Recent Virtual Reality Articles

Why Buy RED's Smartphone?

RED is entering a nearly impossible market, and promises to deliver a smartphone like no other – armed only with their reputation. What exactly stands in their way, and can the RED Hydrogen compete? Here’s everything you need to know about their chances.

NSFW: A Behind The Scenes Look At A Virtual Reality Porn Shoot

The porn industry is a bit of an early adopter. It is some of the most consumed content and as such its creators are always keeping current with the latest technology to gain an edge over the competition and to bring the consumers the best and latest experience. As such, it is not a big surprise to see that virtual reality is the next big thing being explored on porn sets.

The Weird Canon R5 VR Lens Might Be Brilliant

Canon's announcement of their newest RF lens has pricked up a lot of ears in curiosity. Is this new lens going to be brilliant, or is it too niche to succeed?

Lytro Shocks the World and Builds the Most Ambitious Virtual Reality Camera

Most of us know Lytro for their light field cameras that capture scenes in a way that allows you to refocus an image anywhere you want with the click of a button without having to take a new image. I'll admit, I thought it was a neat trick, but as a commercial photographer, I never saw how it would apply to someone like myself. Well, Lytro has blown me away today with the announcement of their new virtual reality camera system that works much like their light field cameras and allows the user to move within a video environment (not a computer-rendered space) while wearing a virtual reality headset. They have officially changed the game.

For Better or Worse: This Year's Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue Steps Into Virtual Reality

For an instant, she stares blankly out into the distance as she would for any photograph. But almost immediately, she takes notice. You're there. She turns her head, looks over, and then slowly turns back, looking down at her outstretched legs. Her eyes move slowly, looking down, as her chin lifts her gaze from the top of her legs to her feet. She's admiring herself — for you. She even starts crawling toward you. You turn your head to look around ("Toward me?," you think, but no one else is there). You turn back to her. The clip is over. You can take off your Google Cardboard viewer and go back to flipping channels on your living room TV.

Adobe Announces New Innovations in Premiere Pro, After Effects, and More at IBC 2017

Adobe is updating its video applications and adding new features across the board. Many of these features include improvements for editing virtual reality content, smarter automated tasks, and some other features modeled after Final Cut 7, which Apple announced will not be supported in its upcoming MacOS High Sierra update.

Haunting 360 Images Capture the Full Scope of Destruction of War in Ukraine

There's no doubt that images have the power to shape history. That's even more true for war photos such as photojournalist Nick Ut's "Napalm Girl" photo or Eddie Adams' "Saigon Execution" photo, two images that really helped shape American views of the Vietnam conflict. In 2022, it's modern-day 360 images that will have the power to truly show the devastation of Ukraine.

The KeyMission Could Have Been Nikon's Future, but it Isn't Anymore

Nikon released a trio of new cameras at the 2016 Consumer Electronics Show, all under a new umbrella called “KeyMission.” While two of them were mostly GoPro clones, the third was arguably the most interesting, and not just for its strange name and looks: The KeyMission360. This camera was the most forward-looking product that Nikon has put out, more so than any potential mirrorless camera or DSLR that’s come out in the past few years. And then it let its 360 ambitions wither and die.

Kandao Launches a New Prosumer 8K 360 Camera, the Qoocam 3 Ultra

Kandao made quite a splash with the QooCam 3 earlier this year, undercutting its nearest competition by quite a few dollars to make a very good case on value versus performance. Kandao just announced that camera's bigger brother, the QooCam 3 Ultra, and it looks to take the same formula and amp it up.

Matterport: The New Age of Real Estate?

Matterport is a new 3D camera that is designed to scan the interior of homes. The software stitches all of the still images together and creates a virtual tour of the home. Not a virtual tour as in a slideshow that realtors love, but one where you can actually walk through the home yourself. You can look up and down, left and right, move forward, backward, and so on. The technology, even in the state it’s in, is actually pretty incredible and really helps show off the home in a way we haven’t really been able to experience before.

What’s New in Adobe Premiere Pro 2015.3

Adobe has released Premiere Pro CC 2015.3. The new welcomed features are something I haven’t yet seen implemented in any other NLE. If you use Premiere, here is a look at what’s new, and if you’re not a subscriber, this might make you consider switching.

BLACKBIRD - The Mill: The Automotive Industries' Newest Secret Weapon for Filming

From the company that pioneered the use of virtual car reskinning for video use, comes the newest innovation of film technology. The Mill, in partnership with JemFX, Performance Filmworks, and Keslow Camera, launched their new product onto the scene, dubbed "Blackbird." Resembling a mix of a Caterham 7, a dune buggy, and maybe some sort of Batman-esque type vehicle, the Blackbird is a small electric car that has pre-mapped tracking points on it to allow for easy replacement in post.

Samsung Announces Details on Their Live-Streaming Virtual Reality Camera

So if you've been following my articles the past year, you know that some major brands have been developing either virtual reality headsets, started developing 360-degree content, or announced they are building a VR camera. Well, Samsung finally released more details on their new 360-degree camera system they call Project Beyond. So what makes the new Samsung camera stand out from the pack? Find out below!

Fstoppers Reviews the Kandao QooCam EGO: Capturing 3D Magic, but With a Fatal Flaw

Anybody of a certain age remembers the ViewMaster, a favorite childhood toy that read circular reels through a bright red stereoscopic viewfinder, rendering images from those reels in vivid, 3D detail. If nothing else, the color of Kandao’s new QooCam EGO viewfinder gives away that someone at that company has fond memories of the ViewMaster.

Here’s What $40,000 of 360 Camera Looks Like

It's really a shame that quite possibly the world's most advanced all-in-one 360 camera shares a name with the world's most popular social media platform. It makes the new Meta Three camera really hard to find online. But YouTuber and 360 content creator Hugh Hou was able to get a hands-on look at one in the flesh, and what a look it is.

A Deeper Dive Into Canon’s Lens Aimed at VR Content Creators

It looked like 2021 was going to be somewhat of a dry year for virtual reality content creators, and then out of nowhere, Canon drops the RF 5.2mm f/2.8 L Dual Fisheye lens aimed squarely at creators of 180 VR content. It's now possible to more easily shoot this kind of content in 8K, but beyond that, what other new features does it bring to the table? Expert VR content creator Hugh Hou explains.

First Ever 360-Degree View of Earth From Inside the International Space Station

When guests aboard the International Space Station look for a place to escape for a little rest and relaxation, options can obviously be limited. The “Cupola” was built in 2010 to provide astronauts with the best view possible while operating the ISS’s Mobile Services System’s robotic arm (the Canadarm2). The Cupola's seven bay windows allow for an incredible view that's become a favorite for photographers aboard the ISS. Russian Cosmonaut Andrey Borisenko brings us inside the Space Station’s observational dome with the first 360-degree 4K video of Earth from within the International Space Station.

Using a Modern 360 Camera as Your Wide Angle Lens

360 cameras have become jacks of all trades, but there’s a specific reason that photojournalists might want to consider carrying one in the field: to replace a wide angle lens.

Fstoppers Reviews the Nikon KeyMission 360 - How Does It Compare to the Samsung Gear 360?

The Nikon KeyMission lineup was announced in January 2016 at the Consumer Electronics Show and left many people scratching their heads. Hadn’t GoPro tried this action camera thing before? Overshadowed by the confusing press around the KeyMission 80 and the KeyMission 170, however, was a gem in the otherwise oddball KeyMission lineup, something unique that got lost in the shuffle, the KeyMission 360. It’s a true 360-degree camera that captures spherical video without any gaps in the footage, something that wasn’t as common in consumer 360 cameras at the time. So after many months with the camera, how good is it, and how does it compares to its nearest competition, the Samsung Gear 360?

BTS: See How 'Rogue One' Used Virtual Reality Controllers to Guide Virtual Camera Movements

BBC Click shared a video that gives an in-depth look at the tools used by director Gareth Edwards at ILM London to better show computer graphics supervisor Steve Ellis his desired camera angles and movements throughout "Rogue One." Using just an iPad and an HTC Vive controller, Edwards was able to explore the virtual, computer-generated world to find the best shots, which were then communicated to the VFX team so they new exactly how to guide the virtual camera movements throughout the film.

We Review the Kandao QooCam 3: Third Time’s the Charm

While 360 cameras haven’t quite entered the mainstream for most photographers, Kandao’s QooCam 3 makes a solid case why they should: Kandao’s third entry into its QooCam lineup is a solid 360 action camera at a bargain price.

Are We Entering a New Era of Video Game Photography?

Given that a photograph is already virtual, how do we get our minds around a virtual representation of an already virtual world? As this video explores, video games are changing our perception of reality, and photography is becoming more than just a means of creative expression.