Jason Howell/ZDNET
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When I saw that Oakley and Meta's collaboration on the HSTN Limited Edition smart glasses with improved 3K video for $499, I was excited they might be the perfect pair of POV glasses for the studio.
Oakley's sport-forward design isn't my favorite, but I could easily overlook any aesthetic shortcomings if they nailed my primary use case of easy, hands-free recording for my smartphone reviews and how-to content.
Also: I spent a weekend with Meta's new Oakley smart glasses - they beat my Ray-Bans in every way
The vertical-only shooting style is ideal for social: Instagram Reels, TikTok, and YouTube Shorts. They're a one-button, point-and-shoot solution creators will crave. However, the same things that make them great for that use case, like max three-minute clips, automatic color grading, and highly compressed file sizes, also undermine them for the studio workflow. Let's take a closer look.
The studio/workflow clash
Jason Howell/ZDNET
The vertical-only video format is the single biggest obstacle, and I was aware of that limitation going in. The glasses offer up to 3K resolution at 2203x2938, at 30 fps. Switching to horizontal requires cropping and scaling inside Adobe Premiere, which drops the resolution down to roughly 1700 x 956. In a 4K timeline, the footage appears soft and noticeably less detailed, especially alongside native 4K material.
Also: Google's upcoming AI smart glasses may finally convince me to switch to a pair full-time
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