GoPro has started shipping the Omni, a fully synchronized six camera spherical 360 VR camera system. The is the most affordable Professional system on the market. GoPro and Kolor have crafted a true end to end 360 virtual reality solution. As a big bonus, if you already have six GoPro Hero 4 Black cameras, you can just purchase the rig alone. The full kit comes with the carry case, six GoPro Hero4 Black cameras, smart remote, 7-USB/6-MicroSD card reader, and an External Switronix Hypercore battery. With this battery, you can shoot all day without needing a recharge. You can take the unit apart to insert GoPro batteries but your shooting time is greatly reduced and the need to take the case apart all the time with a hex tool makes it impractical.
The specs are impressive, shooting a combined total of 8Kx4K, each camera shoots 2.7K with a 4:3 ratio needed for stitching the images together. The cameras plug into a block at the center of the cube which enables the linking together of the six units.
This Array System means that one camera is the master, and the others are slaved to it. In plain English this means no more having to clap your hands in front of the cameras and pray that you can align them in post. With full genlocked sync you can just press the Smart Remote. You know that when a subject crosses your seam line between two cameras that they will not look disjointed in your image, no matter how fast that they are moving.
The combo is complete with the Kolor software package of Autopano Video and Autopano Giga. These software products are the extra step that separates 360 VR post production from any other type of video production. But GoPro has taken a giant step to make this all easier than ever before. Built into Autopano Video is the Omni Importer. This tool makes the post-production work faster and easier, indeed streamlining the process.
Simply remove the Micro SD cards from the Omni and place them in the supplied USB High-Speed powered Hub, plug it into your computer and open the Omni Importer software. Once you tell the Omni Importer where the footage is located, the software reads the cards, creates the appropriate number of “SHOT” folders and will transfer all of your camera files into the correct SHOT folder. But as they say on late night infomercials, “But wait there’s more…”.
The Omni lets you play a preview your shots and choose the level of color correction, optical stabilization, and will even output a check file in your choice of 2k, 4k or (hold the applause) 8K Cineform video files. Also, the software creates a .pano file that can be opened in Autopano Video for further adjustments and horizon fixes.
No other system on the market delivers all of these features at this price point. It is an amazing camera that creates full professional 8kx4k equirectangular videos. Using Autopano Video and Autopano Giga you can add more creativity by morphing your shots into little Planet style or even standard HD or 4K.
