360 rumors

Kodak's highly anticipated Orbit360 camera has still not been released in the US.  However, it was released in Japan back in May , and predictably, resellers are now selling it on eBay . The retail price of the Orbit is 59,500 JPY ($532 USD), so the eBay prices have a little bit of a premium, which is not unexpected given eBay's fees. Meanwhile, a sample non-360 video from the Orbit360 has been posted.  One of the unique features of the Orbit360 is that it has asymmetric lenses that allow it to function as three types of cameras: an ultrawide 197-degree, an ultrawide 235-degree, or a fully spherical 360 degree camera.  Although other fully spherical 360 cameras can be cropped to achieve a similar effect,  their resolution will be significantly lower if cropped to the same field of view as an action camera. The Orbit360's ultrawide 197-degree lens, however, captures 4K video.  It can therefore offer the same 4K video resolution as GoPro   or other ...

Here is a new sample 360 video from the Kodak Orbit360, this time stabilized with a Guru 360 gimbal , the first affordable 3-axis gimbal for 360 cameras. One of the most effective ways to improve your 360 video is with a 360 camera gimbal.  Not only does it make the video more comfortable to watch, but its stabilization effect is mesmerizing.  It's an easy way to elevate your 360 video over non-stabilized 360 videos. KouGa Ch , who has posted several sample 360 videos from the Kodak Orbit360, used a Guru 360 gimbal in his latest sample video: Meanwhile, an anonymous Kodak employee said that the Orbit360, released on May 25 in Japan, will be released around June 21 in the US.  I would take it with a grain of salt, though, since the Orbit's release date has been pushed back more than once, to put it mildly. The Orbit360 is not yet available for order.   But you can get the Guru 360 from GimbalGuru  ( reviewed here ).

Here are the first 360 video samples from actual users of the Kodak PIXPRO Orbit360 (aka 4KVR360)! Here is the playlist.  Use the menu on the upper left button and/or the chapter search buttons to switch between videos. I will keep adding videos as I find them so you may want to bookmark this page or the 360 Rumors YouTube channel . What do you think of the samples?  Let me know in the comments!

Here's a new 360 photo from the highly anticipated Kodak PIXPRO Orbit360 from Kevin Cruz, and it looks pretty impressive! The Kodak PIXPRO Orbit360 is a new 360 camera with a unique asymmetric lens design, allowing it to function as three different cameras: an ultrawide, a hemispherical camera, or a fully spherical camera.  One of its lenses is the same as that of the Kodak PIXPRO SP360 4K, which I found to have the best overall video quality in last year's 4K video comparison .  At the same time, having both lenses in the same camera makes it much easier to shoot and process photos and videos.  This combination of convenience and image quality is why the Orbit360 is one of the most highly anticipated 360 cameras in 2017. A few weeks ago, Kodak Orbit360 beta tester Kevin Cruz shared sample videos .  Now he has posted a 360 photo from the Orbit360: The 360 photo looks quite impressive in its detail and dynamic range, especially on the smaller front lens (the one facin...

Kodak PIXPRO posted a new video highlighting the features of its highly-anticipated Orbit360 camera (also called the 4KVR360). Here is the video! If I recall correctly, this is the same video that they showed at their booth at VRLA. As with the new Orbit360 mini-site , the video places heavy emphasis on the Orbit360's asymmetric lenses, which enable it to function in three different ways: as an ultrawide fisheye, as a hemispherical camera, or as a fully spherical camera. The video also showed a screenshot of the stitching app, which looks like it has the same interface as the current stitching app for the SP360 4K Dual Pro, but with a different name (PIXPRO VR Utility) implying that it is a separate program. One new feature is a "Wi-Fi Control" tab, which is not in the SP360 4K's app.  This seems to imply that there will be a tethered mode, and I *speculate* that it might even be usable for some type of live streaming. As with the current SP360 4K app, the software ha...

Kodak PIXPRO has created a minisite for the Orbit360 4K  that shows the Orbit360's unique features and the available packages. The site has a new interactive, fully spherical Orbit360 photo that you can check out.  The photo shows very good quality and excellent dynamic range. The site also showcases the Orbit360's features and places heavy emphasis on the Orbit360's unique asymmetric lenses, which allow it to be used in three different ways: as a fully spherical 360 camera, a 235-degree hemispherical camera ("dome mode") or as an ultrawide 197-degree rectilinear fisheye camera. The site also shows the two different packages available: the adventure package and the satellite package.  The extras in the satellite package are the selfie stick, the additional remote control (which can switch between photo or video remotely, as well as between the fields of view), and the housing which can be used to attach the Orbit360 to GoPro-style accessories. Unfortunately there ...

Here are among the first sample videos from the highly anticipated Kodak PIXPRO Orbit360 (aka 4KVR360)!!!   Update: new video added! The videos are by Kevin Cruz (Youtube channel here)  and he has confirmed that these videos are indeed from the Orbit360.  First, here is a tiny planet video, created with the included desktop software for the Orbit360. The colors look very rich, and the camera seems to have only minor flare artifacts in this sample.  As with previous samples, the exposure and colors between the two lenses appear very similar. Next, here is a 360 video, fast-forwarded. UPDATE : And here is a 4K 360 video posted by Kevin on YouTube (at normal speed): Once again, the colors are rich and the exposure is spot-on.  There is a little bit of flare on the rear lens but it's nothing unusual, and the same issue affects nearly all 360 cameras.  The video quality looks very impressive to me!  Let me know your thoughts in the comments! Meanwhile, Japa...

The app for controlling the Kodak Orbit360 has been uploaded, both for iOS and Android. Kodak PIXPRO's highly anticipated Orbit360 (also called 4KVR360) hasn't been released yet but Kodak has already released the phone app for both iOS and Android.  It's called PIXPRO 360 VR Remote Viewer.   Here it is on Android and here is the link for iOS . The app description says, You can connect to KODAK PIXPRO ORBIT360 4K (or KODAK PIXPRO 4KVR360) via this APP, realizing the functions of shooting, recording, changing the shooting parameters, playback and editing the moving images easily.  For iOS, the minimum requirement appears to be an iPhone 5S.  The Google Play Store doesn't specify what the requirements are for Android. A screenshot from the app seems to show that it has a self-timer feature (finally!), a function which had been missing from the Kodak SP360 4K Dual Pro. Another screen shot shows that the app has a simple video editor that will enable you to trim videos (...

I saw several 360 cameras for consumers at CES 2017, but the one that I am most excited about is the Kodak Orbit360 4k .  Here's why. In 2016, there were several 360 cameras, but all of them had one or more significant issues.  For example the Ricoh Theta S has great photos, but its video resolution is too low.  The Samsung Gear 360 has great photos and good videos, but is compatible only with high end Samsung phones, and needs an S7 or a desktop to get the full video quality.  The Nikon Keymission 360 is actionproof and stitches videos in-camera, but it's soft at edges, and has connectivity issues.  Kodak PIXPRO's own SP360 4k Dual Pro stands out for its video quality but it too has many usability issues. The new Orbit360 4k (formerly called the 4KVR360 -- thank goodness for the name change!) is a new intermediate-level 360 camera that seems to check all the boxes. The Orbit360 4k has an unusual design.  It uses the same lens as the SP360 4k with a 235...

One of the 360 cameras I was most excited about at CES 2017 was the Orbit360 4k , Kodak PIXPRO's successor to the SP360 4k Dual Pro .  Here's a video showing the realtime stitching quality: Here is a larger version of the video . In the video above, I was about 3 to 4 feet away from the camera, which was raised around 8 feet above.  Overall, I thought the stitching was quite good.  Obviously at very close distances, the stitching looks harsh but you can't expect Kodak to suspend the laws of physics.  At farther distances, the stitching looks seamless.  At around 3 to 4 feet, the stitching still looks decent.  You have to be pretty much exactly halfway between the lenses before there is noticeable stitching error. exactly half way between the lenses (Reminder: please note that these are photos of a TV showing a livestream -- it is definitely nowhere as good as the actual image quality of the camera.) Note also that this stitching was in realtime, using a tem...

The Kodak Orbit360 4k ( formerly called the 4kVR360 ) is now available for pre-order, and you can get a promo code! UPDATE :  Kodak now stopped taking actual orders, and instead will just take preorders .   If you sign up on their page , they will email you a promo code that will give you a discount. Sorry for not being able to post this morning - I've been crazy busy with all the interesting things I've seen at CES... but this couldn't wait! I've seen the Orbit360 4k and they have a demo unit livestreaming at the Kodak booth.  And it looks pretty darn good! Here are the key specs: dual 20mp sensors one 235-degree lens, and one 155-degree lens f/2.4 aperture on both lenses photo resolution: 7360x3680 with RAW format video resolution: 3840x1920 @ 24fps (desktop stitching) or @15fps (in-camera stitching). As you know, the  SP360 4k has the best video quality among all the cameras I've tested  and one of the Orbit360's lenses is the same as the one in the...