Shooting 360 videos: Ditch all you learned with cameras

VATICAN CITY (AP) — As cameras that shoot 360-degree photos and videos become affordable, curious users will face a new challenge:

Some phone apps can create 360-degree photos by stitching together images, similar to a panoramic shot, but a 360-degree camera is required for video.

Diving into 360 video means ditching traditional techniques that work well with smartphones and other cameras; doing otherwise means lots of dull 360 photos and videos.

Roller coaster videos are also popular for seeing — not just hearing — riders screaming.

Folks watching the video will be moving their heads when using a virtual-reality headset or moving the phone with an app like YouTube.

Or with a shot of Rome's Pantheon, viewers can look up to see the dome that inspired Michelangelo and other artists.

An app built for Theta cameras offers Instagram-like filters and allows trims to the beginning and end of videos.

A smartphone app can act as a virtual viewfinder, but that's cumbersome, too; no one wants to see the shooter fiddling with a phone in the shot.

Sit near the stage at an outdoor philharmonic concert in New York, and a 360-degree camera would show off how close it was to the stage, with the rest of the audience in the back.

For a play, a shot from the audience isn't as satisfying as one from the stage with the performers — though getting permission to shoot that way could take some arranging.