Skip to main content
Tech Radar TechRadar the technology experts
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
RSS
Asia
flag of Singapore
Singapore
Europe
flag of Danmark
Danmark
flag of Suomi
Suomi
flag of Norge
Norge
flag of Sverige
Sverige
flag of UK
UK
flag of Italia
Italia
flag of Nederland
Nederland
flag of België (Nederlands)
België (Nederlands)
flag of France
France
flag of Deutschland
Deutschland
flag of España
España
North America
flag of US (English)
US (English)
flag of Canada
Canada
flag of México
México
Australasia
flag of Australia
Australia
flag of New Zealand
New Zealand
  • Phones
  • Computing
  • TVs
  • AI
  • Streaming
  • Health
  • Audio
  • VPN
  • More
    • Cameras
    • Home
    • News
    • Reviews
    • Opinion
    • How to
    • Versus
    • Deals
    • Coupons
    • Best
Tech Radar Pro
Tech Radar Gaming
Trending
  • Amazon Prime Day
  • Nintendo Switch 2
  • Best VPN
  • ChatGPT
  • Best web hosting
  • NYT Wordle today
  • Best laptop

Recommended reading

The Meta Quest 3 in action
Virtual Reality & Augmented Reality James Cameron thinks VR is the future of cinema, but Meta needs to solve a major content problem first
Insta360 X4 camera covered in water, on a green background with radar graphic
360 Cameras Best 360 camera 2025
Insta360 mobile app on iPhone 13
360 Cameras These handy Insta360 X5 editing tricks address my biggest problem with 360 action cameras
A ship docked on a red and blue planet, littered with bulbs of glowing light and dense foliage
Virtual Reality Gaming Best VR games in 2025
Spectacles 5 developers
Virtual Reality & Augmented Reality Here’s how Snapchat Spectacles are being used in the real world right now - and you might be surprised
visionOS 26
Virtual Reality & Augmented Reality You won't believe how insanely realistic Personas are in visionOS 26 on the Vision Pro
An Insta360 X4 360 camera next to a teaser showing a reflection of a new model
Cameras Insta360 teaser suggests it could launch world's best 360 camera soon – here are 5 things I want to see
  1. Computing
  2. Software
  3. Virtual Reality & Augmented Reality

These virtual reality cameras will change entertainment forever

News
By Lily Prasuethsut published 29 August 2015

This is the bold, beautiful future of filmmaking

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Virtual reality cameras get real

Virtual reality cameras get real

The advent of virtual reality is bringing tons of new ways to experience well, pretty much anything you want.

Video games are the obvious medium for headsets like the HTC Vive, Oculus Rift or Sony's Project Morpheus but there's so much more you can do with VR. Movies are being transformed into interactive, immersive mediums and creative filmmakers are only just getting started.

Travel is another area that is catching on with companies using virtual reality to transport viewers from their living rooms to places they otherwise wouldn't be able to see in the real world.

There are also documentarians and the growing space of VR journalism using the tech as a new storytelling device to bring people closer to history as it unfolds, dropping you right into the thick of it. Similarly, live events are being shot in VR so you can watch a concert as if you've attended.

To make all this happen, innovative minds have invented even more devices to capture 360-degree environments in 3D and 360-degree sound to keep you immersed. Then comes the editing process where software is needed to stitch the scenes together with the lowest latency possible.

Additionally the battery life, proper cooling for the camera rigs to avoid overheating and video file software that isn't a pain to transfer are all issues that VR film producers must take into account.

We've highlighted a few major companies here that are making strides in creating VR tools, but keep in mind, just like virtual reality headsets that are constantly popping up out of the woodwork, tools to create for the VR world will continue to emerge and evolve as technological hurdles are overcome.

  • Virtual reality games we can't wait to play
Page 1 of 5
Page 1 of 5
Google's 360-degree camera

Google's 360-degree camera

Earlier this year during Google IO, a GoPro partnership was announced, along with a new camera setup for virtual reality filming.

Google said its in the midst of building and testing out Jump, a camera rig with 16 GoPro cameras mounted for a full 360-degree view, that uploads videos to YouTube.

In fact, YouTube 360 is the new platform where you'll be able to check out VR videos. It's still a work in progress but there are a few videos already on there you can watch. Expect more as time goes on, along with a shift towards higher quality.

Not much else has been revealed about the project but Google has been actively seeking out "creators" to use the camera. Though Google is mostly looking for filmmakers, artists and journalists, anyone can sign up for a chance to try out Jump.

Page 2 of 5
Page 2 of 5
Samsung's 360-degree camera

Samsung's 360-degree camera

Samsung is another power player in the VR space. With its Oculus team up for Gear VR and Gear VR for S6, Samsung is poised as a leader in the field - at least in terms of providing quality mobile VR experiences.

Last year, the company also showed off its own camera rig system called Project Beyond.

Like Google's Jump, Beyond is comprised of 16 stereoscopic cameras and a top-view camera that 3D captures in Full HD. In all, 35MP per frame - over a gigapixel per second - can be captured and processed then streamed to Gear VR.

Beyond promises high-speed connectivity, ultra wide-angle optics, adaptive stitching and stereoscopic depth. Multiple Gear VRs can be used to connect to Project Beyond at any time, and it was stated there will be "no lag whatsoever."

Samsung notes that Beyond's defining feature is its ability to capture omniview video and stream in real time.

The camera was not touted as a commercial product and there hasn't been more information on the system since it was first announced.

Page 3 of 5
Page 3 of 5
Nokia's virtual reality camera

Nokia's virtual reality camera

The most big name to join the 360-degree camera fray is oddly, Nokia. Thought to be floundering in a mobile phone purgatory, it was speculated that the company might actually make a comeback with some sort of VR headset of its own.

However it was revealed to be OZO - a spherical camera build that with eight synchronized global shutter sensors that capture stereoscopic 3D video, accompanied by spacial audio captured by eight integrated microphones.

Similar to Samsung's Project Beyond rig, OZO promises to stream real-time footage to VR headsets - though the headsets have yet to be specified.

Just like Jump, Nokia will be offering OZO to the public soon.

Page 4 of 5
Page 4 of 5
Notable VR companies to check out

Notable VR companies to check out

With the bigger names beginning to join in earnest, creating their own pricey camera rigs, these smaller names feel more ahead of the game. With the aforementioned YouTube 360 now an option for uploading, the demand for these cameras is higher than ever. Many are releasing much more affordable - and portable - camera builds that are perfect for this generation's rabid desire for documentation.

Companies like Vrse invented its own assemblage of VR tools to create, capture and hone 360-degree footage. The end result? Beautiful short films that you can watch with Google Cardboard. Watching a Vrse produced film will definitely show the VR-uninitiated what virtual reality is all about or convince naysayers that this is the future of entertainment.

Jaunt has been around the VR block with its prototypes for the perfect VR camera. It took two years, but the recently announced camera, codenamed Neo, promises to be a high-grade rig that provides high quality, high resolution, full 360-degree capture. The company doesn't plan on selling the device, rather a rental system will be used instead. Jaunt also prefers to be known as a studio for VR rather than just a company making VR cameras.

Vrse and Jaunt are just a few teams making a splash on the VR scene. There's a growing list of companies with cameras that come in a variety of sizes, prices and availability - 360 Camera Online has amassed a solid round up - that will only get bigger.

Additionally, editing software for VR will only get better. The hardware will change and get better. Essentially, the landscape is changing and virtual reality is rapidly gaining traction, evolving in nearly every area you can think of. There's still some time in between before it really finds a stride and hits the mainstream - though we're pretty close with Oculus creator Palmer Luckey being featured on the cover of Time magazine. However, the article seems to make a farce of VR, ultimately showing that the general public is still skirting the boundaries of this new technology and hasn't quite fully arrived. But it will get there and once it happens, a new epoch of entertainment will knock everyone's socks off.

  • Oculus and film: why virtual reality is the new silver screen
Page 5 of 5
Page 5 of 5
Lily Prasuethsut
See more Computing News
Read more
The Meta Quest 3 in action
James Cameron thinks VR is the future of cinema, but Meta needs to solve a major content problem first
Insta360 X4 camera covered in water, on a green background with radar graphic
Best 360 camera 2025
Insta360 mobile app on iPhone 13
These handy Insta360 X5 editing tricks address my biggest problem with 360 action cameras
A ship docked on a red and blue planet, littered with bulbs of glowing light and dense foliage
Best VR games in 2025
visionOS 26
You won't believe how insanely realistic Personas are in visionOS 26 on the Vision Pro
Spectacles 5 developers
Here’s how Snapchat Spectacles are being used in the real world right now - and you might be surprised
Latest in Virtual Reality & Augmented Reality
The Meta Quets 3S Xbox
My favorite VR headset of 2025 has started selling out – here’s why you should grab one before it’s gone for good
The Xiaomi AI glasses being worn by a model
Finally! These AI smart glasses are giving me a feature I’ve been desperate for the Meta Ray-Bans to get since launch
AR glasses resting on a table with a hud on display giving the user the option to call, message, get directions or take a photo
I’ve been telling you AR glasses will be awesome, and this real-life ad blocker is yet another reason why I'm right
The Meta Quets 3S Xbox
The limited edition Xbox Meta Quest 3S is the best VR headset deal I’ve seen in 2025 – here’s why
Xreal One AR Glasses connected to Asus ROG Ally handheld
I'm still waiting on the MSI Claw 8 AI+ – and in the meantime, handheld gaming with the Xreal One AR glasses should hold me over
The Oakley Meta HSTN smart glasses being used by a basketball player
I adore my Meta Ray-Bans, but these new Oakley smart glasses are making me jealous
Latest in News
Donald Trump holding a phone next to an image of the Trump Mobile T1 on a gold background
Trump Mobile looks like a normal high-speed cell network – with one big and worrisome exception
Upset PC gamer with head in hands by his PC
I don't generally recommend downloading Windows 11's preview updates, but some gamers may want to chance Microsoft's latest effort
The Meta Quets 3S Xbox
My favorite VR headset of 2025 has started selling out – here’s why you should grab one before it’s gone for good
Visual representation of a passkey on a computer chip
It's about time - Microsoft finally rolls out better passkey integration in Windows
A close-up of the mobile connectivity options in iOS, showing buttons for Airplane Mode, mobile data, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth.
This worrying Bluetooth security flaw could let hackers spy on your device via microphone
Ryan Gosling in Project Hail Mary
Project Hail Mary trailer teases Ryan Gosling’s desperate mission to save the sun in Amazon’s sci-fi spectacle movie
LATEST ARTICLES
  1. 1
    ChatGPT kept giving me bland dinner recipes until I showed it the kind of meals I actually like
  2. 2
    This Lenovo Chromebook uses a CPU not found in any other laptops - and it should give AMD and Intel a run for their money
  3. 3
    This touching viral AI video of Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian’s mom hugging him is also sparking a fiery debate
  4. 4
    70% of new hires click on phishing links within the first 3 months of employment - here's how to stay safe
  5. 5
    Samsung just launched a new 32-inch 4K smart OLED monitor with AI and Microsoft 365 access, but why is it so expensive?

TechRadar is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Contact Us
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Web notifications
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...