360 rumors

Crowdfunded 360 camera Nico360 just posted an update.  Here are my thoughts. Back in June 2016,  Nico360 launched a crowdfunded 360 camera that offered amazing specs, including Adobe DNG raw support and 360 wireless livestreaming.  Delivery was promised October 2016.  It's now May 2017 and there is still no sign of the camera. Nico360 did post an update today , saying that they encountered overheating issues.  They said solving the overheating problems "will cost another three or four weeks."   But they did release the [final?] resolution of the camera: - photo resolution: 6912 x 3456 - video resolution: up to 3840 x 1920 @ 24fps - live streaming: up to 2560 x 1280 @ 30fps. Those are indeed juicy looking specs.  The problem is they seem too good to be true.  The photo resolution is identical to the Xiaomi Mijia Sphere 360, but the Sphere 360, backed by the financial resources of Xiaomi, has video that tops out at 3.5K, and is selling fo...

After two months of silence, the Nico360 team issued an update regarding its crowdfunded camera. Nico360 is a crowdfunded camera that is supposed to have many cutting-edge features such as raw support, in an affordable and compact 360 camera. Nico360 was successfully funded in August, raising almost six times its crowdfunding goal.  It was originally promised for delivery in October, which was an unrealistic deadline.  Since then, it has been delayed a few times.  Many Nico360 backers were dismayed by the lack of updates.  Nico360's CEO Jerry Zhao apologized and promised more frequent updates going forward. Here is a summary of the most recent update: - Memory will now use a removable Micro SD card.  It will include a 32GB card. - Shipping of the first batch is scheduled for March 2017.  (In my opinion, this is still too optimistic.) - To make the camera more waterproof, they are increasing the thickness of the case. - The battery capacity increased from...

Nico360 is touted as the world's smallest fully spherical 360-degree camera.  When it was announced, the video resolution had been 1440p.  However, the Nico360 creators established a stretch goal at $200,000 to add 4k video.  They reached that milestone a while back.  But there were many questions about the 4k video, such as the framerate.  The creators have now added a little more information about the 4k video . According to Nico360, the 4k video will be 3840 x 1920 @ 24fps.  This is a slightly lower framerate than the Samsung Gear 360  (3840 x 1920 @ 30 fps) but higher than the Insta360 4k beta (3840 x 1920 @ 15fps).  Nico360 also said they might be able to increase it to 25 to 30 fps by optimization. Nico360 said that adding 4k capability will add one to two months to the production schedule.  Rather than delay the Nico360 production, they decided that they would release the Nico360 without the 4k capability.  The 4k capabilit...

Nico360 is a fully spherical 360 camera that aims to be the world's smallest. It is currently being crowdfunded through Indiegogo, with delivery due in October.  The campaign finally issued a long-awaited update, including new sample photos and a few more details. Nico360's crowdfunding campaign had been going strong, raising about 5 times its crowdfunding goal.  About 3 weeks ago, Nico360 posted sample images from its prototype , which caused some controversy because it appeared that it was not gamma-corrected, and its white balance was wrong.  In response, Nico360 promised an update with new sample images by August 7.   When there were no sample images, many backers were upset. Nico360 finally posted new samples: 360-degree versions are available here: http://get.nico360.com/20160814/1.html http://get.nico360.com/20160814/2.html http://get.nico360.com/20160814/3.html The new samples show some improved contrast and stitching compared to the previous sample. There i...

Nico360 is a very compact, waterproof 360-degree camera.  Yesterday, they posted an actual full resolution sample photo.  The photo stirred some controversy among backers.  Here's why I'm not concerned. Here's the sample photo they posted yesterday : Some of the reactions to the photo:       " The new upload photo quality let me shocked!  I felt a little disappointed. What can be refunded? "       " @Mr. Huang    Photo quality is terrible…………. how come………….. because low light? everything are blur…… and the color is strange…… and so heavy noise….. really not acceptable …… "       " The 360 photo quality no so good!  I felt a little disappointed. " The reactions prompted  Nico360 to apologize about the image quality of the sample .        " The firmware is not finished especially the ISP(Image Signal Processor) part. We integrated parts of the whole methods but did not have enough time...

The Nico 360 is touted as the smallest 360-degree camera ( previewed here ).  Moreover, it is waterproof, has 25mp photo resolution, and several other features.  The Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign is doing very well (so far, more than 3x the funding goal, with a month left).  Hit the jump to see the sample and other good news. In response to requests from backers, Nico 360 provided a sample photo.    Here is the full resolution photo sample .  It has a resolution of 6912 x 3456 (around 24mp), a little less than advertised but close enough, imo.   You can see the 360 version here . a portion of the sample 360 photo The colors, contrast, and stitching need to be fixed, but the resolution looks legitimately 24mp (as opposed to be merely interpolated as in some cheap 360 cameras ).  Nico 360 also said that there will be a stretch goal to upgrade the video from 2k to 4k.  If the stretch goal is reached, the price will increase, but current backe...

Would you be interested in an extremely compact, fully spherical, waterproof 360-degree camera with live streaming?  Did I mention it's only $199?  Check out the Nico 360 ! ​ The Nico360 is claimed to be the smallest fully spherical 360-degree camera.  It competes for that title with 360 cameras such as the Luna and Nikon Keymission, but it's definitely one of the smallest, if not the smallest I've seen. It has very interesting key features: two 16mp sensors photo resolution: up to 25 megapixels video resolution: 2560 x 1440 @ 30fps electronic image stabilization live streaming without a PC Adobe RAW/DNG format available Bluetooth and 5G wi-fi waterproof compatible with iOS and Android 32GB internal storage MSRP: $199 This is frankly, quite incredible.  Other than the ho-hum 2k video resolution and internal non-expandable storage, this seems very close to ideal 360 camera for consumers.  The raw capability is quite impressive - it's one of the very few 360 camer...