Earlier today, Insta360 launched the Insta360 Pro 2, a new groundbreaking six-lens VR camera designed for professionals seeking the ultimate balance or portability, form factor, image quality and a manageable workflow. The Insta360 Pro 2 is ready to shoot 8K-per-eye 3D 360 video and benefits from the impressive built-in image stabilization that Insta360 calls – FlowState stabilization.
The Insta360 Pro 2 also features long-range live monitoring, a simplified post-production in partnership with Adobe and their Premiere Pro NLE, as well as a new technology that delivers 8K VR to viewers regardless of whether they have high-end playback devices.
The Insta360 Pro 2 uses six cameras to capture every angle of a scene at once. The resulting videos or photos are then fused into two 8K 360 images, one per eye, to create immersive, beautifully detailed 3D VR.
Available shooting modes include 8K 3D at 30fps, (normal 2D) 8K monoscopic at 60fps, 6K 3D at 60fps, and 4K 3D at 120fps, among others.
New in-camera HDR keeps lighting natural even when it varies in every direction, and i-Log mode is optimized for maximum flexibility in post-production giving you more control over the images when colour grading your high resolution VR footage.
Insta360 Pro 2 Features/Highlights
- Capture up to 8K 3D 360 Videos & Stills
- 1000′ FarSight Remote Viewing & Control
- Record 8K while Live-Streaming 4K Video
- No-Stitch Editing in Adobe Premiere Pro
- 9-Axis FlowState Image Stabilization
- Records to 6 x MicroSD & 1 x SD Card
- Six 200° Fisheye Lenses (Selectable)
- Built-In GPS Supports Google Street View
- Auto Proxy File Creation
- 2 x USB, 1 x Ethernet, 1 x Audio In
- Price: $4,999.95 at B&H
- Available: September, 2018
The Pro 2 weighs in at about 3.42 pounds (including a battery and antennae), making it easy to carry on remote shoots or send up on a drone, and its hot-swap battery dock ensures that it stays powered-up out in the field. It also has 4x built-in mics for 360 audio, plus a pair of USB and 3.5 mm audio inputs on its top and bottom – allowing creators to add a custom audio setup or other add-ons as their shoots demand.
In order to capture video, you’d need 6x MicroSDs as the camera has card slots, one per each camera, allowing the Pro 2 to record at the maximum possible bitrate, ensuring optimal image quality and post-production flexibility. A seventh Full SD card captures stabilization data and low-res proxy files optimized for editing in Adobe Premiere Pro.
The Pro 2 features Insta360’s proprietary FlowState stabilization, bringing a high-quality in-camera stabilization system to professional VR for the first time ever, which is a big deal; VR creators can now bring more production value by having stabilized footage from the get-go. You can see samples of this feature below.
The Insta360 Pro 2 uses an ultra-precise gyroscope that tracks motion on nine axes to achieve this high level of stabilization.
FlowState Stabilization Samples (download link in the video description):
FlowState Stabilization Demo 2:
Farsight Low-Latency Wireless Live Monitoring
One of the biggest issues with VR content creation is monitoring – since the nature of 360 degree video is to well, show everything, simply standing behind the camera or a tree does not really cut it. In the world of VR cameras one of the most fundamental challenges of the medium is how to solve the issue of unreliable, short-range and prone to delay and interference live monitoring?
The Pro 2 comes paired with all-new Farsight technology, a 360° live monitoring system that offers a high-definition, low-latency video stream that’s optimized for long-distance previewing.
With a transmitter and receiver, creators can effortlessly direct and control their scene from a distance of roughly 300 meters ground-to-ground (about 1,000 feet), and 1 km (around 0.62 miles) ground-to-air. Transmitting at 5.18GHz, the Farsight uses smart channel switching to ensure it always cuts through the noise.
Simplified “No-Stitch” Workflow with Premiere Pro
The Pro 2 is tailored for convenient stitching and editing using Insta360’s integrated Adobe Premiere Pro workflow.
Every time the Pro 2 captures a video, it automatically saves a low-res proxy version in addition to the full-quality footage. All you need to do when you finish a shoot is to directly import your Insta360 Pro 2 footage into Adobe Premiere Pro. The proxy files will be automatically recognized and stitched instantly to let creators preview their final project.
This proxy version can be used to edit the project as usual. Then, when users are ready to export, Insta360’s algorithm will take over and stitch together exactly the footage they used in the final project, at full quality.
CrystalView Technology – Deliver to Multiple Devices
Delivering 360 VR footage to a mass audience is not an easy task, as there are many different devices using their own proprietary formats, causing lots of frustration with VR creators. Most smartphones or popular headsets like the Oculus Go or Samsung Gear VR, max out at 4K resolution.
Insta360 Pro 2 uses the company’s proprietary CrystalView technology, enabling Pro 2 content to be quickly converted into a format that’s ready to playback – at full 8K quality – on any mainstream smartphone or headset. Insta360’s free playback apps (such as Insta360 Moment) will dynamically render these files, displaying in full quality the exact segment of a scene that a user is looking at.
4K/360 degree Live-Streaming
The Insta360 Pro 2 supports 360 live-streaming at 4K resolution — in both 3D and monoscopic formats and you can also save full-quality 8K footage at the same time that you broadcast in 4K, giving you the flexibility to turn your live recording into a polished edit later on.
Built-In GPS, Enhanced Antenna
The Insta360 Pro 2 sports a built-in GPS module, enhanced with a top-mounted antenna to improve signal strength. Creators can automatically append GPS data to their captures, allowing for easy contributions to Google Maps Street View and other precision-mapping projects.
Pre-order, Price and Availability
When you buy an Insta360 Pro 2 you also get a 3-month license for Mistika VR Professional Edition ($236 USD value), offering customizable stitching controls, integrated with Insta360’s official stitching libraries. Also included is a 3-month license for Blend Media’s 360 Stories Pro software ($745 USD value), letting users easily create and publish virtual tours and other interactive 360 experiences.
You can pre-order the Insta360 Pro 2 now from B&H for $4,999.95. You can also place your pre-order via Insta360 Store. Pre-orders includes the Farsight transmitter system, plus one battery. The Insta360 Pro 2 is expected to begin shipping sometime in September.
For tech specs and further details head over to Insta360’s website here.
Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate partner and participant in B&H and Adorama Affiliate programmes, we earn a small comission from each purchase made through the affiliate links listed above at no additional cost to you.
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