There have been times in all our lives when we have encountered beauty so magical that we have wanted to capture it in all its glory and store for posterity. But, our cameras have stymied us, for they can capture only some parts.
You could capture various parts and then bring them together, but they tend to overlap and the vagaries of nature could get in the way of ensuring that you get the right light.
Giroptic, a French company, has started a campaign on Kickstarter to gather funds for its 360 – degree camera. This camera is not their first, thus eliminating any doubts people might have about their experience and expertise.
Their first camera, Girocam, was a 360 – degree camera and was extremely expensive. The price ensured that it stayed away from the mainstream market.
But, they seemed to have learnt from that experience and have come up with a new camera.
The tiny camera sure packs a lot in its egg--shaped shell and can put many others to shame. It has three 185-degree fisheye lenses. Each lens has six glass elements and a fixed aperture of f/2.8. These lenses capture light from all directions, except from a small area beneath the camera.
The camera is sealed quite well and allows you to shoot underwater up to depths of 30 feet. When you shoot underwater, it must be mounted with rubber ring and three plastic lens cups that correct for refraction.
The camera is 2.7 inches by 2.7 inches, and weighs about 180 grams. It is powered by rechargeable lithium – ion battery, while the data is stored on a Micro SD card of capacity extendable up to 64GB.
It creates a 360 - degree panoramic picture of resolution 4,096 x 2,048 pixels and 2,048 x 1,024 pixels videos at the rate of 25 or 30 fps. The images are stored as JPEGS, while the videos in H.264 compressed and .mp4 formats.
In addition to the regular still photographs and videos the camera has various other modes – a self timer to capture pictures, creating HD images in – camera, and even shooting time lapses.
The digital video is stabilized with a built – in gyroscope and the GPS receiver tags it with the capture location feature. It does not have an LCD monitor to let you see your creations, but it does come with a lot of LEDs on the body that tell you about the operating mode, and you can use the two buttons on either side of the display to change the mode, start and stop capturing, and switch it on and off.
The best part is – the camera can be used stream live 360 – degree spherical video with the RTSP protocol. This will help you to create live and engaging content. This ability to stream from the camera makes it a suitable choice for security and monitoring systems. In case you want to use it as one, you can plug it into a light bulb adaptor and the camera will draw power from your regular light bulb socket and stream live video to your home or office.
If you really want it, go and visit their site http://www.giroptic.com
