360 rumors

Rec360 posted a new sample video from the CatEyes Cat360, a 360 camera that with 4K 360 live streaming. The Cat360 is a 360 camera that is uniquely capable of wireless live streaming for as long as four hours (when connected to a USB power source).  Here is a recap of its specifications: - two lenses - Video resolution: up to 3840 x 1920 @ 30fps - Photo resolution: 3840 x 2160 - six-core processor with realtime in-camera stitching - Micro SD card memory up to 128GB - 2000 mAh battery with up to 90 minutes recording time in 4k - compact size:  90mm x 34.8mm x 44mm - weight: 160g Rec360 posted a new sample 4K video from the Cat360: Cateyes Cat360 is  available from Rec360.ru .

There are now several 360 cameras designed to attach to your smartphone, but Ion360 U is the first hybrid device that is both a 360 camera and a smartphone charger case. Ion360 U is a 360 camera accessory with both a 360 camera component and a smartphone charger component.  Rather than draining your smartphone, it will actually charge your smartphone battery while you're using it. Here are a couple of product videos: Here are the key specifications: - photo resolution: 8MP (I think this means that it's 4096 x 2048) - video resolution: 4K - compatible with iPhone 7, iPhone 7+, Samsung S8, Samsung S8+ - live streaming - up to 2 hours battery life - shipping around July 2017 - available in black or teal You can preorder here for $100 off ($249 instead of $349).   You can also follow their official Facebook page  and their Twitter account . What do you think of the concept?  Let me know in the comments!

VRDL360 is a 360 camera with 7K photos and 3K video that will be launching on or around June 12, 2017.  Should you get one? VRDL360 is a new 360 camera that will be crowdfunded and is launching in a couple of weeks.  It looks very similar to the Ricoh Theta S, but offers better specifications: - Photo resolution: 7K (I am guessing it to be 6912 x 3456) - Video resolution: 3K (I am guessing it to be 3008 x 1504, but could be 3456 x 1728) - Live streaming: 3K (I am guessing it to be 3008 x 1504) - removable Micro SD up to 128GB Here is a video about it: On paper, the VRDL360 specifications look pretty good, and do beat those of the market leader Ricoh Theta S seemingly in every way.  Moreover, it appears to have a thin body just like that of the Theta, and with a small distance between the lenses, it will be less susceptible to parallax stitching error. Moreover, even though they don't say it, if VRDL360 has live streaming capability, it will likely have an in-camera stitch...

CatEyes Cat360 is a 360 camera that can live stream in 4K for four hours ! Cat360 is a 360 camera designed for endurance.  It has a built-in fan and has vents on two sides to allow air to flow through to dissipate heat.  This unique design allows it to operate longer than other 360 cameras. My friends at Rec360.ru tested Cat360's live streaming endurance, and when the Cat360 is plugged into a USB adapter, they found that the Cat360 can live stream in 4K for four hours!  With a battery only (unplugged from an adapter), it can record in 4K for 40 minutes. The fan does create some noise, but the Cat360 has another rare feature for 360 cameras: a 3.5mm microphone input, which allows you to use an external microphone.  The mic input is on the bottom of the camera, so it won't be captured in the video. Another unusual feature of the Cat360 is that it can connect to a Wi-Fi signal and live stream without a phone connected.  The user does use a phone to setup the conne...

Insta360 Pro is almost here.  In addition to 8K 360 video and 6K 3D 360 video, Insta360 Pro can also live stream in 4K.  Insta360 posted a tutorial and demo of Insta360 Pro's live streaming feature. Here is the tutorial: You can see a sample 4K live stream from Insta360 Pro here: Insta360 Pro is available with free shipping from B&H Photo , or can be ordered directly from Insta360.com . It is currently scheduled to ship at the end of May.  Shipping dates are tentative, so if your project is time-sensitive, please check with B&H Photo or Insta360 before ordering.

Insta360 demonstrated a 4K live stream from the Insta360 Pro, one of the hottest new cameras for 360 video professionals.  Check out the live stream video! Insta360 Pro is a professional 360 camera that can capture up to 8K 360 video in 2D, 6K 360 video in 3D, or 4K video live streaming (in 2D or 3D).  It is also the only professional 360 camera with realtime image stabilization (see demo here) .  Whereas professional 360 cameras are generally priced in the 5-digit range, the Insta360 Pro is only $3,499, within the range of independent filmmakers and even prosumers. Now here is the live stream video from the Insta360 Pro in 4K 360, posted on YouTube. Insta360 had to reduce the bitrate to 6mbps due to the slow internet connection at their office.  However, the sample still looks impressively detailed.  The stitching also looks quite smooth, which is impressive considering that the stitching is template-based. Based on these samples, and previous samples I've view...

Sonicam is a 360 camera that can capture 4K video in 2D or 3D with realtime stitching, and it can also capture 3D spatial audio using 64 microphones (!).   I posted about it previously and I got to see it at NAB Show 2017. Here are Sonicam's specifications: - nine lenses - field of view: fully spherical - 64 microphones - video resolution: 4K @ 30fps, 2D or 3D - in-camera stitching - live streaming capability - audio output: AAC, ambisonic B format, quad binaural According to Sonicam staff, the retail price will be $4,000.  However, there will be a Kickstarter in May where it will be available for $2,000, with delivery scheduled in October.   You can sign up to be notified here .

Panasonic AW-360 at NAB 2017. Photo credit: Svend Even Haerra At NAB Show 2017, Panasonic again showcased their 4k 360 live streaming camera, only this time, they confirmed that it would be entering production.  Panasonic is now the third major camera manufacturer (after Ricoh Pentax and Nikon) to enter the growing 360 camera industry. About five months ago at the International Broadcast Equipment Exhibition, Panasonic showed a prototype 360 camera with 4k live streaming .  At NAB Show 2017, Panasonic confirmed that they would be producing the 360 camera, called the 360 Live Camera (AW-360).  They also revealed more specifications. The AW-360 consists of a camera head (AW-360C10) and a base unit (AW-360B10).  Here are the key specifications: - four 1/2.3-inch sensors - four fisheye lenses with f/2.4 aperture - video resolution: 3840 x 1920 - frame rates: 25, 29.97, 50, 59.94 The AW-360 streaming has very low latency and is uncompressed for high image quality. Another...

720VV's O3 is a 360 camera with near-4k resolution and livestreaming. Here are the key specifications: - three lenses - 1/2.3 inch sensors - video resolution:  3500 x 1750 @ 25 fps - livestream or realtime stitching resolution: 2560 x 1280 @ 25 fps - mic jack input - AC adapter available - 3 hours battery life - 380g The manufacturer posted this computer generated picture to illustrate its size: There are sample videos here .  The field of view is not exactly fully spherical because of the large nadir.  I  estimate  around 330 degrees FOV.  The stitching looks very good, although the dynamic range looks quite limited. It appears that the O3 will retail for 7,000 yuan (around US$1,015).  The O3 is being offered on a Chinese crowdfunding site, for 5,000 yuan (around US$725) with an early bird price of 4,000 yuan (around US$580) .   Update :  the price in the US will be $699 .  According to 720VV's representative, they will be shi...

On Friday January 20, the United States will inaugurate its 45th President, Donald Trump.  USA Today Network will be recording and livestreaming the inauguration in 360. The camera that USA Today will be using is a  Nikon Keymission 360 (review and related posts here) , a camera that is actionproof (waterproof, freezeproof, shockproof) and currently the only 4k consumer camera that stitches videos automatically in-camera, making it useful for journalists who need a quick turnaround time. The Keymission is also  the 360 camera used by the Associated Press . The Keymission doesn't have livestreaming capabilities so USA Today will be using a modified version of the Keymission. Thank you very much to Jim Jensen (moderator of Google's Photo Sphere Community ) for bringing this to my attention!

A couple of weeks ago, Twitter and Periscope had their first  360 livestreaming .  Right now, only select accounts are being allowed to livestream, but Twitter and Periscope are gradually rolling out the feature.   HOW TO DO A 360 LIVESTREAM ON TWITTER AND PERISCOPE  First, you need a compatible camera.  The only camera officially supported right now is the Insta360 Nano (reviewed here) , although there will be support for Insta360 Air (hands-on here) and Giroptic iO (hands-on here) as well when they are released.   If you do have a compatible camera, you'll need a Periscope or Twitter account.  (If you already have a Twitter account, that will work as a Periscope account).   You can then get on the Periscope waitlist here .  According to some Insta360 Nano users, the wait time is only about a week! I've requested to be on the waitlist and will let you guys know as soon as I get approval. Update : I got approval, I've tried the live ...

IdealoEye presented three 360 cameras and two VR headsets at CES 2017. IDEALOEYE C2 The C2 is Idealoeye's entry-level 360 camera with two lenses, with a new design that looks strikingly different from any other 360 camera (in fact, I initially thought it was just a non-360 camera), and a mode dial on the side.  It can record fully spherical 360 video at 4096 x 2048 @ 30fps , slightly higher than most other consumer 360 cameras (which are usually 3840 x 1920).  The C2 can also livestream in 360 at 4k via RTMP, with 30mbps bitrate. One unusual feature is that it is equipped with a fan for dissipating heat .  I believe the unusual design actually functions as a radiator that further assists heat management.  Idealoeye claims that it can operate for 1.5 hours. The C2 also has two (?) 3.5mm stereo microphone input jacks.  Having even one mic input jack is a rare feature in consumer 360 cameras.  I don't know if it mixes the audio from two microphones or wh...

I got to see the Sphericam Beast and Sphericam 2 , two professional 360 cameras with livestreaming capability.  I got to meet their CEO/Founder Jeffrey Martin and their CRO Gaja Zornada.  They showed a livestream from each camera and they both looked very good from the large LCD screen. According to Jeffrey, they are working on improving the Sphericam 2, and will be launching it in early 2017.   Here is the official Sphericam website .

Insta360 Air is a 360 camera for Android.  At $119 ($99 for preorders), it is currently one of the most affordable spherical 360 cameras.  In addition, it features 360 livestreaming.  I got to see and try the Insta360 Air at CES 2017.  Here are my impressions. Update: I've received the Insta360 Air.  Here are my first impressions! Update : check out the sample video from the Insta360 Air ! These days, more people are aware of 360 cameras, but 360 cameras are still relatively uncommon.  Insta360's philosophy is to start with a device that people are very familiar with -- a smartphone -- and enable it to capture 360 photos and videos through an accessory.  This strategy was genius and it has worked very well with the Insta360 Nano for iPhone .  Now, Insta360 has created a 360 camera for Android as well. Unlike the Nano, the Air is not intended to operate independently and must be attached to a phone when being used.  The benefit of this design...

A lot of you have asked about Hubblo, a 3D 360 camera with 4k resolution and realtime stitching, which I posted about a month ago .  I got to see Hubblo at CES and I'm glad I made the extra trip to see it! Here's a recap of the Hubblo's specs: - six lenses, 200 degree FOV each - fully spherical field of view in 3D - video resolution: 4k @ 30fps, mp4 format - 4000mAh battery (1 hour), or 12V DC adapter - streaming via RTSP / RTMP When I first found out about Hubblo almost a month ago, I was frankly quite skeptical.  First of all, the design is a little unusual.  Most 3D 360 cameras I've seen have 8 or more lenses.  Second, I had doubts about how well it could stitch 3D video in realtime, or if it could truly stitch in realtime at all. I got to see the Hubblo in person at CES.  I had the chance to try viewing the livestream using a VR headset, and it was indeed livestreaming in 3D 360.  There was a delay of a few seconds, but I still thought it was amazi...

Giroptic iO is a new 360 camera for the iPhone with 360 livestreaming capability.  At CES 2017, Giroptic representatives demonstrated the ease of use of the Giroptic iO. Here is a demo of Giroptic iO: As you can see from the video, there is very little lag in the live preview, and downloading the stitched video to your phone is fast. One thing I was very impressed with about the Giroptic iO is its 360 livestreaming, which was shockingly easy.   On the Insta360 Nano, another 360 camera for the iPhone, livestreaming is still a little bit technical.  You would need to input a server URL, and a stream name / key, which you need to obtain from a streaming platform such as YouTube (Update: an update to the Insta360 Nano app has simplified live streaming ). Giroptic iO also has that option but in addition there is a simplified streaming to YouTube.  All you have to do is login to your YouTube account from within the Giroptic iO app, then switch the Giroptic iO to livestre...

At CES 2017, Ricoh demonstrated their recently-announced Ricoh R livestreaming camera .  Here are my hands-on impressions. The Ricoh R looked a little larger than the Ricoh Theta S and its grooves gave it a very industrial look, in sharp contrast to the Theta's sleek outline. The other significant difference between the Ricoh R and the Theta is that the Ricoh R has no internal battery and must be powered by an adapter, making it unsuitable for use by most consumers and limiting it primarily to professional or industrial use. The Ricoh R performed pretty much as advertised.  They had a couple of Ricoh R cameras showing a livestream and it was stitched smoothly.   In contrast, the Theta S requires its videos to be stitched on the phone or desktop app. There was a lag of a few seconds from the time of capture to the time it is shown on the screen, although I wasn't sure how much of that lag is due to the Theta's stitching or from YouTube. One thing I found out is that the Ri...

At CES 2017, Insta360 announced the Insta360 Pro, a 3D 360 camera with 8k resolution and realtime stitching. Here are the key features: - six lenses - 3D 360 video up to 6k (6400 x 6400) resolution (top-bottom 3D format) - up to 8k resolution (7680 x 3840) for video that is four times more detailed than 4k. - high speed video: it can record at 4k (3840 x 1920) at 100 fps. - raw format support: this allows the photographer to control the color temperature in postprocessing without loss of image quality. - realtime stitching up to 4k resolution, with either H.264 or H.265 compression. - Insta360 Pro can livestream in 4k, and the livestream can be shared to Facebook, YouTube, or Twitter. The Insta360 Pro will cost $3,000 and will be available on Amazon.  At that price, it is more cost-effective than the GoPro Omni to which it is being compared.  The Omni also has 8k resolution but its videos must be stitched manually, and it costs $5,000. Insta360 Pro will be shown at Insta360's ...

Ricoh announced a new 360-degree camera called the Ricoh R.  It bears some resemblance to the popular Ricoh Theta but has a different purpose. The Ricoh R has 2k video @ 30fps and can livestream in 360 continuously for 24 hours.  Videos are stitched in-camera, unlike the Theta, which requires videos to be stitched on a phone or desktop.  Earlier reports said the video was 2k but I saw it at CES 2017 and they said the video is the same 1920 x 960 resolution. The Ricoh R has no internal battery and requires an AC adapter.  This suggests that the Ricoh R is not intended as a consumer camera but as a camera for industrial use such as for security / surveillance, or for livestreaming special events. Here is the official website . Thank you to Pepe Vasquez for bringing this to my attention!

Insta360 has extended the preorder period for the  Insta360 Air , its 360 camera for your Android phone, while production remains on schedule. Insta360 Air is a 360 camera that attaches to your Android phone.  Because of its attractive price and features, it already far exceeded its crowdfunding campaign goal (currently more than 500%).   In response, Insta360 announced that due to the popularity of the Insta360 Air, they would extend the crowdfunding campaign for another 30 days, giving more people the chance to preorder the Insta360 Air at a substantial 17% discount compared to the MSRP ($99 preorder price vs. $119 MSRP). Insta360 assured current backers that production remains on schedule for delivery in March 2017.  Unlike pie-in-the-sky crowdfunding projects, the Air is being made by Insta360, an established company that has already produced and sold the Insta360 4k and Insta360 Nano cameras. Insta360 posted photos of the first batch of Air cameras, and confir...