Two 3D lenses with 6,000×6,000 resolution each deliver a more immersive experience.
After being quarantined for a month as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, FXG CEO Nikk Mitchell and other residents in his community were finally allowed to step out of their homes (but limited to staying in his local area). Mitchell wanted to document those first steps, so he took a 360-degree camera to record himself as he wandered the near-empty streets of Hangzhou, China. He wanted to use VR as a way to tell the world his story.
To capture his outings, Mitchell used FXG’s “Seize”, a powerful 16K 360-degree camera with 16 individual lenses. Now through a joint effort between FXG and Mi7, the manufacturers are working on an even more powerful 3D VR camera poised to change the 360-degree world. It’s called the FM360 Duo, and this thing is badass.
The FM360 Duo looks almost like a pair of tactical binoculars you might see in some Hollywood-produced sci-fi film. The camera uses two 3D lenses to provide a more natural, human-eye-like IPD, making it perfect for shooting both indoors and outdoors. You can also shoot 30 frames at 12K, or 60 frames at a maximum of 8K. Each lens has a resolution of 6000×6000, which makes the FM360 Duo suitable for high-quality VR filming.
The camera has 2x full frame CMOS (complementary metal oxide semiconductor) sensors capable of delivering amazing cinematic video complete with 10bit 400mpbs high efficiency video coding, embedded stitching, RTMP streaming, and much more.
Made of aviation-grade aluminum alloy, the FM360 Duo weighs just over 2lbs and is fairly compact at 16x15x8cm. The camera supports both automatic and manual shutter modes that can be easily switched on-the fly, and because it’s light and compact, it can be operated using just one hand.
VRScout sat down with Mitchell and Max Noir, Head of US Operations, to talk about the FM360 Duo camera. “I think this camera and the evolution of high resolution VR cameras is going to allow for more of reality to be captured as it was, not as biased journalists or historians want to present it, which I think will be powerful as a tool for journalism,” said Mitchell adding, “It will let people think critically and make up their own mind about the things happening in this world.”
Noir, who used 360VR to document the Brooklyn Juneteenth March, agrees saying, “Standardized, 2D journalistic videography gets to decide which part of an event you are going to be looking at. The literal angle of the shot creates a biased, diminished version of a fuller picture. With VR cameras, you are provided with a fuller picture. While the journalist can guide your eyes to one section of the content, you are free to wander around, and rewatch the story, following a different subject each time.”
Of course they are talking about using the FM360 Duo for journalism, but because it shoots in high resolution VR, the camera could be used for almost any type of filmmaking or video production, from live news, live sports, live streaming, big-budget movies, education, workforce, or even one of those strangely popular mukbang videos.
“The camera offers such high-resolution zooming capabilities that not only can you narrow in on one subject, but you can also focus in on singular details of the subject’s facial expressions, clothing textures, and a multitude of other small details, enabling for a much more immersive experience of VR video,” explained Noir.
Besides the FM360 Duo, FXG is also launching a set of tools aimed at offering 12K solutions for shooting, editing, uploading. They will also be releasing a VR UHD content platform called FM360 app. The app will be available starting 2021. The software is currently being adapted by Huawei, Skyworth, Pico, Xiaomi, Oculus, and other major VR platforms. There is also a non-VR UHD content platform called FM360 Zoom that will also be available in 2021.
For Mitchell, VR is all about storytelling and beyond. “It will be an amazing tool for us to really preserve history, and understand history, and one day live in a world where we can basically travel through time… becoming some kind of higher being who has the lessons and the experiences of decades and one day, centuries of time experience.”
The FM360 Duo will be available in early 2021. Pricing will be announced by the end of this year.
Image Credit: FXG
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