Snapchat Spectacles 101

And why you need a pair

Since these landed on my desk, I have been finding every excuse to wear them. As well as a decent pair of sunglasses (and now at last it’s actually sunny) these specs are great way to capture raw moments without getting your phone out.

Walking the dog, babysitting my niblings, riding my bike and of course, playing in the office have all been highlights.

But how do these spectacles work and are they worth it for digital marketers?

The Basics

The snapchat spectacles have a built in camera (above the right lens), designed to record 10 second clips for you to share on snapchat. Above the lens on the opposite side is a light that comes on when you’re filming. To begin filming, you press the button on the left arm.

You can capture multiple clips, each importing directly to your snapchat app (but not posting). If you’re after clips longer than 10secs, you can extend your recording by pressing the button again, up to 30secs total.

Never go flat

One of the coolest elements is the spectacles case. Magnetically-sealed, the wedge-shaped case comes in Snap’s signature yellow. It’s not exactly a slender case, so isn’t ideal for a pocket but it is protective and so much more…

Inside the case there is a magnetic connection port for your glasses to sit on. Whenever in the case, the specs will be charging. Which is why you have to charge the case via a USB charging cord — once the case is charged, it has a standalone battery that charge the specs up to four times!

You can check the battery life of your case via a button on the side so there is never an excuse to run flat.

The benefits of being handsfree

Look Mum, both hands!

We often read about social media induced accidents these days. People walking in to lamp-posts or falling off bikes as they try desperately to capture that perfect image / video. With the snapchat specs, you don’t have to put yourself in danger to capture those realtime snaps.

As a cyclist, I love using the specs on my bike. Capturing as much or little as I like and then being able to edit once stationary.

The Snapchat Spectacles video camera captures with a a 115-degree field of vision — almost the same perspective as the human eye.

This is why the glasses capture circular video, which can either be shared directly through Snapchat or downloaded for use on other platforms such as Instagram.

Being handsfree is also great to demo products, capture interactions without the distraction of a phone and super for sports.

And if you have a friend, you can even grab multiple perspectives in one…

From the Specs:

From the phone:

Do people know I’m using specs?

If you’re sharing your snaps through snapchat, your audience might not know that you’re using Spectacles.

Snapchat spectacles capture from your perspective but unless you make it obvious that you’re wearing your specs it might just look like a normal snap. Try capturing your hands in the shot, or snap yourself looking at your phone to demonstrate the circular video.

You can still get creative

Once you have captured your snap using your specs, the snap imports directly into your snapchat app. Don’t worry, spectacles do not post directly to your Story. If you head to ‘memories’, then you’ll see a specs tab which is where all your captured content will be waiting.

You can then pick and choose which clips to share, and like any other snaps, you can edit and annotate each clip to craft your perfect snap.

Capture the purest moments

A highlight for me with the spectacles (apart from cycling) has been the opportunity to capture moments without holding a phone in front of someone. This is particularly magical with children, and I have had such fun snapping my niblings as they explore their balance, play with building blocks or throw their breakfast all over themselves — sometimes encouraging them to wear the specs to capture their unique perspective.

A little like this from Brawny…

Happy snapping! 😎 ✌🏽