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GoPro's six-camera, 360-degree VR rig up for preorder

GoPro's six-camera, 360-degree VR rig up for preorder
GoPro's Omni rig holds six Hero4 cameras for capturing 360-degree video
GoPro's Omni rig holds six Hero4 cameras for capturing 360-degree video
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The Omni rig measures 120 x 120 x 120 mm
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The Omni rig measures 120 x 120 x 120 mm
The Omni enable capture of 360-degree video in 8K resolution
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The Omni enable capture of 360-degree video in 8K resolution
The Omni enable capture of 360-degree video in 8K resolution
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The Omni enable capture of 360-degree video in 8K resolution
The Omni enable capture of 360-degree video in 8K resolution
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The Omni enable capture of 360-degree video in 8K resolution
The Omni enable capture of 360-degree video in 8K resolution
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The Omni enable capture of 360-degree video in 8K resolution
The $5,000 kit comes in a waterproof carry case
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The $5,000 kit comes in a waterproof carry case
GoPro's Omni rig holds six Hero4 cameras for capturing 360-degree video
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GoPro's Omni rig holds six Hero4 cameras for capturing 360-degree video
View gallery - 7 images

The day before it revealed its 16-camera Odyssey rig at Google I/O last year, GoPro announced it was working on a drone as well a six-camera spherical array that was later named the Omni. We may still be waiting for the drone, but at NAB this week the company opened up preorders for the Omni and launched a dedicated platform for sharing and viewing VR content via the web or a new app for iOS and Android devices.

With a price of US$15,000 and limited production numbers, the Odyssey rig designed for Google's 3D, 360-degree virtual reality platform, Jump, was aimed squarely at professionals. With the new Omni, GoPro is targeting a wider market, although the more compact rig will still put a significant dent in your pocket. For the rig and six Hero4 cameras to go in it, you're looking at $5,000.

The rig, which measures 120 x 120 x 120 mm (4.7 x 4.7 x 4.7 in), boasts pixel-level synchronization between all six cameras to make post-production stitching easy and works with the Kolor color-stitching software (GoPro acquired French company Kolor last April) that automatically combines video from the various cameras together. The cameras enable 360-degree videos at 8K spherical resolution (7,940 x 3,970) at 30 frames per second and 1440p (5,638 x 2,819) at 60 fps.

Along with the Omni rig and six cameras (with batteries), the $5,000 kit includes six Mini USB cables, six 32 GB microSD cards and card readers, GoPro Kolor software license, rugged waterproof carry case, a smart remote, seven-port USB hub, and battery charger. Those who don't want the cameras can purchase the rig on its own for $1,500.

GoPro has also announced a dedicated platform for the sharing and viewing of 360-degree content called GoPro VR that is now up and running. It is accessible via the web, or through newly released apps for iOS and Android.

The Omni is available for preorder now, but GoPro hasn't given a shipping date as yet.

Source: GoPro

View gallery - 7 images
2 comments
2 comments
JustinRice
What I am not sure I like is, when I go to edit, now I have to dump 6SD cards and then patch them all together in After Effects or something.
christopher
Pointless - this is not in 3D. All the best viewers for 360-content are STEREO (3D), not MONO (2D) - so by paying $5k for this kit, you're getting outdated rubbish that's more than twice as expensive as genuine 3D-360 devices, all to record your footage in an obsolete format.