The Gigabyte Jolt Duo ($159.99) is a low-cost, no-frills 360-degree video camera. It isn't waterproof on its own, doesn't feature a rugged design, and doesn't come with a bunch of accessories. But at its asking price, we don't expect it to. The real problem is its resolution—it tops out at 1080p, which just doesn't deliver enough detail for spherical video capture. If you really want to dip your toes in 360-degree video without spending a lot of money, it may make sense for you. But anyone serious about content creation is going to want a 4K model, like the Nikon KeyMission 360 ($495.77 at Amazon) .

Design

The Jolt Duo is a compact, light camera with a dual-lens design. Each is an ultra-wide angle, and when the video from the two lenses is stitched together the Jolt captures the entire world around it. Footage is saved to microSD memory.

A top-mounted, backlit, 1-inch monochrome LCD shows you the current shooting mode, recording time, or the number of images that can be stored on the memory card, as well as battery life and the current time and date.

At just 1.9 by 2.3 by 1.2 inches (HWD) and 3.4 ounces, the Jolt is small and light enough to be a go-anywhere device. It sports a standard tripod socket and includes an adapter that mounts to any standard GoPro adhesive mount. A removable battery gets you about 75 minutes of continuous recording time. There's a micro USB port to plug the Jolt into a wall to charge.

There are a few control buttons on the top. Power turns the Jolt on and off with a long press and switches between image and video capture with a short press. Wi-Fi turns wireless connectivity on and off, and a record button is used to capture stills or video. There's no self-timer for stills, so in order to keep yourself out of the shot you'll need to trigger it via Wi-Fi.

The Wi-Fi control app, Jolt 360, is available for Android and iOS devices. It's pretty straightforward. It shows you a live preview of what the camera sees and lets you adjust settings, start videos, or snap pictures.

Jolt also supplies desktop software. The Jolt Viewer, available for Mac and Windows systems, can trim clips and convert video to a format ready for online sharing or editing in a more robust application. Conversion times are not excessive. My 3.5GHz Core i5 iMac, stocked with 16GB of memory and 2GB Radeon R9 M290X graphics, requires about 1.7 minutes to convert a minute of footage.

Image and Video Quality

Still images are a paltry 4MP in resolution, and it shows. That's not a lot of resolution for a traditional, flat image, let alone 360-degree shots. Even in bright daylight images are extremely pixelated, with blown highlights (a sign of subpar dynamic range) and an overly pixelated look. You can see for yourself below, just click on the photo and you'll be able to scroll through it in a 360-degree view.

Video fares better, but not by much. At 1080p quality, the 2MP of resolution is stretched onto a sphere. Footage is pixelated and without strong detail. Seams are visible, not only when an object is close to the side of camera as with the Nikon KeyMission 360, but also in the sky above. You can see halves of trees wobble together, and there's quite a bit of purple color fringing visible around bare branches. When shooting under a clear sky, the seam is visible as mismatched color between the two halves of the frame.

An internal microphone captures audio. There's no way to connect an external one. The camera picks up my voice clearly when I'm not that far away from it, assuming the mic is pointed in my direction. But if I'm a few yards away, it sounds hollow and distant.

Conclusions

Budget shoppers in want of a 360-degree camera are sure to be drawn to the Gigabyte Jolt Duo. But its dual sensors—each 4MP—only net 4MP stitched still images and 1080p video. That's just not enough resolution for 360-degree capture. Stills look especially bad, with lots of grain and poor dynamic range. Video is mushy, with details blurring together at a distance and roughness even up close. Sure, it's inexpensive, but the results are poor. If you're serious about being an early adopter of 360-degree video, go with a model that shoots in 4K, like the Nikon KeyMission 360, and be prepared to pay a premium.

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