VUZE Camera officially launches it's Pre-Orders, I have been excited for months!

HumanEyes Technologies, a leader in photographic 3D, computer vision and lenticular graphic arts, has announced new technical capabilities and started taking orders of VUZE, the groundbreaking 3D 360° VR camera and software studio that captures and renders 3D and 2D VR content in near real-time and with a super easy interface and a click of one button. Priced at  $799, VUZE is less than 3% of the cost of the Facebook Surround 360 ($30,000) and less than 2% of the cost of the NOKIA OZO ($60,000), bringing immersive content creation to the masses.

Available at www.vuze.camera for $799, the pre-order bundle includes the VUZE Camera and software studio, VR headset, purposely engineered ‘selfie stick’ and tripod, stylish carrying case and a newly designed handle for alternative ways to hold the device. Pre-orders begin May 12, 2016 with shipping in the fall of 2016. While people need to register a pre-order to secure this price and guarantee their place among the first to receive VUZE, no payments will be taken until shipping.

As an early adopter I have already pre-ordered mine and you can read about my excitement here. http://www.catsandvr.com/blog/2016/4/13/so-i-pre-ordered-a-vuze-camera

You get not only a camera, but also access to a total 360° filmmaking package. One of the things that excites me the most is the VUZE editing suite. Currently 360° video editing is not the most efficient and I am excited that VUZE is solving for this issue. 

VUZE is built on its own technology architecture and can be controlled by a dedicated iOS and Android app. Eight full HD cameras simultaneously capture images, videos and sound to facilitate full stereophonic and 360° 3D spherical content.

Each camera uses lenses that capture 120 0 horizontal FOV and 180 0 vertical FOV that together generate 4K 360 VR content. Since the VUZE camera can easily generate #d and 2D content, it is like having two cameras in one. Its 8 FHD cameras deliver one of the highest quality 2D content experiences on the market and greatly reduce the effects of flare and peripheral distortion associated with ultra-wide fisheye lenses.

The camera’s battery and removable SD card allows for up to one hour of video capture and internal processing and compression capabilities produce H.264 HD video files for editing. Featuring a stylish, ergonomic design, the VUZE camera is available in red, yellow, black and blue.  Pre- Order Here http://vuze.camera/

Cats And VR

So I pre-ordered a Vuze Camera...now what?

Yesterday I received an email that got me both excited and nervous about the potential future of CatsAndVR.com

Though I am super excited for VR, I am a filmmaker first and foremost. I can write about every thing from Oculus games to adult content on cardboard but eventually I am going to have to make some Cat VR videos. The site is called CatsAndVR.com at the end of the day.

One of the keys to consumer VR success will be stereoscopic panoramic cat videos.

— John Carmack (@ID_AA_Carmack) November 6, 2014

I spend most of my available cash being a loving husband and a good cat dad so my budget is currently very limited and VR is a very expensive hobby. 

Currently there are several options available for a VR filmmaker but the best HD video camera for the average consumer is priced too high for the average consumer. The realm of professional grade setups, like the Nokia OZO or the Freedom360 GoPro Mount with six GoPros is out of my range. I also am not in the financial bracket to build a $30,000 Surround 360 camera, but I do give Facebook credit for making it open source.

Perhaps getting something lower end would work and I thought about a Ricoh Theta but at $350 it seems steep for something that may be obsolete at the end of the year.

Where does that leave me? Enter the Vuze Camera.

Vuze Camera, the world's first consumer 3D 360 VR camera by HumanEyes Technologies. Easy to use, light weight, awesome design and comes with a complete kit which is all you need to be able to relive your moments. 

When I first discovered Vuze Camera I turned to twitter. The social media manager was very engaging and provided some great information. I followed up with my own research and found out that people had some concerns about the product. Engadget ran a story on Vuze and to my surprise Anton the VP R&D of Vuze tried to quell those concerns in the comments of that story.

I am really putting my trust on Anton on this one as I said I already pre-ordered one.

So getting into that pre-order, since I signed up for pre-order information I was offered the launch price as well as a promo code that with the headset, tripod, and software package looked to be a really good deal. In comparison to the Ricoh Theta the price seemed pretty good. I am hoping I made the right choice. 

One thing of note on preordering, when I first tried to order my card was declined. When I asked the card company why they said I was making an international order and they wanted to verify it first. This is probably something the company should be aware of and any one who preorders should be aware of this possibility, but hey I could be an edge case.

I was able to get the pre order processed but now I have to wait until October. That is quite a bit away for someone who wants to go out and create some VR Cat videos right now. The only thing I can do now is hope that HumanEyes Technology does deliver on their promises as well as expected delivery time. I just put my VR filmmaking hopes as well as cash on a product I have yet to try. I hope my cat like intuition is steering me in the right direction.

I personally took the plunge to pre-order but go check out the product and do the research to see for your self.  http://vuze.camera/

For me the VUZE camera has the potential to do for VR filmmaking what the Panasonic DVX100a did for independent digital filmmaking. 

Cats And VR