360 Camera News and Info

EXCLUSIVE: Kandao Obsidian Pro 12K 360 camera sample 360 video (yes, it is a stitched sample)

Kandao Obsidian Pro sample 360 video
Kandao Obsidian Pro sample 360 video

Would you like to see a high resolution 360 video shot with a 12K 360 camera with sensors that are 13 times larger than the sensor of most 360 cameras?  You can even view the 360 video on a VR headset.  Kandao has allowed me to share a stitched 360 video from the recently-launched Obsidian Pro, a professional 360 camera with eight APS-C size sensors.

With sensors that are about 13 times larger than the sensors in consumer 360 cameras, the Obsidian Pro can provide much higher image quality — better dynamic range, bit depth, and low light noise.  Obsidian Pro is also one of the highest resolution 360 cameras, with up to 12K resolution in 3D 360.

Kandao Obsidian Pro 12K 3D 360 camera
Kandao Obsidian Pro 12K 3D 360 camera

You might be wondering why anyone would need 12K video when no one has a 12K monitor.  That’s because the resolution of 360 videos is spread out over 360 degrees and when you view it in 360, you are seeing only a small portion of the video, similar to a cropped view.  This means that 8K video has similar detail to a 1080p non-360 video.  So most displays are more than capable of viewing a 12K 360 video.

The sample from Kandao was a monoscopic 360 video stitched in Mistika VR in 12K (11520 x 5760) in Prores422 HQ format.  The video is approximately four times the resolution of 5.7K 360 videos from high end consumer 360 cameras such as the Insta360 One X2, Insta360 One R, or GoPro MAX.  The 15-second clip was 10.6 GB.

YouTube’s maximum resolution for 360 videos is currently 8K, so I downscaled the 12K video to 8K H.264 with a bitrate of 470mbps.  Here is the 360 video on YouTube.  You’ll need to click on the settings on the bottom right to select 8K.  You can view the video in any VR headset that has the YouTube app, such as the Oculus Quest 2.

You can download the sample file here.  For more information about Obsidian Pro, please see the main article.  What do you think?  Let me know in the comments!

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Mic Ty

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  • Nice to see, that at least some new professional Stuff will be released.
    But what about consumer grade 3D?
    It is so sad, but I think it is so dead like 3D TVs after 2013!
    Cinemas are closed, so there is no 3D Productions there and even with success of Oculs Quest there are no Consumer Devices on the Market.
    Some 2D 8K, but no VR 3D Stuff, it’s so pitty. Insta let fall the Evo after 12 Months and even the Insta 360 Software was not ported from Oculus Go to Quest.
    RIP 3D VR Photography.
    I hope my Insta Evo never Drops on their Lenses😬
    Greetings from Germany

  • my only issue with extreme resolution video is most people use mobile or even at home they don’t have the bandwidth to properly stream stuff like this, I’m more about a high quality super detailed 360 pano.

    I’m more interested in replacing matterport without needing a DSLR setup for high quality images that let you read text from a distance..

    Many of my shoots with matterport are 400-800 panoramas and up to 160,000sqft in a 5hr window, so its hard to replace them 100% anyway.

  • IMHO, it’s seems a bad idea that a brand provide a sample stitched with a 3rd party service.

    Potential buyers can’t know how to judge that sample… :-/

  • I am seeing more stitching trouble with these big lense distance.
    Also Machine Learning is never perfect in this field and will take long time to do the job.

    why not having a Pro 2-3 lens Camera – cheaper and better results.

      • Hi Mic,

        did You hear anything new about Kandao´s efforts to do a better stitcher?
        Is there any new Obsidian Pro footage to see better results?

        I can only repeat, a QooCam Pro or Obsidian Mini would have extreme success.
        2 Lens with Sensor and Lens of Obsidian line with ProRes Recording would sell like hell.

        excellent fast stitching
        better Price
        very compact
        faster production workflow
        resolution also 10-12k