The Kandao Obsidian Pro, a 12K 3D 360 camera, has been officially launched, with a few surprises from the information I’ve posted previously.
As previously posted, the Obsidian Pro features eight APS-C sensors, the largest sensors among all-in-one 360 cameras (i.e., excluding rigs). It also has 12-bit RAW video and can take 14-bit RAW photos. Here are some surprising new features:
1. SSD. Most professional 360 cameras use several memory cards (usually one per sensor). This is necessary to record an adequately high bitrate for each sensor. The Insta360 Titan, for example, uses nine SD cards. The Obsidian Pro on the other hand, records eight videos simultaneously to a single SSD drive. This could make the workflow much easier.
2. Electronically adjustable focus – The Obsidian Pro is the first 360 camera to have an electronically adjustable focus. The focus on all lenses can be simultaneously adjusted to either prioritize near objects or far objects.
3. Super VC liquid cooling. When recording very high resolution videos, the sensors and processor can overheat quickly. The Obsidian Pro is the world’s first 360 camera to have liquid cooling, which should provide more effective cooling than fans alone or passive cooling mechanisms.
Here is a hands-on report on the Obsidian Pro by Yuqing Guo.
KANDAO OBSIDIAN PRO PRICE AND AVAILABILITY; LAUNCH PROMO
The Obsidian Pro prices are as follows:
- $24,500 (no SSD)
- $26,700 (4TB SSD)
- $28,900 (8TB SSD)
- $35,000 (16TB SSD)
The Obsidian Pro is available for order direct from Kandao and will begin shipping May 20. They also have a special launch promo: from April 15 to May 31, 8TB SSD Bundle can be upgraded to 16TB SSD Bundle for free.
What do you think of the Obsidian Pro? Let me know in the comments! For more information about the Obsidian Pro, please see the main article.
I’m very, very interested, but I need to know some things like minimum stitching distance (in 2D and 3D), stitching quality, flare resistance, etc.
So I need to see some serious tests from you (or other trustable source). 😉
Thanks Michel. I don’t think they will send one to me for testing but if I get that information, I will be sure to post it!
Are the tariffs going to affect this? I don’t want to pay 25% on 30k
Hi Aaron. Best thing to do is go to a Kandao Facebook group then make a post directed at people from your country who have ordered direct from Kandao. They can tell you if they had to pay additional taxes or not.
Uh…$550/TB? I presume that’s a custom case and cooling system where it isn’t possible to use an industry standard SSD or NVMe, at $100-150/TB, in a $200-400 KANDAO case.