If something can beat Santa in giving surprises, it surely has to be the tech companies, and Facebook stands out as one of the top contenders.Keeping in line with is legacy, Facebook surprised everyone with the launch of Facebook Surround 360 Camera a stunning, open-source 360-degree video camera which it claims to be best of its kind and a step ahead in Facebook’s mission of connecting people.
The Build and Design
The Facebook surround 360 Camera is shaped somewhat like a flying saucer or a UFO, which includes 17 cameras in its array, 14 horizontals, a fisheye on top and two more on the bottom. All the cameras possess global shutters and the tendency to be used for longer durations of work without getting overheated. The Facebook surround 360 camera is hard built with all the 17 cameras bolted to an aluminum chassis. It becomes quite easy to carry out the processing if the cameras are rigid and steady. Facebook took care of it and included a rig that is stiff and rugged, making the camera stay in one position. Facebook claims that its Facebook Surround 360 camera has a design that solves major technical issues with most of the cameras in the market right now.
The Software
When Facebook launched it"s Facebook Surround 360 camera, it took a move no one expected. Facebook stated that they would be making both the software stitching system and the hardware design open source so that content creators and developers can help in creating growth of the 3D-360 ecosystem. The stitching software used in the camera is based on the concept of optimal flow that tends to remove the disparity between what the pairs of cameras see, thereby giving output at 4K, 6K, or 8K per eye. The stitching software, which is mathematically trickier than other stitching solutions, generates seamless stereoscopic 360 panoramas automatically and therefore dramatically reduces post-production time.
Camera Control
After the design and unmatched stitching software, the next thing that differentiates Facebook Surround 360 Camera from others in its league is its camera control. Facebook opted to control the cameras using a Linux-based PC with a high bandwidth because of an incredible amount of data coming from all the 17 cameras to support live streaming of the feed to the disk. All this required an 8-way level-5 RAID SSD drive system to be used in the Facebook Surround 360 Camera at a transfer rate of 17 to make sure all frames were captured.
The camera captures a full 360-degree feed, and therefore, cannot be controlled using physical touch as it will interrupt the view. The Camera Control is done remotely, for which, Facebook came up with a simple web-based interface that can be used on any device that supports an HTML browser. Everything including exposure, shutter speed, and frame rate can be controlled easily on per camera basis using the simple interface.
Playback
The Facebook surround 360 Camera allows you to stream at 4K, 6K, and 8k. The streaming rates are almost double the industry standards. The Dynamic custom codec comes into play while playing high resolution streaming at 6K and 8K because of the high level of data being transferred. The output can be seen using various devices such as Oculus Rift and Gear VR and of course the Facebook newsfeed.
Price
Apart from the professional and high-end enthusiast markets, the Facebook Surround 360 camera might not be in everyone’s reach as it will cost you $30,000 and not only this, there will be an overhead cost which you will have to bear for buying various components required as quoted by Facebook. The whole process of setting up might take up to 4 hours and another two hours in setting up the operating system. On top of everything, you can also customize everything to make it a superior product that fits your requirements.
The Pro’s and The Con’s
The Facebook Surround 360 Camera is indeed one of its kind. It aims at eliminating some fundamental problems faced by other cameras available in the market. All the 17 cameras capture the scene within one millisecond of one another and stitch them into a single coherent image. The camera does not overheat and can easily run for many hours of shooting. The build quality is stiff and sturdy. The outer shell that envelopes all the cameras is well made and protects the cameras from all types of physical damages. The stitching software and the camera design have been outsourced enabling the users to customize it as per their requirements.
But the price is a concern which limits the market of Facebook Surround 360 camera to Professionals only. The overhead costs of the components listed by Facebook might get the cost as much as double of the price quoted. Not only the price but the limited use of the camera on only Facebook and not on other social networks is somewhat disappointing.
The Verdict
The Facebook Surround 360 Camera makes an end to end 360 video creation in a single system possible. Facebook made it very clear that Virtual reality is a big part of their agenda to bridge the gap and connect people in a much better way and use it to power its social networks in the future. Thanks to a robust aluminum chassis, the camera can even survive harsh conditions.
The videos and images captured are of the highest quality possible which requires almost nil post production work and can easily beat any VR camera in the market. Of course, There are other high-end 360 degree cameras including ones from Nokia, Jaunt, and Google, but Facebook is confident that consumers will choose its Facebook Surround 360 over others because of the crisp quality and still images it creates.
Because of its quickness and the duration of work, it creates beautiful pictures and videos which require the least amount of post-production. Facebook Surround 360 boasts of its magnificent features and outsourcing amendments making it the best commercial Virtual Reality Camera ever built.
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