360 rumors

Xiaomi updated their app to fix a few things, including enabling users to export gyro-stabilized 360 videos from the Mi Sphere 360 camera!  Check out the video! I've had the Xiaomi Mijia Mi Sphere 3.5K and the camera itself is amazing.  The photo and video quality are impressive ( see here for photo comparison , and see here for video comparison ). The only problem was the Mi Sphere's app.  The Mi Sphere app can connect to the Mi Sphere easily and I can control the camera, see the live preview, etc.   The issue is the stitching and export of videos .  In short, I wasn't able to export stabilized 360 video on previous versions of the Mi Sphere app. On an iPhone 6 and SE, it seemed that export resolution was limited to 2304 x 1152.  On my Samsung S6, I could only get 1920 x 960.  On my Samsung S8+, I could get the full resolution, but only by using their video editor, which was limited to 5 minutes. I also noticed that there was image stabilization , but...

Here's a review of the 2017 Samsung Gear VR, and how it differs from the 2016 Gear VR (yes, there are a few differences) and Google Daydream.  Also: which is better for the Gear VR: a Samsung S8 or S8+? Not counting Google Cardboard, Samsung Gear VR is the most popular VR headset, with over 5 million users as of January 2017.  If you haven't tried it, it's easy to dismiss it as an overpriced cardboard headset, but you would be mistaken -- it's totally different, and the experience is much closer to desktop VR than Google Cardboard. The 2017 Gear VR is not much different from the original Gear VR in terms of its immersion, so I'll refer you to my original Gear VR review here .  Instead, this post will focus on the differences between the 2017 Gear VR and the 2016 Gear VR as well as Google Cardboard. SAMSUNG GEAR VR  2016 vs 2017 The primary difference between the 2016 and 2017 Gear VR is the motion controller.   The controller has several buttons: - a trigger but...

At Google I/O 2017, Google announced that YouTube apps for TVs will now allow you to watch 360 videos and look around using your remote control, making it possible to view 360 videos with your friends. Here's a video preview: With 360 video on the @YouTube app, you'll feel like you're the middle of the action from your couch, on the biggest screen you own. #io17 pic.twitter.com/Y3LmQaKD54 — Google (@Google) May 17, 2017 I tried this with Google Chromecast 2 and with the YouTube app on my Amazon Fire, but only saw the equirectangular version.  I'll keep testing and trying it out on my other equipment. In any case, for 360 video creators, this is awesome news because it expands the audience for 360 videos.  Hopefully, this also leads to an increased interest in 360 cameras, especially among those who don't already have one.

Panono announced yesterday that they've filed for bankruptcy.  What will happen now? Panono is the highest resolution all-in-one 360 camera, with 36 lenses and 108 megapixels (in fact, the equirectangular stitched photo is 134 megapixels).   I recently showed its spectacular image quality . Despite being an excellent product, Panono is quite costly.  It used to be $1,500 which was already expensive, then they raised the price to $2,000.   With such a high price, there could only be so much demand for it. Yesterday, Panono announced that they were filing for bankruptcy  (I saw the announcement only this morning). NOW WHAT? Bankruptcy doesn't necessarily mean that Panono will close shop.  I'm not a bankruptcy lawyer, so take this with a grain of salt: in bankruptcy, a company declares that it cannot pay its debts as they come due.  The court appoints an administrator to control the company for the best interests of the creditors.  In Germany, as in ...

Hi everyone, just wanted to share the exciting news that  Immersive Shooter  and I are teaming up! Immersive Shooter is a resource for journalists and creators who create 360 videos and VR content.  They share industry news, gear reviews, interviews with top VR journalists and filmmakers, tutorials and more.  Its editor is Sarah Redohl, an award-winning journalist whom you may recognize as a VR correspondent for NewsShooter, and who has, among other things, presented at TedX, and whose work has been featured on the Washington Post, National Public Radio, and other nationwide media. She has also been recognized as one of Folio: Magazine’s 15 Under 30 young professionals driving media’s next-gen innovation. I'll be writing weekly column for Immersive Shooter called "Pass the Mic," which summarizes the top news in the 360 camera industry.   Here's my inaugural article ! Check out  Immersive Shooter  if you haven't done so.  If you're a fan of 360 Ru...

GPS and adventure equimpent manufacturer Garmin is launching the Virb 360, a rugged, waterproof fully spherical 360 camera with 5K 360 video on May 24, 2017.  Here's what we know so far. Key specifications and features so far: - two lenses - field of view: fully spherical - video resolution: 5K - Waterproof to 10 meters, probably without an additional housing - 360 audio - Wi-Fi - G-Metrix captures action data (such as temperature, altimeter, etc.) and may be able to overlay it on the 360 video. Here is a teaser video: So far, on paper, this looks like the camera that people were hoping for the Nikon Keymission 360.  I'm somewhat concerned that the distance between lenses looks quite large.  I hope the stitching is up to par.  I also hope that the stitching in underwater videos takes refraction into account. Other features that I am SPECULATING that it will have: - shockproof up to 2 meters, possibly with replaceable lenses - live streaming - in-camera stitching, po...

PhotoGearNews' Lok Cheung takes a look at the Yi 360 VR and the Yi Halo. Lok Cheung is well known to photographers as the former colleague of Kai Wong at DigitalRev (before they both left).  At DigitalRev, Lok was the one who was most interested in 360 cameras.  Anyway, he's now at PhotoGearNews. In this video from NAB Show 2017, Lok covers the Yi 360 VR with 5.7K and the Yi Halo 2nd-generation 8K 3D 360 Google Jump rig: In case you missed it, I also have a video from NAB about the Yi 360 VR. Too bad I didn't run into Lok when I was at NAB.  Kai posted a comment on my old blog one time. It would have been nice to say hello.  Perhaps next time!