Labpano (formerly called Pisofttech) has launched the Pilot One, a compact professional 8K 360 camera with livestreaming and 3D virtual tour capabilities.
The Pilot One is the second 360 camera from Pisofttech and is the successor to the Pilot Era. As with the Era, the One also has four lenses and a touchscreen and in-camera stitching with stabilization. However, compared to the Pilot Era, the Pilot One is much more compact and can fit in a coat pocket, measuring just 44mm x 44mm x 125mm, similar to about two Ricoh Theta Z1 cameras stacked together, and is both shorter and narrower than the Qoocam 8K, albeit substantially thicker.
Specifications and features
Here are its specifications and features:
| Pilot One | Pilot Era | |
| Lenses | Four fisheye lenses | Four fisheye lenses |
| Aperture | f/2.28 | f/2.4 |
| Sensor | Sony 12mp 1/2.3-inch sensor | Sony 12mp 1/2.3-inch sensor |
| Photo resolution | 8192 x 4096 | 8,192 x 4,096 |
| Video resolution (in-camera stitching but not realtime) | 7680 x 3840 | 7680 x 3840 @ 24fps* 6784 x 3392 @ 30fps 5760 x 2880 @ 30fps* 3840 x 1920 @ 60fps* *updated 7/12/18 |
| Video resolution (realtime in-camera stitching) | TBA | 7680 x 3840 @ 7fps 5760 x 2880 @ 15fps 3840 x 1920 @ 30fps |
| Live streaming | 3840 x 1920 @ 30fps Facebook and YouTube | 3840 x 1920 @ 30fps Facebook and YouTube |
| Video format, encoding and bitrate | mp4 H.264 / H.265 Bitrate: up to 100mbps* *updated 7/12/18 | mp4 H.264 / H.265 Bitrate: up to 100mbps* *updated 7/12/18 |
| Audio | 3.5mm stereo mic jack mono microphone | 4 microphones Ambisonic sound |
| Stabilization | Realtime image stabilization with AI and 9-axis gyro | Realtime image stabilization with AI and 9-axis gyro |
| LCD screen | 2.2-inch TFT LCD touchscreen full color 800 x 480 | 3.1-inch TFT LCD touchscreen full color 800 x 480 |
| Storage | internal 64GB | internal 64GB* + one Micro SD card up to 256 GB *updated 7/12/18 |
| Connectivity | USB Type C Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac Ethernet (Gigabit) 4G (upgradeable to 5G) Nano SIM Card | USB Type C Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac Ethernet (Gigabit) 4G (upgradeable to 5G) Nano SIM Card |
| Mount | 1/4-20 | 1/4-20 |
| Battery life | 3400 mah 2 hrs recording removable battery | 7000 mah 3.5 hrs recording removable battery |
| Dimensions | 44mm x 44mm x 125mm | 61mm x 61mm x159mm 2.4 in x 2.4 in x 6.2 in |
| Weight | 288 grams | 565 grams 1.2 lbs. |
| Price and availability | $1199 | $2799 |
One of the new key features of the Pilot One is the Pilot Tour 3D virtual tour service. Users can upload photos to their cloud service, which can convert the photos to a Matterport-like 3D virtual tour automatically. Users can log on to accounts.labpano.com and will be able to view the 3D tour on Labpano’s site or embed the 3D tour on their website. Labpano has not finalized whether there is an addition cost associated with Pilot Tour. As of May 2020, Pilot Tour’s accuracy appears to have improved significantly, but the accuracy is not on the same level as Matterport, Cupix, or Benaco.
Pilot One also has several accessories:
The 4G Network component has a SIM card slot that will enable the Pilot One to live stream without being connected to a PC or phone. The protective shell has fins that protect the lens from hitting the ground, although they will not protect the lenses from protrusions.
ENHANCED EDITION
In October 2020, Labpano announced a new version of the Pilot One called the Pilot One EE (Enhanced Edition). It will feature built-in GPS, a new IP65 water resistant case, and will have silent passive cooling.
Labpano has offered a free trade-in to Pilot One EE for existing owners of Pilot One until November 30, 2020.
Sample videos and sample photos
Here is a sample 360 video from Pilot One. This montage includes sample videos in 8K 24fps and realtime stitching at 4K 30fps.
Here are sample photos from the Pilot One, both indoor and outdoor, in HDR and non-HDR.
Price and availability
Pilot One is now available from Labpano for $1199. With my affiliate link, you can support 360 Rumors at no additional cost to you so I can do more tests and reviews. Here is the official website. Note: Labpano informed me today that the GPS promo ended in April.
Hi Mic, thx for your information, even in midst of the christmas holliday season 😉 Best wishes to you and your family! Klaus from Austria
Merry Christmas Klaus!!!
3D? Virtual tours
Thanks Mic for the fast facts 😉😊
So can it do stereo 180?
the spec page says 360 video 8k@7fps ?
For Google street view
Any price for this yet Mic?
1200 USD
I love my DSLR + Sigma 8mm + Nodal Ninja + PTgui + 3dVista
cool
Excellent combo!
wow, those sample photos look disappointing. good dynamic range, but detail similar to a years old Fusion (which can also be had for a quarter of the price, with gps built in).
Sad
Hi Mic
Are you able to get stereo sound using an external microphone on the Pilot One? What external microphone would you recommend to use with the Pilot One? I’m interested more in capturing the ambient sound rather than a wearable mic
Hey there Jorgen. I will check. I don’t have a zoom H3-VR microphone but I have a Zoom H2n.
just got my pilot one and feeding stereo into the camera but just getting 1 channel (left) in the livestream. Spec seems to be right “mono” – quite disappointing for someone trying to livestream music…
Hi Martin – After the recent version update I am now able to get 2 channel mono sound from the built in microphone – and 2 channel sound if I plug in my external microphone – before I could only hear out of the left channel wearing mi AirPods – now I hear it out of both ears. If you updated to the latest version and still only hear through the left ear then it is probably your microphone maybe connecting through an adapter to the mini plug? I use a simple Saramonic SRXM1. BTW I found that if I use the external mic that I have to go into settings and turn the mic gain all the way up. Also look up Dave Guilford on the Labpano Facebook group – he has the Pilot One and is a professional sound man
Hi Jorgen, thanks for your encouraging findings – my pilot one came with V 5.3.0 saying its up to date. So it might be a plug or cable issue – i will try other ones. (tried already to use TRRS instead of TRS plug, but would not help. Still only left channel. We are feeding from a Stage Mixer and get sufficient sound level on camera set to 50% mic level in camera.
I will post if there a are news on this.
Hi Mic, thanks so much for your extensive videos over the years.
I’m a real estate agent who has a Mi Sphere and is looking to trade up to a newer camera for high quality, 360 videos to share with buyer clients and promote listings (instead of 360 stills that comprise the more typical “virtual tour.”).
It would be great to be able to stream these videos in real time to share with buyer clients, as promised by LabPano’s Swiftbird 8k Cloud Live service! What has been your experience with the Swiftbird service, and the Pilot One overall in the 1.5 months you’ve had it?
Or should I just get the Insta360 One R, save the bucks, but lose the real-time aspect?
Many thanks in advance!
Thanks Marc. So far Pilot Tour hasn’t been accurate enough to be usable. There have been several updates that supposedly improve accuracy so I plan to test again.
Thank you for this article. Which camera would you recommend that is easiest to deal with in terms of capturing 360 video for 6+ hours. The big issue I find with what i’m reading is that most of them have a lack of storage & poor battery life
Hi Maria. I don’t know of any camera that can record for 6 hours. However, there are some live streaming 360 cameras that can stream for 6 hours or more, such as the Ricoh R. https://360rumors.com/ricoh-r-is-live-streaming-right-now/