THE DAWN OF 360 PHOTOGRAPHY
360 Cameras are a very special tool; they enable you to take a completely new kind of picture. In some ways this new technology - which is not as new as you might think - is an even larger jump than the film-to-digital jump that happened over 20 years ago. In the photography world that development was somewhat of an earthquake. Suddenly, darkrooms became a thing of the past, film was essentially free, and we could see (and evaluate) the pictures we shot in the field, in real time. A true game changer, but in the end it was still, essentially, the same kind of picture: a flat two dimensional picture that presented a portion of the field of view. This is why "composition" is a key part of the art of creating photographs - whether that composition happens at the time the picture is created, or later, using a photo-editing software application.
The 360 camera, however, brings in a whole new type of image, and allows for a fully immersive experience in a number of different ways. While most phones cannot natively display (continued below)
The 360 camera, however, brings in a whole new type of image, and allows for a fully immersive experience in a number of different ways. While most phones cannot natively display (continued below)
THE 360 CAMERA STORE - THE PRODUCTS WE RECOMMEND
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(continued from above) these "photospheres" correctly, Google's platform allows for 360 pictures to be presented as they are meant to be - as a moveable environment that you can flip through and explore by moving the environment around with your finger. Is that a person walking 10 dogs behind me? Is that a boat or a guy on a surfboard in front of me? Is the moon visible in this picture? 360 pictures let you rotate the environment and explore it as though you are actually standing there.
Additionally, once you find the moon (looking up), or the guy on the surfboard (looking in front), or the dog-walker (looking behind) you can pinch-zoom and have a better look, just as you would on a standard photo. Facebook can also display 360 pictures correctly - upload one to your feed and Facebook can encode the picture correctly so it can be manipulated and explored. Now, grandparents can look at their children and grandchildren on Facebook in a much more immersive way - not just see them, but see where they are; they can see what they see, in their environment. No way to send that kind of postcard via snail mail...at least not yet!
Next, comes the real fun: flip a switch in your viewing software and turn on twin lens mode. Pop that phone into a
Next, comes the real fun: flip a switch in your viewing software and turn on twin lens mode. Pop that phone into a
Google Cardboard, or other inexpensive VR viewer (we put our favorites in the store, above) and see the picture as a virtual reality experience. Instead of your finger manipulating the picture, now all you have to do is turn your head, or look up and look down. Your phone's gyroscope will respond and move the picture for you. The result is a simulation of "being there" and feeling the environment in the photo more intimately. As better and better resolution becomes available on these cameras, no doubt the quality of the virtual reality experience will improve too.
And finally, for the ultimate use of the 360 camera: 360 VR movies! Skiers and other action sports participants have been using GoPro cameras on their helmets and other headgear for years. Those cameras were a huge leap because of their small size, image quality, and increasingly effective use of image stabilization technology. And, to go along with all that technology was a clever and versatile set of mounting accessories so the cameras could be mounted anywhere, including on a surfboard (when the camera is waterproof, too, of course), a helmet, a bicycle handlebar, a skateboard, and even the neck of a guitar, during a performance! These types of movies have become a staple in the lives of active people.
But now, you can use that same type of mounting system to support a 360 camera on a helmet or a surfboard. Now when you come home from that crazy helicopter ski trip or the surfing vacation in Hawaii, you can run that movie through the twin lens setting, pop your phone into a VR viewer and not just show your friends or your relatives a picture of your experience, but let them get a true feel for the experience itself! Now your elderly uncle with the bad knees can see how it feels to ski down a double black with the sun shining - except he can look behind while watching without worrying about where he's going! A six year old can see how it feels to be sitting on a surfboard hanging ten on a 12 foot wave in the middle of the ocean. 360 cameras allow immersion like no other camera.
We often wonder - what's the next step? Where is this going? Smell-o-vision? It will be exciting to find out!
