DJI has launched the Osmo 360, the company’s first foray into 360 cameras. The Osmo 360 delivers the sharpest photos possible on the 360 camera market with 1-inch 360° imaging, according to DJI. It is the first 360 camera to shoot ultra-high-spec 8K/50fps 360° video, and is the only 360 camera that can shoot continuously for 100 minutes in 8K/30fps2.

“With the Osmo 360, DJI is challenging the status quo of the 360 camera market,” said Christina Zhang, Senior Director of Corporate Strategy at DJI. “We are revolutionizing panoramic innovation by leveraging DJI’s long history of innovation in creative camera technology. With each technological breakthrough, from 1-inch 360° imaging with industry-first square HDR sensor, to outstanding low-light performance, we aim to change what’s possible in a 360 camera.”

Specially designed for 360° capture, the Osmo 360’s industry-first square HDR image sensor maintains the same 360° image field as a traditional 1-inch rectangular sensor, while eliminating the unused area of traditional rectangular sensors. This results in 25% more sensor utilization, as well as outstanding image quality and lower power consumption, all in an ultra-compact, lightweight camera body, the company said.

The Osmo 360 is also the first 360 camera to feature native 8K/30fps 360° panoramic video with large 2.4μm pixels, boasting an industry-best run time of 100 minutes at 8K/30fps. The large pixel size—double the industry standard size of 1.2μm—captures more picture details, less noise, better low-light performance, and higher dynamic range. Also supporting ultra-high-spec 8K/50fps 360° video, Osmo 360 sets a new standard for video resolution in 360 cameras.

With an impressive 13.5 stops of dynamic range, combined with the larger pixel size and f/1.9 aperture, which significantly increases the amount of light intake, the Osmo 360 captures crisp, vibrant footage—even in low-light settings or high-contrast scenes like sunrise and sunset, according to DJI.

Additional Creative Features:

• Invisible Selfie Stick: The Osmo Invisible Selfie Stick vanishes from 360° videos with no editing needed, providing third-person views typically captured by a cameraman.
• High Frame Rate Video: For those that want to capture split-second details at a high frame rate, the Osmo 360 can also shoot in 4K/100fps 360° video.
• Slow Motion: Capture video in up to 4x slow motion mode.
• 120 MP 360° Photo: To capture a single moment in time, users can take an ultra-clear 360° photo up to 120 megapixels, achieving razor-sharp detail for still images.
• Gesture and Voice Control: Start or stop recording with a simple palm gesture, or use voice control to go hands-free.
• HorizonSteady and RockSteady: With HorizonSteady enabled, the footage remains level no matter how the camera is rotated. In single-lens mode, RockSteady 3.0 effectively reduces shakes while retaining the dynamic impact of motion, delivering a more immersive first-person perspective.
• GyroFrame and Intelligent Tracking: DJI Mimo’s GyroFrame allows users to to adjust the 360° composition using motion control, while intelligent tracking makes it possible to lock onto and track people, vehicles, pets, and more.
• Multiplatform Editing Support: Edit videos with DJI Mimo or DJI Studio. DJI Studio offers a full suite of tools, and the Premiere plugin streamlines the workflow to create 360° videos.

Used as a single lens camera, it allows users to effortlessly switch between the front and rear lenses without stopping recording—perfect for capturing travel vlogs in one seamless take. Osmo 360 can be used as a first-person action camera with single-lens mode, offering crisp 5K/60fps flat videos with a sweeping 155° ultra-wide angle. Boost Video mode provides an even broader 170° field of view and smooth 4K/120fps video.

Osmo 360 features 105GB of built-in storage and weighs 183g. The advanced stacked design allows the camera to pack two large 1-inch 360 imaging lens modules into one, ultra-compact body. In extreme conditions, the Osmo 360 can record for more than 1.5 hours in freezing conditions as low as -20° C (-4° F).

The battery can record continuously for 100 minutes at 8K/30fps resolution, which can be extended for another 180 minutes with the Osmo 360 Battery Extension Rod. The Osmo 360 can reach 50% power in just 12 minutes, according to DJI.

Osmo 360’s magnetic quick release design works with Osmo Action series accessories, while also featuring a 1/4" thread hole for easy compatibility with traditional gear. Osmo 360 also offers the OsmoAudio Direct Microphone Connection3, allowing users to connect Osmo 360 directly to two DJI microphone transmitters without a receiver, capturing studio-quality sound.

TV Tech sister brand TechRadar has a review.

LONDON—The growing medium of virtual reality requires a rethink of how to view storage. VFX houses are paving the way, says Dave Frederick, senior director of media & entertainment at Quantum.

Virtual reality 360-degree video is creating new film, television and gaming experiences that enable audiences to control where their attention is focused. The ability to interact with the content environment is arguably the most significant change in the audience viewing experience since the advent of cinema itself.

Changing a 100-year-old paradigm is not without technical challenges, however. Among the first responders to answer the call are visual effects artists. With a strong skill set in compositing, an understanding of 2D and 3D space, and a flare for the dynamic, VFX artists operate on the front lines of VR post production. The challenges inherent to VR—including camera stitching, rig removal and panoramic image manipulation—require many of the same skills.

Because VR 360-degree is a new medium, production budgets often are limited. It’s not unusual for VFX artists to be called upon to create compelling visuals to fill the void. Skilled artists can create a posse of 20 cowboys in a scene when a live production budget might support only three. A realistic ocean backdrop can be added to ship-board scenes without requiring a drop of water.

HIGH DEMANDS

To create images that surround the audience, images from multiple cameras are stitched together into a large panoramic image—the equivalent of 6K or 8K resolution. For content targeting high-end head-mounted displays with 3D stereoscopic playback, finishing resolutions can be even higher.

High-performance scale-out storage is therefore an essential element of the VR post-production workflow. It’s critical that storage be fast enough to support large file sizes and also meet the performance requirements of editing and color grading VR 360-degree, which often differ from the demands of VFX and animation. Editing and grading require storage arrays that provide unblinking sequential playback of ordered frames on disk. Visual effects and animation can require both sequential and random performance.

Fibre Channel storage area networks (SANs) are favored for sequential playback of large frames and files because they deliver deterministic, guaranteed bandwidth to each connected workstation.

For animation work, file reads and writes are smaller but occur randomly, and come from a greater number of connected workstations. Random storage performance is most economical using an IP-based network attached storage (NAS) system. The “best effort” nature of IP protocols matches well with the iterative nature of animation, which does not typically require sequential playback of large files.

UNFIFIED APPROACH

In practice, maintaining two different storage systems can be expensive and lead to costly duplication of large files. This is why some post facilities are turning to unified storage that combines technology from both SAN and NAS. By supporting both IP and fibre channel connections to the same shared storage infrastructure, a unified SAN-NAS approach allows post facilities to avoid the time-consuming network-based transfer of files between workflow stages. It both minimizes down time and gives artists more time to create.

The random performance required for animation work can be further enhanced by solid state drives (SSDs), which use flash memory instead of spinning disk. Elimination of the time needed for drive heads to find file bits means that SSDs can perform anywhere from 10 to 100 faster than hard disk drives (HDDs).

All-flash arrays offer exceptional performance, but they can be expensive. A more affordable option is a hybrid array: a combination of SSDs and HDDs. Intelligence in the array controllers monitor the most readily used files and keep them in the flash storage portion of the array. If files are not used in a given time period, they are demoted to the more economical HDDs in the array.

BRIDGING THE EDITORIAL DIVIDE

The efficiency gains from a unified SAN-NAS storage solution provide a big boost to VR 360-degree post workflows. Artists are happier and more productive because the creative software they use responds fast. They are better able to create engaging content on time and on budget. Facilities that take advantage of this creative approach can start with a small unified storage configuration and then increase performance and capacity as needed. With such a flexible, powerful storage solution, VR content production companies can fulfill their viewers’ wildest visual dreams today—and are prepared to take viewers even further in the future.

This story first appeared on TVT's sister publication TV Tech Global.