360 rumors

You can take 65-megapixel 360 photos in RAW format with no parallax stitching error with the Pano5+1 Mark II, a panoramic head for GoPro Hero 5 (with an included adapter for Hero 3 and 4). The Pano5+1 Mark II is the new version of the original Pano5+1 .  The new version has several improvements including: - compatibility with GoPro Hero 3, 4, or 5 (natively compatible with Hero 5, and an included adapter for Hero 3 and 4) - fully spherical (the original version required manually holding the camera for a downshot). - transparent body casts less of a shadow - the Pano5+1 doubles as a case for the Hero 5. - includes a carrying case. By using a Hero5, it is possible to take photos in RAW for maximum image quality and then stitch the edited images together.  Please note the kit does not include stitching software.  I believe you should be able to use PanoramaStudio 3 . Here is the video Here is a sample 360 photo .  The photo is of a car interior, which is usually a diffi...

The Xiaomi Mi Sphere has emerged as a dark horse 360 camera that has surprising photo AND video quality (it appears to have the best of both compared to consumer 360 cameras ).  However, one issue is that it has limited compatibility with smartphones, requiring a Snapdragon 625 or better processor in order to export the full video resolution.  Xiaomi's app has limited iPhone exports to 2304 x 1152 -- less than half of the full resolution. One solution to get the full resolution out of the Xiaomi is to use a third party software to stitch the videos, and Muvee Stitcher is probably the most affordable such software.    Ulf Brusquini shared this tutorial for stitching Xiaomi Mi Sphere videos in full resolution using Muvee Stitcher for Mac. Here is Ulf's tutorial: Be sure to check out Ulf's YouTube channel ! Besides using a third party stitcher, another solution is to buy a fully compatible smartphone just for rendering purposes.  Previously it seemed that you wou...

I've posted a few times about the Panono, my favorite 360 camera for photography because of its hyper-detailed 108mp photos.  But the Panono costs $2,000.  Fortunately, you can capture high-resolution 360 photos with Panohero, a panoramic head for GoPro and Yi action cameras.  Not only will the photo have resolutions of 72 megapixels or higher, but there will also be no parallax stitching error. UPDATE : Panohero provided sample files shot on GoPro that you can use to try stitching yourself here . Before all-in-one 360 cameras were invented, photographers shot panoramas with traditional (non-360) cameras.  Today, panoramic photography is still the best way to capture 360 photos with detail that cannot be matched by existing 360 cameras. One problem with panoramic photography is that it's quite technical.  First, you need a suitable lens such as a fisheye lens, which are not always cheap.  Second, you'll need to shoot the panorama properly.  If you just...

Panono is the highest resolution all-in-one 360 camera with 36 lenses and 108 megapixel resolution. Its only drawback is that the stitching is often not perfect and is tedious to correct.  In this post, I will discuss how you can stitch Panono photos yourself, or fix Panono stitching errors. Panono is my favorite 360 camera for photography.  Its images are very detailed, and the dynamic range is unequaled among 360 cameras.  Its colors look natural and images look fantastic with only minor editing.  Here is a sample: THE CATCH However, until now I could not recommend the Panono without qualifications because the stitching is usually not perfect, especially when there are subjects close to its minimum distance of around 1.5 meters.  When there are stitching errors, they are often glaring, and ruin an otherwise excellent shot.  Worse still, they are not easy to correct in post. When you have often unpredictable errors like this, it's hard to rely on it for pr...

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 .

The Mac desktop stitching software for the 2017 Samsung Gear 360 is now available! Here is the link to the Mac software . Here are the requirements for the software . I don't know yet if the 2017 stitching software can also stitch photos and videos of the original Gear 360. Samsung also posted the requirements for the PC version of the desktop software (Gear 360 Action Director 2).  In case you missed it, the link to the new Action Director software is here .  The new software can work with both the original and the new Gear 360.  The software can be activated with either the original Gear 360 or the 2017 Gear 360's serial number. Meanwhile the 2017 Gear 360 is still pretty hard to find outside of Korea and parts of Europe.  However, you can buy it on eBay where reseller prices have dropped to as low as $260 (just $10 more than the MSRP) . Thank you very much to Axel Baumann of  www.video-tv355.de for sharing this info!

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...