In an effort to protect the sanctity and authenticity of Angkor Wat Temple, the Apsara National Authority has banned visitors from using of fish-eye cameras inside the national heritage.

Long Kosal, spokesman of the Apsara National Authority (ANA), said that visitors are misusing their 360o and 180o cameras to project Khmer cultural heritage in a bad shape to the outside the world through their edited images and videos.

However, there is no blanket ban on the use of 360o/180o cameras.

“But visitors can use them after obtaining permission from the ANA. We are not banning such cameras completely. We will allow those cameras if they want to use them for a genuine purpose,” Kosal said.

A ban on VR cameras was introduced in 2015 but it had never been implemented.

 
A few days back the authorities installed an advertisement board on a pole near the temple which read 360o/180o camera is not allowed. The ad went viral on social media after some visitors posted it online.

Justifying the restriction on the fish-eye cameras, Kosal said that people who use 360o/180o cameras edit the photos of the temple and display a modified version of the architectural wonder of the Kingdom, which not only destroys the sanctity of the temple but contradicts Khmer culture,” Kosal said.

He noted that those who admire Angkor Wat wanted the authorities to put an end to the misuse of VR cameras inside the archeological wonder.

Supporting the move, Yun Ranuth, a photographer in Siem Reap province, said that despite the latest instruction of ANA, photographers can still use them  inside the Angkor Wat Temple area.

Ranuth said, “However, some foreign visitors are not happy with the ban of using 360o and 180o cameras. They say they are spending a lot of money to visit the temple and they also pay $37 for entering the site. And it is unfair if they cannot capture the beauty of the temple to keep their memory of visiting Cambodia,” Ranuth said.

Ranuth added that visitors are contributing so much by word of mouth to advertise about Angkor Wat Temple and when they take pictures or videos of the temple and post them on social media it catches a global attention.

He said, “Visitors should know 360o and 180o cameras can be used after receiving permission from authorities. I know it would be really annoying to visitors because it is time-consuming.”