a blue and black plastic egg-like shell, the device allows you to capture 360-degree HD video and photos, all while delivering the device’s current status on its surface via LED display. The display can indicate the camera’s current mode (Time Lapse, Burst, Photo, Video, Live) and count down during timed photos.