This is the GoPro Fusion and it will change the way you share 360 content

Finally, GoPro has unveiled more details of its upcoming product, the GoPro Fusion. This is their new 360 action camera which will take on the likes of Samsung’s Gear 360 and Ricoh Theta. While other 360 cameras are bumping up in camera specs and form factor, GoPro is putting more emphasis on the output of its videos. The difference lies in the software which will make it more effortless to edit and share your content.

In terms of design. the GoPro Fusion is a boxy little device about the size of two GoPro Hero5 cameras. With two fisheye lenses (one on each side), GoPro says that the 360 video capture is equivalent to six GoPro cameras. It can capture 360 videos in 5.2K resolution at 30fps.

The rubberised dark grey material makes it look rugged like the GoPro Hero5 Black and there’s also a latch for battery, microSD slot and a USB Type-C port. It comes with a power button in front along with a display to show what mode you’re on. The selection/mode buttons are on the side and you’ll find the standard GoPro mount at the bottom which can be removed completely.

When compared to something like a Samsung Gear 360, it is obvious that the Fusion isn’t designed to be operated handheld. You can either put this stationary on a tripod or with GoPro’s existing mounting accessories.

Telling a story in 360 isn’t easy as you can’t frame the shot to keep your audience focused. To solve that problem, GoPro has something that’s called OverCapture. It lets you render flat videos in 1080p from specific viewpoints as intended by you. So you can start recording in full 360 and then decide what to focus on later in post production. You can check out the real world example of how OverCapture works below:

To make 360 video sharing easy for the masses, GoPro is also introducing a new QuikStories software. This eliminates the need of cumbersome video editing and it works somewhat similar to Google’s Photo Assistant.

It’s smart enough to go through your footages, then apply the necessary trimming, rearranging and transitions to generate a quick shareable video. If you’re not happy with the final video, you still can make extra edits before you start sharing. With QuikStories, anyone can upload 360 highlight videos of their trip instead of individual short 360 videos.

If done right, the Fusion and its sharing tools could be the game changer that GoPro needs. The big question is how soon can GoPro go to market? At the moment, they have not revealed any pricing or availability details but they are targeting to release it by end of this year.

[ SOURCE 2, IMAGE CREDIT ]