New iPhone 5 app takes hands free 360-degree video

An app released this month causes Apple's iPhone 5 to automatically spin 360 degrees while recording video.

There are tons of photography apps out there, but none are quite like this. Cycloramic, a 99-cent app available in Apple’s App Store, transforms the iPhone 5 into spinning camera.

The app allows Apple’s iPhone 5 to rotate in a full 360-degree circle while recording video. Cycloramic, which launched earlier this month, enables the device to vibrate in such a way that forces it to spin in a circle. To use the app, simply place your iPhone 5 upright on a smooth flat surface. Press the middle of the screen, and Cycloramic will count down from three before it starts to rotate the phone.

You can also adjust the app’s settings to switch between the front-facing camera and the rear camera, and you can make it spin twice instead of just once. When your iPhone 5 has returned to a stationary mode, you can view the video in your camera roll.

“Gathered around a dinner tablet, in a bar, in a club, at home, at a conference table, or at a historical monument? Cycloramic allows you to capture the moment (handsfree) in a unique and fun way whilst making you and your phone the talk of the event,” the app’s description on its Facebook page reads.

Cycloramic is currently ranked as number one in the App Store’s photo and video category for top paid apps. The application’s Facebook page has 277 “Likes” and is littered with comments from users.

The Los Angeles Times posted a video showcasing exactly what the app can do. The resulting footage was a 47-second bit of a slow 360-degree pan around a conference room in the newspaper’s offices. Even Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak seemed impressed by the app, as he posted a video recorded using the cylindrical filming application himself.

For only 99 cents, Cycloramic certainly seems like a welcome addition to the Apple App Store. While it might not be the most innovative application and you might not find yourself using it everyday, it’ll save you the trouble of walking around in a circle to snag those hard to get That 70’s Show shots. 

Check out the video below to see a video of the Apple Store taken using Cycloramic.