It has been common place nowadays to see 360-degree high-definition video cameras coming to market, especially from known brands from Facebook first and then GoPro. Now, there is another player in the market and it is set to devour the competition. Presenting, the Yi Halo.
The company behind the camera – the Yi Technology has had a GoPro-like upbringing, having produced numerous action cameras on the cheap. Yi Halo is the company’s first attempt at creating a 360-degree camera that offers as much as it does.The camera boasts specifications along the likes of: stereoscopic 8K 360-degree recording. Stereoscopic recording means that this particular camera will be able to deliver high-quality 3D videos to the screen. If it wasn’t already enough that VR is already realistic the way it is, 3D will set out to blow people’s minds.
What is unique about the camera is its structure. The camera consists of 17 in-built cameras that use Google’s Jump software. Where it differentiates, itself from the likes of the GoPro Odyssey, is that much like the Odyssey which has 16 camera units, the Halo has an extra 17th unit attached on top, so as to stitch the sky together to the rest of the image. This is currently the only hardware with a vertical camera that support Google Jump. The cameras stitch the videos of each of the connected modules to create an 8K x 8K resolution by 30 frames per second. Should users want to double the frame-rate, they can halve the resolution down to 5.8K, which is still a very good resolution to record at.
This camera is so advanced, it has its own LCD screen that will provide information that will monitor each of the sensors and also provide the overall battery life information and much more. The entire unit as a while will ship with batteries, an SD card reader, a few screw drivers as well as a set if action cams should the ones in the unit get broken during the shooting process. A very thoughtful initiative. And the company should be able to pull this off too, considering the camera will come in at a price of a whopping $17,000.
Considering that the Halo has been made in co-operation with Google, it can be safe to say that the immersive experience will be as per the industry standard, with quality not being compromised. It will be a good option for many to try out, considering the function of the 17th camera of the rig.
All of a sudden, the past week, there have been three new VR cameras announced. If anything, this is a sign of things to come, showcasing the future of video content. We may see tons of new VR videos coming our way by the end of this year.
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