The VRDL360 is seeking to make virtual reality more accessible to the everyday consumer and aims to pack numerous features into one device.
A Los Angeles-based startup called VR Dongli, founded by Zidane Xu, who has background working on the world’s first street-view project, is seeking to get in on the virtual reality game. The company launched a fundraising campaign on Indiegogo in June and, despite the historically disappointing failures of crowdfunding hardware projects, this one has already surpassed its goal of $25,000.
Capabilities
There have been a lot of new high-tech cameras coming onto the market lately. The VRDL360 claims to pack numerous high-end features into just one device. The camera is expected to be a virtual reality device that allows users to take 360-degree footage for an immersive experience. It’s also planned to be Wi-Fi enabled, so you could livestream 3K video from the device to YouTube and Facebook.
VR Dongli says it will be able to livestream videos without having to downsize — something that would set it apart from competitors. The company also plans to integrate the camera with various social media channels, including Twitter, to make social sharing easy. The camera is supposed to come with a companion mobile app, which is intended to be used for social sharing and to let you create custom VR experiences. This would be done through the use of various effects and features, such as fisheye, perspective, VR and little planet, which would compress your imagery into a tiny planet-like ball. The company claims you could even use your smartphone like a remote control and operate the camera with the app.
Technical Specs
The company claims that the VRDL360 would be able to take 32-megapixel (mp) photos and shoot 3K video with its two 16 mp CMOS Sony sensors and f/2.0 aperture lenses. The camera is also expected to have an ISO reach of 100 to 1,600 for low-light settings.
VR Dongli says the camera includes autofocus, auto shutter speed and image stabilization features, as well as a variety of camera modes. Its 2000 mAh lithium battery is also said to last for about two hours. The company claims the camera’s memory is expandable and that you could use it with either iOS or Android. According to the company’s design plans, just four buttons on the device would be used to operate it.
The camera is planned to be 1.85 inches in width, 5.11 inches in height, 0.7 inches in depth and weigh about 0.23 pounds, which would make it smaller than many smartphones.
Availability
VR Dongli says it plans to start shipping the camera to its Indiegogo backers in September and eventually sell it at retail for $219. A $99 pledge to the crowdfunding promises you one of the cameras plus some accessories.
Cameras are getting more high-tech, and they’re becoming more affordable too. Everyday people can now own devices with virtual reality, 360 video, livestreaming and many more capabilities.
We haven’t tried the camera for ourselves and crowdfunding campaigns are notoriously risky for hardware backing, so pledge at your own risk.
