Google and Yi Technology have paired to make the Yi Halo – a VR camera that’s already available to select creators.

Spec-tacular

It captures 8K X 8K video at 30 frames per second, or 5760 x 5760 video at 60 frames per second. Even with 17 lenses operating together, the entire unit weighs under 3.5 kilograms.

It comes with a compact rechargeable battery that will power the whole unit for over 100 minutes of mobile shoot time. Built in Wi-Fi and a ready-to-roll Android app are convenient for remote control.

Jump Native

As expected, The Yi Halo is a Google Jump native.

Together with the Jump Assembler software, it promises ‘seamless, artifact-free stitches’.

That means that the final product should show no tell-tale traces of the process that patches its 17 separate video streams into a single 360 view.

Fast file production

Google says its VR processing is getting quicker too.

The Yi Halo unit and the Jump software boast that they can produce a complete VR video file in about a third of wait that was required 12 months ago.

Early adopters…

The Yi Halo VR camera will drop in stores around August. However, selected creators will get it early, and some units have already shipped.

If you’ve simply gotta get in first, resister for the official Creators’ Early Purchase Program on the Yi Tech website.

The publicised price point of $17,000 is in US dollars, so wait and see for a local cost.

Are you leaning towards the Yi Halo, or Facebook’s Surround 360? Let us know which you prefer and why in the comments.

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