Skip to main content

This 360 camera may not be a beauty, but it is a ‘Beast’ with 6K footage

Beast - Bridge 4K 50 FPS
Four large sensors, live-stitching software, 6K resolution, and 10-bit RAW is what it takes to make a 360-camera beast — make that Beast, with a capital B. The Sphericam Beast is the third 360 camera released from the two-year-old startup and a solid list of technical specifications aims to live up to the camera’s hefty name.

Announced this morning, the Beast uses four one-inch sensors — a size common in advanced compacts like the Sony RX100 V — to capture a complete 360 perspective. Each sensor has a 4K resolution, and stitched together, the camera offers 5,780 x 2,890 footage.

The Beast’s software stitches the images together fast enough to support live feeds for internet streaming or VR headsets. While the sensors on their own are capable of capturing RAW footage at 60fps, the automatically stitched video only hits the 30fps mark.

Sphericam says the 360 camera produces a 10-bit color depth RAW file, which combined with the larger sensors produces enhanced color and low light performance.

sphericambeast
Sphericam / Instagram
Sphericam / Instagram

The camera is capable of transferring image data as fast as 2.8 gigabytes per second to internal storage, thanks to four built-in solid state drives. The company says the battery offers about two hours of continuous use.

While the specs appear to live up to the camera’s name, the camera’s design does too, as it’s not much of a beauty — the Beast more closely resembles an external hard drive than a camera, and looks like a small black tower with four cameras at the top. The camera does include four preview screens to see what each sensor is about to capture, however, as well as on-camera controls for shutter speed, ISO, digital gain, and white balance.

Along with the Beast, Sphericam offers a camera that goes simply by the company’s name, and that has a sphere-shaped body with 4K 360 capture. The company says the Beast is designed more for professional users than the previous consumer option. The New York company was officially founded in 2014 after successfully launching its Sphericam 1 on Kickstarter in 2012.

The Sphericam Beast will be on display at today’s NAB Show in New York. The 360 camera’s price has not yet been announced, but the professional grade Beast will likely sell for more than the consumer Sphericam 2’s $2,499 launch price.

Editors' Recommendations

Hillary K. Grigonis
Hillary never planned on becoming a photographer—and then she was handed a camera at her first writing job and she's been…
Panasonic Lumix S1H is the first full-frame camera that can shoot 6K video
panasonic s1h first full frame 6k camera news lumix featured

The Lumix S1 and S1R full-frame mirrorless cameras haven't yet been out for 6 months, and already Panasonic has introduced a third model, the Lumix S1H. In what appears to be a video-focused version of the S1, the S1H is the world's first full-frame camera to shoot 6K/24p video. It also includes numerous other video-specific features, like support for anamorphic lenses and internal 10-bit 4K at up to 60 frames per second.

Regardless of resolution or framerate, the S1H promises unlimited record times without the risk of overheating. Video bit rate has not been revealed, but the full V-Log color profile will come as standard, offering a claimed 14 stops of dynamic range.

Read more
With Android built in, Pilot Era stitches 360 in 8K, no computer necessary
Pilot Era

4K seems like a lot of resolution, but wrapped into a 360-degree video, it can still feel a little lacking. To remedy this, Pisofttech is launching the first 360 camera that can stitch and share 8K videos in-camera, thanks to a built-in Android operating system. Announced earlier this year at the Consumer Electronics Show, the Pilot Era, a four-lens camera capable of shooting 8K 360 videos at 25 frames per second (fps) or 4K at an impressive 60 fps, is now funding on Indiegogo.

Pisofttech is most known for its 3D-imaging software, which is found in more 3D cameras than any other software. While the Pilot Era doesn’t have 3D capabilities, the camera’s four lenses and sensors work together to record and stitch 8K spherical video automatically. The four f/2.2 fisheye lenses are placed on each side of the rectangular body. While other pro-level 360 cameras have reached 8k resolution, the processing demands for that higher resolution require using a computer to stitch the files. Cameras like the Insta360 Pro, for example, can do 4K in-camera or 8K when stitching is performed separately. True to the company’s software reputation, the camera also uses algorithms to stabilize the footage and correct any distortions created by merging the four fields of view together.

Read more
The best 360 cameras you can buy
Capture life in every direction with the best 360 cameras
Ricoh Theta

360 cameras haven't had the revolutionary success story their makers were hoping for, but there are a few models that stand out and continue to push the format format. Our pick for the best 360 cam is the Rylo, a compact, dual-lens model that uses 360 not for sharing immersive content, but for creating better fixed-frame video (that is, traditional "flat" video). It comes with an easy to use app that lets you reframe content on the fly and share it to social media as quickly as possible. In fact, of the hundreds of cameras we've reviewed -- 360 or otherwise -- the Rylo has the best mobile editing app of them all.

360 may have started as a gimmick, but cameras like the Rylo are showing that there is a real consumer application for it. There are other 360 cams worth considering, though. The GoPro Fusion produces extremely clean stitching if you have the patience for it, and the slim Ricoh Theta will easily fit in just about any pocket. Here are the best 360 cameras you can buy right now.
At a glance

Read more