360 rumors

​ The HTC Vive ( first impressions here ) included three apps in its software bundle: Tilt Brush, Fantastic Contraption, and Job Simulator.  HTC Vive is now changing the bundle to include: Tilt Brush The Gallery episode 1: Call of the StarSeed, and Zombie Training Simulator. ​ The Gallery is an interactive VR adventure with full room-scale support, and Episode 1: Call of the Starseed is sci-fi adventure.  Time Magazine called The Gallery one of the top 5 launch games for the HTC Vive. ​ Zombie Training Simulator is a family-friendly shooting game where you shoot zombie targets to prepare for the zombie apocalypse.  (Achievement unlocked: used "family friendly" and "zombie apocalypse" in the same sentence.) Tilt Brush allows you to paint/sculpt 3D works of art in VR. The new bundle is effective today.  Here's the official announcement . RELATED POSTS HTC Vive First Impressions Oculus Rift First Impressions Playstation VR First Impressions $...

Thomas O'Brien is a professional photographer.  He spent 8 hours inside a volcano with a scientific expedition team.  In addition to his regular equipment, he also took with him the Samsung Gear 360 ( reviewed here ) and a Ricoh Theta S ( reviewed here ).  Thomas shared an amazing 360 photo of the inside of a volcano, captured by the Ricoh Theta. Click on the photo to see the 360 version  on his Facebook page: I'm hoping Thomas will also post samples from the Gear 360!

Nikon posted a new sample 360 video from the Nikon Keymission 360.  This time, it's a sailing video with ocean racing legend Franck Cammas. Here is the video: The sample seems to show not only the Keymission's water resistance but also effective electronic image stabilization.  The stitching looks impressive as well, with almost undetectable stitch lines. This sample is the latest in a series of Keymission 360 samples recently posted by Nikon.  Nikon announced the Keymission 360 in January 2016 and promised delivery in Spring.  However, they later announced that the Keymission 360 will be delayed due to software issues.  Given that the stitching has vastly improved from these recent samples compared to samples from earlier this year, it seems that Nikon has made great progress on the software. RELATED POSTS: Nikon Keymission 360 update and samples

The Aerial Pack with the Kodak SP360 4k for the 3DR Solo Drone is now available.  The Aerial Pack ( previously announced here ) allows you to capture fully spherical aerial 360-degree videos without the drone in the shot, eliminating the need to clone out the drone, which can be a tedious task for 360 videos. Here is a sample 360 video with the aerial pack. The Aerial Pack includes the  Kodak SP360 4k Dual Pro  pack, which has emerged as having  the best video quality for 360 cameras , short of a multicamera rig costing thousands of dollars (to say nothing about the need for expensive stitching software). The Aerial Pack includes not only the special dual-camera drone mount but also includes all the accessories that are included in the Dual Pro Pack, including a pair of SP360 4k cameras, the remote for syncing both SP360 4k cameras, and the special back-to-back mount. The Aerial Pack is made only for the 3DR Solo quadcopter drone, which was one of the first dro...

With 360 videos, any shaking is exaggerated and becomes quite noticeable, so 360 videos benefit tremendously from stabilization. Smoovie stabilizer is a compact, pocketable stabilizer made for smartphones and small cameras (under 250g) that may also work for smaller 360 cameras.  It uses a handle with a magnetized gimbal and a counterweight for stability.  The basic Smoovie comes with a smartphone holder, while the Smoovie Plus adds a 1/4-20 adapter. I found the Smoovie attractive because of the relatively low price compared to other stabilizers.  I backed the Kickstarter project for it and received the Smoovie Plus yesterday, around two months delayed from the planned release, which is not bad for crowdfunded projects. PARTS OF THE SMOOTHIE shown with optional 1/4-20 adapter The Smoovie has a smartphone holder which you can accommodate typical phones (but not phablets).  There's a knob for adjusting the tilt angle of the smartphone hol...

There are many ways to rotate a 360 photo, or a 360 logo or watermark.  Here's an easy way that is also lossless. ROTATING A 360 PHOTO There are several ways to rotate a 360 photo, such as by changing the photosphere metadata.  One easy way to rotate a photo is by using the Offset filter in Photoshop. 1. Open the equirectangular 360 panorama. 2. Apply Filter ... Other ... Offset.  Check the "Wrap Around" option. 3. Specify the horizontal offset to rotate the panorama.  If you put a check on the Preview option, it will show you the change right away. That's all there is to it. ROTATING A 360 LOGO OR WATERMARK You can use a similar process to rotate a 360 logo or watermark. 1. Paste your logo as a separate layer, and select it. 2. Apply Filter ... Other ... Offset.  Check the "Wrap Around" option. 3. Specify the horizontal offset to rotate the logo. That's it!  Here's the result: RELATED POSTS: Fast and easy way to add a logo or watermark to your 360 p...

Facebook added two powerful new tools for 360 video creators: a Guide to direct the viewer's attention, and a Heatmap to identify the points of greatest interest. Guide Guide allows the video author to add points of interest in the video.  The perspective will automatically pan to these points of interest, although the viewer will still be able to look at another direction if they so choose.  The viewer can also resume the Guide by clicking or tapping on the compass. The Guide is one way of solving the issue of a viewer getting "lost" in the 360 video and missing the important part of the video. Here are the instructions Facebook posted for using the Guide: • When you upload your video to Facebook, check "This video was recorded in 360° format" • Head to the new "360 Controls" tab • Check the box that says "Enable Guide" • Play through your video to identify the points of interest that you don't want your followers to miss • To add a poin...