The Kickstarter community loves panoramic iPhone camera attachments, as evidenced by the GoPano and Kogeto Dot, but is there room for a panoramic camera in the general point-and-shoot market? Camera company Tamaggo is banking on the answer being yes with the Tamaggo 360-Imager, an egg-shaped camera that specializes in capturing panoramic photographs without the mess of stitching together half a dozen shots.
Unlike those iPhone attachments, the Tamaggo is a picture-only panoramic camera, but it goes above and beyond on image quality with a 14 megapixel sensor.
Tamaggo's 360-Imager resembles an egg, with a grippy rubber bulge in the center, a 2-inch touchscreen on the bottom and a panoramic lens on top. The camera uses an image sensor to detect its orientation and switch between three panorama modes. Standing upright, the Tamaggo captures a classic sky-to-ground 360 degree image. Held horizontally, it shoots a wide horizontal panorama, and turned on its side it captures a vertical panorama for tall skyscraper shots.
To appeal to the point-and-shoot market, Tamaggo made picture-taking a one-click process that requires no focusing. The camera comes with free software, but pictures can just as easily be dumped off via mini USB, Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. They're editable after shooting like any other photos, but the experience of panning around a 360 degree shot is a little cooler than your standard crop.
Tamaggo plans to launch in Q2 for "under $200," which basically means $199. Too steep for still panoramas? Later models will add video capabilities to the oblong camera.
