GoPro has returned to what it knows best – cameras. The company has announced the forthcoming release of a camera capable of capturing spherical video for VR.

Early word, specs

Announced in a press release on the company’s website, there’s a good chance that the GoPro Fusion will be the next big thing in consumer VR.

The Fusion will capture video at a whopping 5.2k resolution, at 30 frames per second. A special camera mode called ‘overcapture’ makes deft use of the VR-systems to potentially enhance processes and quality of more standard video production too.

Better conventional vids with Overcap

Overcapture uses Fusion’s full video-capture capability to make better conventional (non-VR) HD videos and photos. To do it, a standard aspect ratio is ‘punched out’ of the full VR sphere. This punched-out section is then rendered as typical video file.

This could change the post-production game. It gives directors extra power after footage has been shot. Even after an event, the director can still find and frame screen-appropriate zones that they want to publish.

Pilot like a pro

The pilot program for Fusion is currently open to applicants. You can register directly on the GoPro website.

There is not yet a reliable indicator of the price at which the Fusion will launch. Expect that info to come closer to the product’s actual release, which GoPro tells us will definitely be sometime in 2017.

Have you experimented with VR in your campaigns? If so let us know how it went in the Comments.

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