GoPro is looking to combine the 360° POV video capture of 6 regular GoPro cameras into one for a completely immersive virtual reality experience as a part of their just announced GoPro Fusion spherical camera project. Still at a relatively early stage in development they are excited enough about the VR capabilities that they are opening up a Pilot Program where a select few consumers will join them in testing its capabilities. Check out all the details we know on the new camera, how to get in on the pilot project, and to watch a video shot with the Fusion – all after the break…
OK, so don’t forget that video is a 360° capture, so click and drag around while it is playing to get the full experience, whether flying through the air or riding through a busy city street. The key here is what GoPro is saying will be a major driver of this type of video shooting – OverCapture. That means never having to worry about perfectly framing your shot. Just capture the full 360° and you can post-process to change angles throughout your video to create the perfect angles depending on where you are and what you are doing. If you’ve ever watched a mountain bike video of rider hitting jumps (of course you have if you are reading this), you’ve seen how you can miss the best view as the rider leans into a berm or can’t keep their head up as they G-out of a rough landing. Nevermore with 360 video!
From a tech perspective, the details are limited, but GoPro is talking about 5.2K video at 30fps (which in other cameras tends to work out at 4K with 60fps). That means the Fusion will record horizontal resolution of about 5200 pixels across. Although it’s not stated what ratio it will record in for 360° video, a common 2:1 ratio for this format would put that at 5280 x 2640px.
Besides the first run of tech specs from GoPro, what we do know about the Fusion is a bit about its format from these early pictures we have. Unlike the dome-shaped 360fly, but more like the Nikon KeyMission, the Fusion looks like it is capturing 360° video through the use of a pair of lenses – one on the front & one on the back of the camera. Then, most likely the hardware stitches the video captured from the front and back together, so you don’t see the camera itself or its mount as you can tell watching that video above where the camera seems to hover just above the person carrying it. The Fusion also looks to be a bit larger than any of the other GoPros and has a taller profile with a standard adjustable mount on the bottom as you can see mounted to the helmet above.
GoPro are looking for “innovative content creators” who will take the new Fusion this summer and demonstrate how they can use 360° video to better tell stories. If that sounds like something you could get into, head on over to the page devoted to GoPro Fusion where you can apply to join the pilot program.
And we’ll keep you all up to date as we learn more about GoPro’s progress with 360° video capture, and the expected commercial release of the Fusion camera by the end of 2017.
