Back at CES (January ’16) 360fly, Inc. unveiled the next generation of its popular 360fly camera. The 360fly 4K is a water resistant single-lens, 360-degree video camera with live streaming capabilities and intuitive filming and editing advancements. I haven’t seen it in person, in fact I heard about the company well after CES can to a close.
But after seeing this video, and a handful of GoPro VR videos on YouTube, I now realize that Virtual Reality is officially in the hands of the gadget-obsessed masses.
Is the 360fly 4k an awesome new toy to help share my overland adventures? Could it be another early-adopter purchase that finds itself in a closet after a single use? I really hope its the former. More so now than ever because as I embark on the ExpeditionWire.com project, finding new ways to cultivate content will help keep the Amazon Affiliate commissions rolling in… in theory. And, this looks like a great alternative to buying a handful of Hero 4’s and learning to stitch video together into something worth watching.
Speaking of worth watching… the videos I’ve seen so far look great and the specs are pretty promising. The new 360fly 4K includes a new image sensor that quadruples the resolution of the first generation 360fly camera producing 2880×2880, 360-degree 4K quality. Additionally, 360fly 4K will offer the following upgraded and advanced features:
- Front-Facing Mode: Not all situations require a 360-degree field of view. During those times, 360fly 4K will allow users to record in a 16:9 aspect ratio at 2560×1440 resolution with a field of view of 178×100 degrees (204 diagonal).
- Time-Lapse Video Mode: Tell a story in a dramatic fashion by capturing a 360-degree time-lapse video. Users can select 1, 2, 5, 10, 30 or 60-second shutter intervals.
- Motion and Audio Detection Mode: 360fly 4K will automatically begin to record based off any movement or sounds. This feature is great in surveillance or monitoring situations.
- Accelerometer Activated Record Mode: Not all environments are smartphone friendly, and in those situations 360fly 4K users can activate record mode with a shake of the camera. For instance, a skier without their smartphone may have difficulties pushing the OnePush button with their snow gloves on, so a simple shake of the camera will begin recording.
- Telemetry: 360fly 4K features a built-in GPS sensor to tag locations, a barometer/altimeter and accelerometer all powered by an advanced Qualcomm® Snapdragon 800 processor. Users can now track altitude, speed and edit this data as an overlay into their 360-degree video content.
For professional, commercial or advanced users looking to live stream 360-degree video, 360fly 4K pairs with its Micro-HDMI accessory base (sold separately) and is able to output a real-time full 360-degree HD video stream – providing a truly differentiated live viewing experience. Imagine the possibilities…
The 360fly 4K, like its predecessor, comes standard with Bluetooth, built-in Wi-Fi and has up two hours of battery life. Also carrying over is the camera’s ability to conveniently share video content direct from the 360fly mobile app to popular social platforms like Facebook and YouTube.
I’m seriously pondering adding one of these to my arsenal. If you are as well, and plan to have Amazon deliver it to your doorstep – here it is. For full disclosure Expedition Wire receives a small commission for the following affiliate link.
