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Full resolution sample photo from Nikon Keymission 360 shows amazing image quality

The Nikon Keymission 360 is a fully spherical 360 action camera recently launched at Photokina. There have been many sample videos.  Now here’s a sample photo, in full resolution (click on the photo below to see the full resolution).

The photo looks impressive.  Here are some notes:
1.  There is a excellent level of detail and sharpness across the frame.  Here is a 1:1 crop (click for full resolution).  It shows amazing detail even for distant objects.

2.  The only part that is soft is the stitch line.  I believe it is softer because the distance between the Keymission’s lenses is not as small as that of the Theta.  The larger the distance, the more difficult it is to stitch seamlessly.  In this case, Nikon compromised by softening the image at the stitch line to blend the halves more smoothly.

3.  Exposure and color are completely consistent on both lenses.  With some cameras like the Samsung Gear 360, the color and/or exposure can be different on one lens compared to the other.  With the Keymission 360, this is not a problem.  Speaking of exposure, it looks spot-on in this sample.

4. Colors are trademark Nikon.  They are natural-looking and not oversaturated.

5. Dynamic range is impressive for a small sensor camera.  The crop below shows a portion that has very bright highlights and deep shadows.  The image shows that all but the brightest highlights are preserved.  There is also very good shadow detail.

6. Flare resistance is above average.  There are a few flare artifacts as seen in the shot above (near the clouds), and there is a little drop in contrast near the sun.  But this is still pretty good.

7. Chromatic aberration.  Very good resistance to fringing.  At 1:1, only a thin purple fringe is visible.  Here it is at 2:1 (200% magnification)

Based on this sample photo, my tentative conclusion is that this could be the new leader in photo image quality – better than either the Samsung Gear 360 (reviewed here) or Ricoh Theta S (reviewed here).

Thank you very much to Clay Morehead for the info about the sample photo!

If you would like to purchase a Nikon Keymission 360, you can preorder one from Amazon (here) or B&H Photo (here).  Both of them offer free shipping, and for a limited time, will include an accessory pack worth $150.  I also ordered a Keymission 360 and will post a review when I receive it (expected release date: October 26, 2016)

RELATED POSTS:
Announcement and specifications
New sample videos
Comparison with Samsung Gear 360 and Kodak SP360 4k
Free accessory pack with preorders
Free shipping offer; available accessories
Keymission 360 comes with these accessories
Sample full resolution photo from Nikon Keymission 360
Hands-on report on the Nikon Keymission 360 from Photokina 2016

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Mic Ty

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