Any commercial spherical 360 video cameras out there?
-
- One Eyed Hopeful
- Posts: 4
- Joined: Sun Jul 14, 2013 8:06 pm
Any commercial spherical 360 video cameras out there?
Hi everyone,
I am new to VR and just got my Rift 3 days ago : D needless to say I am now looking for any way at all to contribute to VR.
I am wondering if anyone knows where I could buy a 360 spherical video camera. From what I've read it's relatively easy to build one yourself, but I would much prefer something that I know will work
As a bonus, if anyone knows of a 360 spherical stereoscopic video camera... well... that would just blow my mind!!
I know MakingView, AirPano, and several other companies are using 360 spherical cameras, so I know they exist, but I can't seem to find a commercial one.
Thanks, everyone.
I am new to VR and just got my Rift 3 days ago : D needless to say I am now looking for any way at all to contribute to VR.
I am wondering if anyone knows where I could buy a 360 spherical video camera. From what I've read it's relatively easy to build one yourself, but I would much prefer something that I know will work
As a bonus, if anyone knows of a 360 spherical stereoscopic video camera... well... that would just blow my mind!!
I know MakingView, AirPano, and several other companies are using 360 spherical cameras, so I know they exist, but I can't seem to find a commercial one.
Thanks, everyone.
- yuriythebest
- Petrif-Eyed
- Posts: 2476
- Joined: Mon Feb 04, 2008 12:35 pm
- Location: Kiev, ukraine
Re: Any commercial spherical 360 video cameras out there?
a quick search reveled this, although it was from 2008 for 500$ - you might want to search some more - I don't think there are any mass market cameras, but enthusiast cameras should available somewhere:
http://www.panoguide.com/forums/commercial/5377/
regarding 360 Stereoscopic panoramas - if you are looking for a simple way then I doubt that's feasible
The problem lies with the core notion of such a camera- it's a sphere - that is - one point - as opposed to 2 viewpoints required for stereoscopic vision - having 2 panoramic cameras wouldn't solve the issue either as the 3d would be properly viewed only from one point
the other, doable but cumbersome solution is having a regular stereoscopic camera and stitching together the 3d images like so:
http://gameruscleverus.g0dsoft.com/pano ... ebest.html
this is what panoramic cameras (at least some of them) look like:
technically, a camera could be made with stereoscopic 3d in mind where each camera is actually a set of cameras like so:
indeed, you could hardwire some Fuji W3's or Minoru3D's for this task
Minoru 3D Webcam has a 42° FOV
The W3 has a low Fov BUT you could use Fuji W3's with Auxuilliary lense adapters which will give you a wide FOV like so:
you could In theory construct something akin to this:
there will of course be technical difficulties in synchronizing all those W3's, and since their battery live's aren't great you'll need power adapters:
also, if you are on a budget you might want to go with a single row of Fuji W3's to get started, as that might provide a good result as is.
if your scene is not in motion you can use a traditional 3d camera for shoot-> rotate a bit on tripod-> shoot then stich em all up:
http://www.stereopanoramas.com/blog/
http://www.panoguide.com/forums/commercial/5377/
regarding 360 Stereoscopic panoramas - if you are looking for a simple way then I doubt that's feasible
The problem lies with the core notion of such a camera- it's a sphere - that is - one point - as opposed to 2 viewpoints required for stereoscopic vision - having 2 panoramic cameras wouldn't solve the issue either as the 3d would be properly viewed only from one point
the other, doable but cumbersome solution is having a regular stereoscopic camera and stitching together the 3d images like so:
http://gameruscleverus.g0dsoft.com/pano ... ebest.html
this is what panoramic cameras (at least some of them) look like:
technically, a camera could be made with stereoscopic 3d in mind where each camera is actually a set of cameras like so:
indeed, you could hardwire some Fuji W3's or Minoru3D's for this task
Minoru 3D Webcam has a 42° FOV
The W3 has a low Fov BUT you could use Fuji W3's with Auxuilliary lense adapters which will give you a wide FOV like so:
you could In theory construct something akin to this:
there will of course be technical difficulties in synchronizing all those W3's, and since their battery live's aren't great you'll need power adapters:
also, if you are on a budget you might want to go with a single row of Fuji W3's to get started, as that might provide a good result as is.
if your scene is not in motion you can use a traditional 3d camera for shoot-> rotate a bit on tripod-> shoot then stich em all up:
http://www.stereopanoramas.com/blog/
Oculus Rift / 3d Sucks - 2D FTW!!!
-
- One Eyed Hopeful
- Posts: 1
- Joined: Fri Jul 19, 2013 7:10 am
Re: Any commercial spherical 360 video cameras out there?
360Heros has a whole line of 360 Video 360 Plug-n-Play Holders using GoPro Hero Cameras
Very cool product made out of high strength aircraft grade flexible nylon. Plug-n-Play the GoPro cameras and your off and running.
Underwater Examples
http://www.360heros.com/2013/03/360-her ... in-belize/
Drone UAV Examples
http://www.360heros.com/2013/03/omsi-36 ... nd-oregon/
360Heros Main Web Site: http://www.360heros.com
360Heros Shopping Center: http://shop.360heros.com
Very cool product made out of high strength aircraft grade flexible nylon. Plug-n-Play the GoPro cameras and your off and running.
Underwater Examples
http://www.360heros.com/2013/03/360-her ... in-belize/
Drone UAV Examples
http://www.360heros.com/2013/03/omsi-36 ... nd-oregon/
360Heros Main Web Site: http://www.360heros.com
360Heros Shopping Center: http://shop.360heros.com
-
- One Eyed Hopeful
- Posts: 4
- Joined: Sun Jul 14, 2013 8:06 pm
Re: Any commercial spherical 360 video cameras out there?
Thanks for the replies.
The 360Heroes cameras actually look pretty good! Does anyone who knows a bit more about this have a suggestion out of all the options?
The stereoscopic problem is of particular interest to me. Yuri - you mentioned that if you basically mashed a bunch of stereoscopic cameras together you could "stitch" together the 360 effect. But there will definitely be some information lost. Do you think that with enough cameras, the lost space will be small enough that the eye won't catch it? It's possible.
The 360Heroes cameras actually look pretty good! Does anyone who knows a bit more about this have a suggestion out of all the options?
The stereoscopic problem is of particular interest to me. Yuri - you mentioned that if you basically mashed a bunch of stereoscopic cameras together you could "stitch" together the 360 effect. But there will definitely be some information lost. Do you think that with enough cameras, the lost space will be small enough that the eye won't catch it? It's possible.
- yuriythebest
- Petrif-Eyed
- Posts: 2476
- Joined: Mon Feb 04, 2008 12:35 pm
- Location: Kiev, ukraine
Re: Any commercial spherical 360 video cameras out there?
I don't think that there will be any loss - just as with conventional 2d cameras. the system would rely, just as with the 2d version, that the viewing areas would intersectbrg8 wrote: The stereoscopic problem is of particular interest to me. Yuri - you mentioned that if you basically mashed a bunch of stereoscopic cameras together you could "stitch" together the 360 effect. But there will definitely be some information lost. Do you think that with enough cameras, the lost space will be small enough that the eye won't catch it? It's possible.
Oculus Rift / 3d Sucks - 2D FTW!!!
-
- Two Eyed Hopeful
- Posts: 58
- Joined: Sat Aug 08, 2009 9:53 pm
Re: Any commercial spherical 360 video cameras out there?
That rig only takes Hero3s. There is no sync system for those Gopro Hero3 rigs apart from starting all the cameras via wifi from a Android phone or Iphone. Wifi start is not necessarily simultaneous. Even if you line up the videos timewise in post there may be as much as half a frame time disparity between cameras -- which is a lot for action footage. And they may drift further apart as the video goes on. Also there is no exposure control -- it is automatic on each camera individually. So you can get exposure and color variation around the 360.
The only Gopro system that currently provides proper sync is the Hero 2 3d Kit. A backpak attachment and a connecting cable makes one camera of a pair the master and the other the slave and they stay in very perfect sync throughout a 3d video. But there is no exposure or color lock.
There is no proper sync solution (available for purchase anyway) that I know of that works with more than 2 Gopro Hero2s. Sometime in the next year there will probably be, according to reports, a 3d kit for 2 Gopro Hero3s. There is no indication that Gopro will bring out a kit for more than two Gopro Hero3s or some way of locking and or synchronizing exposure and color balance.
What is really needed are small CCD or Global CMOS cameras (no rolling shutter) that have Genlock (stereo sync) and high quality fisheye lenses and a control software solution for setting exposures, color balance etc.
Such 360 systems exist or can be built to order (by Point Grey etc) and have been around for a long time but they are very expensive.
PeterM
The only Gopro system that currently provides proper sync is the Hero 2 3d Kit. A backpak attachment and a connecting cable makes one camera of a pair the master and the other the slave and they stay in very perfect sync throughout a 3d video. But there is no exposure or color lock.
There is no proper sync solution (available for purchase anyway) that I know of that works with more than 2 Gopro Hero2s. Sometime in the next year there will probably be, according to reports, a 3d kit for 2 Gopro Hero3s. There is no indication that Gopro will bring out a kit for more than two Gopro Hero3s or some way of locking and or synchronizing exposure and color balance.
What is really needed are small CCD or Global CMOS cameras (no rolling shutter) that have Genlock (stereo sync) and high quality fisheye lenses and a control software solution for setting exposures, color balance etc.
Such 360 systems exist or can be built to order (by Point Grey etc) and have been around for a long time but they are very expensive.
PeterM
- V8Griff
- Sharp Eyed Eagle!
- Posts: 450
- Joined: Fri Mar 01, 2013 11:22 am
- Location: UK
Re: Any commercial spherical 360 video cameras out there?
Still based on GoPros but this appears to be a more integrated solution.
http://www.dome3d.com/content/freedom360-fulldome-kit
http://www.dome3d.com/content/freedom360-fulldome-kit
-
- One Eyed Hopeful
- Posts: 4
- Joined: Sun Jul 14, 2013 8:06 pm
Re: Any commercial spherical 360 video cameras out there?
The dome looks like it will be really good. I asked them for more info. Thanks!
-
- Two Eyed Hopeful
- Posts: 58
- Joined: Sat Aug 08, 2009 9:53 pm
Re: Any commercial spherical 360 video cameras out there?
they say "cameras synced to master Wifi Remote" .. which means that one remote will fire the 6 cameras, which is standard functionality, but I dont think it means they will be in truly accurate sync -- also there are the exposure/colour differences issues.V8Griff wrote:Still based on GoPros but this appears to be a more integrated solution.
http://www.dome3d.com/content/freedom360-fulldome-kit
Also they are calling it a fulldome solution, and they are originally, primarily I think, a software company, the providers of a plugin for After Effects etc for compositing video into dome projection suitable formats. The hardware for the gopro rig comes from another company.
It is non-trivial to stitch 360 spherical videos accurately from multiple Gopros. Currently most practitioners would be using PTGui and particularly the Batch Stitcher component of that -- and there is a learning curve for that. Kolor who make Autopano are bringing out Gopro array stitching software but it is beta currently. It might be a bit easier than PTGui.
PeterM
-
- One Eyed Hopeful
- Posts: 12
- Joined: Wed Mar 20, 2013 9:42 pm
Re: Any commercial spherical 360 video cameras out there?
Check out Geonaute360, small, has software, looks useful, if not fantastic. Has 3 fisheye lenses & outputs are blended at edges for seamless 360. Could easily helmet mount.
-
- Cross Eyed!
- Posts: 120
- Joined: Thu Aug 02, 2012 2:07 am
- Location: Sweden
Re: Any commercial spherical 360 video cameras out there?
These guys used to supply a GoPro Hero2 360 rig, but it appears it's been phased out:
http://freedom360.eu/
There's also an upcoming camera called Tamaggo Ibi360 that shoots a 180 degree panorama (a hemisphere), but it's not yet commercially available.
http://freedom360.eu/
There's also an upcoming camera called Tamaggo Ibi360 that shoots a 180 degree panorama (a hemisphere), but it's not yet commercially available.
-
- Cross Eyed!
- Posts: 117
- Joined: Fri May 17, 2013 6:49 am
Re: Any commercial spherical 360 video cameras out there?
Is Google too hard a concept to grasp? That's my question.
- clydd
- One Eyed Hopeful
- Posts: 14
- Joined: Fri Mar 20, 2009 7:56 am
Re: Any commercial spherical 360 video cameras out there?
The only person who's looked into the technicalities on this thread is Mediavr with this comment
This 360 3D camera does not talk about sync except show a remote control startup:
http://www.360heros.com/2014/01/worlds- ... hoto-gear/
I suppose evolution of the visual cortex of the VR headset generation of younger viewers might come about --- but until then, caution and discipline is advised to producers of hardware and software of S3D video.
Kind Regards.
...and rightfully said. Stereoscopic 3D is more than just bunging together left/right cameras. If true scanline sync (usually the case for Cmos sensors) is not achieved, all sorts of weird temporal effects occur - bad enough for standard 3D videos,,, but no one's yet thought about how drastic the effect could be for immersive stereoscopic 360 video, in addition to the motion-sickness that might come about from the "acceleration" side effects of the actual content being shot and then viewed on an HMD such as the Oculus."they say "cameras synced to master Wifi Remote" .. which means that one remote will fire the 6 cameras, which is standard functionality, but I dont think it means they will be in truly accurate sync -"
This 360 3D camera does not talk about sync except show a remote control startup:
http://www.360heros.com/2014/01/worlds- ... hoto-gear/
I suppose evolution of the visual cortex of the VR headset generation of younger viewers might come about --- but until then, caution and discipline is advised to producers of hardware and software of S3D video.
Kind Regards.
-
- One Eyed Hopeful
- Posts: 15
- Joined: Wed Apr 30, 2014 5:21 pm
Re: Any commercial spherical 360 video cameras out there?
if you're a spry guy, next time you see the Google Street View vehicle cruising by, be ready with your tools to thief that impressive looking camera off its roof!
- gambitvr
- One Eyed Hopeful
- Posts: 2
- Joined: Mon Jun 09, 2014 8:38 am
- Location: New York, NY
Re: Any commercial spherical 360 video cameras out there?
I haven't seen anyone mention Bublcam yet. I haven't used one, but I've heard good things. I believe it shoots both photo and video, and also has some kind of live-streaming function. Here's a link to their site: http://www.bublcam.com/
"Vision is the art of seeing what is invisible to others."