Affordable VR180 cameras: Slam Xcam could become a viable option

A new VR180 camera is currently on Kickstarter. Our immersive camera expert took a closer look at the campaign.

An article by Daniel Pohl

The hemispherical VR180 3D format is very well suited for the playback of immersive photos and videos, where the viewer feels like being a part of the scene thanks to the wide viewing angle and the stereoscopic view.

While it was easy to create such content in 2018 with cameras like the Lenovo Mirage Camera, Vuze XR, or Insta360 EVO, the situation is different today: the market for affordable VR180 cameras is practically non-existent, and there are almost exclusively professional VR180 solutions at high prices.

One exception is the Calf Visinse (Gen 2) camera, which currently costs $850. As I reported in my article on the Calf Visinse camera, there were some software problems at the time of release. Some of these seem to have been fixed, others will hopefully be resolved in the future.

Another stereoscopic VR180 camera, the Slam Xcam, will be released in early 2025, also aimed at consumers. The lowest price of the Kickstarter campaign for the entry-level Slam Xcam is $1,000 including taxes.

In this article, I will take a look at the specifications and evaluate the image quality based on the available sample media.

The Slam Xcam in a nutshell

The new Slam Xcam is another consumer VR180 camera. With 8K photo and video options, a relatively compact form factor, and a reasonable price, the Kickstarter project is worth a look.

Background on Slam

The company name may be familiar to some. A year ago, the company ventured into the world of VR180 cameras with the Slam VR180 3D smartphone. The campaign on Indiegogo ran for about 30 days before it was cancelled. There were several reasons:

• The 4K video resolutions available at the time were not sufficient for VR180 3D.
• The smartphone form factor was not very popular. With its low price, the Slam smartphone wouldn't have been a good replacement for an everyday phone for many people.
• Shooting VR180 media from a very thin phone is difficult because your fingers tend to get in the picture.

Slam CEO James Wang listened to the feedback and scrapped the project in favor of a VR180 camera in a compact camera form factor.

The focus was on higher sensor quality and the resulting higher resolution. The base is still a smartphone, but this time with a larger body and more professional lenses. The operating system of the camera is Android. This is a very clever approach, as it allows you to quickly and easily have a large touchscreen with a good overview and also run other Android apps on the device.

Slam Xcam in comparison

Overall, the two newer VR180 cameras (Slam Xcam, Calf Visinse) with rounded 8K photo and video resolutions are a clear improvement over the old Insta360 EVO. In VR, the images are noticeably sharper at the higher resolutions.

Ideally, you'd like to have more than 8K as a recording source for VR180 content, but that's a long way off in the consumer space (Blackmagic Design offers 16K horizontal per eye for a staggering $30,000).

Media for download

If you would like to view some of the media published by Slam Inc. in VR yourself, I have put together a package with a video and seven VR180 images from the Slam Xcam for direct download.

Alternatively, you can also download the material in the Quest app immerGallery (free and full version). To do this, go to Download, Custom URL in the app and type slam in the address field next to https://. Then "Go!".

Analysis of the media

The offered media are current recordings from December 2024 and January 2025. They reflect the current state of the firmware. Unfortunately, on closer inspection I found some problems. These are most likely software related and can be fixed with a future firmware update. I reported the issues to the CEO of Slam Inc. two months ago.

Problem 1: Different colors between the left / right shot

In at least one image, it is easy to see that the hues between the left eye image and the right eye image differ significantly. In a 2D image, the exact color value would be less important. But in stereoscopic media, these differences can cause eye strain and motion sickness.

Problem 2: Aliasing

In the media samples, you can see an aliasing effect that appears in certain areas of the image. The cause is probably an error in the conversion of the fisheye image to the equirectangular format. Another issue is that these errors do not appear identically in the left and right images, creating an unnecessary difference that again can lead to eye fatigue and motion sickness.

Problem 3: Horizontal stripes

You can see slight horizontal stripes, especially in darker areas. If you lighten them up a bit, you can see some noise, but it is unidirectional. It can be assumed that this is also present in brighter content, but is no longer clearly visible. Unfortunately, this effect also creates a further divergence between the left and right images.

Strengths of the Slam Xcam

• Relatively compact form factor with a very large screen, which offers an ideal preview and can also be used to change the settings as touchscreen
• Relatively large sensors for a compact camera
• High pixel resolution for consumer VR180 cameras
• Since the system uses Android, other apps can be installed, e.g. to send images via messenger
• In-camera conversion of the two recorded fisheye images into the general equirectangular format. Many other cameras require a processing step with special software on the PC.

Weaknesses of the Slam Xcam

• If your main focus is on creating VR180 3D videos, the 30 fps at 8K resolution may not be enough. 8K and 60 fps are currently only available in the Canon setup with the EOS R5 C and R5 Mark II, which cost a lot more.
• The camera shows some problems in the published media recordings (see above), but these can probably be fixed through software/firmware updates:
• There is currently no EXIF ​​data (e.g. shutter speed) in the images. This means that the GPS sensor has not been utilized so far.
• At the moment it does not look as if there is the option of (post-processing) horizon correction as with Canon using the EOS VR Utility: this can be used to compensate for slight rotations in photos and videos to guarantee a straight horizon.

Conclusion

The Slam Xcam is an interesting 180 VR consumer camera. The large touchscreen and sensors for a compact camera, the Android operating system and the acceptable price point all point to potential success in this niche market.

In its current state, however, the camera stands in its own way. The images provided by Slam Inc. themselves show serious flaws that make the camera questionable in its current state.

If you do not want to pay more than the currently reduced Kickstarter price, and you are confident that the existing problems will be fixed, you can consider buying. Otherwise, wait until the problems are fixed. Just keep in mind that the price will be higher.

The author, Daniel Pohl, is CEO and founder of immerVR GmbH. There, Daniel deals daily with innovations in the field of immersive media, mostly in the area of VR180 stereo photos and stereo videos. With his app immerGallery (Meta Horizon Store, Steam Store), you can experience highly immersive photo galleries with voice-overs and background music in various VR formats on Meta Quest devices. The app also supports video playback for normal 2D / 3D, 180° and 360°.

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