The Dokicam by Doki Inc. is a new 360° photo and video camera which is designed for extreme sports image capture. It offers 4K stills, 3K videos, livestreaming and one-click sharing to social media platforms. With an image resolution of 4K (4896×2448) and 3K (2880×1440) for video, the dual fisheye lense camera is rugged, water resistant and built for action.
The camera was announced via Kickstarter last year and they are finally starting to ship. It is priced at $230 and works on both Android and iOS, which makes it a very agreeable entry level mobile 360° solution for anyone wanted to get started with 360 photography.
First Impressions
Since the camera is new and fresh off of Kickstarter, I have to give them credit for what they achieved and also to not be too critical until after some software updates. As a first release, it is a great camera.
Right out of the box, the Dokicam appears surprisingly similar to the first Samsung Gear 360. It has a similar look, size, packaging and accessories, however, there are some subtle differences that differentiate the camera from it’s competitor.
Design
The first main difference is that the Dokicam is built like a truck. I’ll confess that I accidentally dropped the camera from a height of about 3 feet within about 5 minutes of unpacking, but surprisingly, not a scratch and works great! It has an aluminum chassis that is both water and dust resistant, so it’s sturdy design makes it great for using it as a helmet mounted camera.
It appears “slightly” bigger and heavier than the Gear 360, but only in chassis size. The primary size difference is that that Gear 360 has large glass lens protectors that protrude out and are easy to damage. The Dokicam lenses are more flush and protected, so they are basically the same size.
Photo Quality
The photo quality is decent. At maximum resolution, images seem a bit pixilated and blurry in comparison to similarly ranged cameras, but still with in the normal quality range for a 4k camera.
Video Quality
Video quality is also good for a 3K camera. In my opinion, the Dokicam seems a much better fit as a video camera, than a still camera. Since the camera is targeted for extreme sports, this should be acceptable.
On both photos and videos, there is a very noticeable stitch line around the sides as well as a very noticeable lack of color correction between light and dark lighting between the two lenses. I assume this will get better with more updates.
App
The app is well designed, fast and easy to use. Out of all the mobile 360 camera apps that I have used, the Dokicam app actually seems to install the easiest without any sign of being buggy. The preview area is much smaller than other apps, but still offers enough to get a good overview of the shot. Some functionality is a bit hidden unless you tap the display screen to hide and unhide some settings.
Sharing
Sharing with the app is easy but there are a few confusing UI issues that could use some streamlining. After uploading a video to Facebook, it would not let me choose to upload to any other source. It only defaulted to Facebook. Hopefully they will work out some of these issues as well in later updates.
There did not appear to be any way to access the raw edited video from your phone. There was a split screen fish eye version of the video, but I am not sure if that was the uploadable file or not. To post it to YouTube (see above), I had to grab the video from Facebook, run it through a meta data converter, then manually upload it to YouTube.
Technical Specifications
- Photo resolution- 4896×2448 (4K)
- Video resolution – 2880×1440 @30fps (3K)
- Lens – Dual F2.3 / FOV 200°
- Sharing- Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube
- Connectivity – Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n
- Compatibility – iOS, Android, macOS, Windows
- Connectors – Micro USB 2.0, Micro HDMI, Micro SD Card
- Memory – Phone memory, Micro SD Card
- Dimensions- 65mm diameter
- Weight – 140g on its own, 160g with tripod
- Battery – 1200Ah lithium-ion
- Tripod Mount – ¼ inch / 20 UNC
Pros
- Sturdy Design
- Affordable Price
- Works with Android and iOS
- The app is fairly intuitive, fast and easy to use.
- Image stabilization is solid
- Optional waterproof case
Cons
- Image quality is very pixilated and blurry
- Very noticeable stitching & lack of color correction
- Syncing via wifi takes some time
- The buttons are a bit confusing. The power and the mode switching button are the same, so if you hold the button down too long, it shuts off.
Final Thoughts
The Dokicam is a rugged, affordable, easy to use, entry level 360° camera for iOS and Android. It is solid, well made and since it is fresh off of Kickstarter, it can only get better.
You can pick up the DokiCam via their online store.
Sean Earley is the Executive Editor of AR/VR Magazine & co-founder of RobotSpaceship Podcast Network. He is the Director of New Biz Development and Publishing at KEMWEB, a musician, producer & consultant. He loves guitars, VR and coffee.
