It really does feel like every day we hear about a new device that is being built with virtual reality in mind. Smartphone attachments, full head mounted displays, hand tracking technology, and cameras are popping up all the time. Sphericam 2, as you can likely guess from the name, is one of those intriguing cameras.
Sphericam 2 is a portable 360-degree camera that can record video at up to 60 fps. Sphericam claimed that the camera can film in full 360-degrees without any blind spots, and without any visible stitching.
Sphericam 2 makes use of six individual cameras that are positioned around a small spherical housing that is roughly the size of a tennis ball. These six cameras are fully synchronized to maintain constant contrast and color settings. Sphericam claimed the small size allows for the lowest possible distance between sensors, which minimizes parallax and provides an artifact-free 360-degree view.
Despite the small size, the Sphericam 2 has eight tri-pod mounts, an on/off switch, a micro USB port, four microphones, six microSD card slots, and the six image sensors. It also has a 2800 mAh battery inside.
Sphericam 2 will record in three different file formats, each with a resolution of 4096 x 2048. Pro Quality will record 30/60 fps at 2.4 Gbps in12-bit color, Cinema DNG. High Quality records at up to 600 Mbps with 10-bit color in H.264 compression. Realtime Stitching mode records at 30 fps, in 10-bit color and also H.264 compression.
Sphericam 2 will have a number of accessories as well, such as the removable legs that the company said are invisible to the camera, or a backpack with a pole mount to record where you go on foot.
Currently, Sphericam 2 is in the middle of a Kickstarter campaign, and the company has surpassed its initial goal of $150,000. There are still 23 days left to achieve further funding and backers, but at this time the company does not have any stretch goals listed.
The Sphericam 2 will come in green, black and silver, and it's priced at $1,699.99, with a limited number of green and black ones available for $1,499.99 for early backers.
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