Check out the first sample footage from GoPro's six-camera Omni VR rig

Shawn Knight

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GoPro last month revealed a new look for its professional virtual reality camera rig. Dubbed the Omni, the device holds six Hero4 Black cameras that all capture footage simultaneously which, when stitched together, produces a 360-degree clip.

The action camera maker recently published the first sample video from the rig which is embedded above. The clip, which features skiers Jesper Tjader and Halldor Helgason, was shot on the backdrop of Serfaus – Fiss – Ladis in the Tyrolean Alps of Austria.

As you’ll see, the quality of the footage isn’t all that different from what’s already available in the space as GoPro certainly isn’t the first to build a custom rig to house its cameras. There are some imperfections in the clip but there’s a disclaimer from GoPro which says the footage was shot on prototype hardware and that customers can expect significant improvements to the output quality once it becomes available.

GoPro started taking pre-orders for the rig last month and to say it’s expensive would be an understatement. Expect to pay $5,000 for the frame loaded with six Hero4 Black cameras and all of the necessary hardware and software or $1,500 for just the frame.

Either way, that’s far cheaper than the company’s professional rig, the Odyssey, which houses 16 cameras. That setup would set you back a cool $15,000.

Image courtesy VRScout

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It's definitely a cool rig although the $15,000 may be a bit much for the average teen's budget. The thing is, is this the sort of thing "most" people are going to want when viewing a film, a picture, etc? I can see a lot of use for it in documentation, evidence, etc. but for everyday viewing I just don't see it seriously catching on.
 
It's definitely a cool rig although the $15,000 may be a bit much for the average teen's budget. The thing is, is this the sort of thing "most" people are going to want when viewing a film, a picture, etc? I can see a lot of use for it in documentation, evidence, etc. but for everyday viewing I just don't see it seriously catching on.

Well, the $15,000 wasn't the 6 camera one, that was the 16 camera one. They said the 6 camera one might be around $5,000. It would be used by professionals for various businesses. Think of real-estate - you want to showcase a million dollar home... what better way than a VR walkthrough? You could visit the realtor's office and see 10 homes with your VR Headset in 90 minutes!

First generation prototypes are never good representation of prices anyway. The first CD player was like $500. the first flat screen large HD Tv was over $10,000. The issue I see is the 6 cameras? How are you going to sell individual cameras at a profit AND sell a 6 camera module for a reasonable price?
 
I'm quite tired at the moment and watching that video started to give me a headache and hurt my eyes.
 
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