GoPro has unveiled two new action cameras, the Hero6 Black, an updated version of its flagship camera targeting adventurous photographers, and the Fusion, a 360-degree spherical camera that will ship in November. The Hero6 Black includes a first-ever custom processor built for GoPro, and includes a digital zoom, better voice control, more user-friendly editing software and the ability to transport footage three-times faster than the previous version. It is priced at $499, about $100 more than its predecessor. Continue reading GoPro Debuts Hero6 Black and 360-Degree Fusion Cameras

Ubiquiti, a company known for selling networking products, has introduced FrontRow, a $399 Android-based wearable camera with a round display that enables “effortless capture” from a first-person point of view. The camera lets users toggle the livestream through Facebook Live, YouTube Live and/or Twitter Live. The two 55-gram (almost two-ounce) cameras, one on each side of the wearable device, offer a round 1.96-inch 640×572 LTPS (active matrix LCD) display. FrontRow features a quad-core processor, 2GB of RAM and 32GB of storage. Continue reading Ubiquiti Rolls Out $399 Wearable Camera for Live Streaming

Two years ago, Gnarbox, which offloaded video from the smartphone to enable 4K video editing, earned over $500,000 from almost 3,000 backers on Kickstarter. Today, the $299 Gnarbox — a small black box for portable backup and editing — contains a mini-PC with 1.9GHz quad-core processors, a dedicated GPU, 128GB storage, Wi-Fi, SD card slots and three USB ports, but no display. Instead, all the processing that takes place in Gnarbox is visible on the user’s smartphone, with editing in and out points indicated by a simple swipe. Continue reading Startup Gnarbox Enables 4K Video Editing From Smartphone

At NAB this week, Google introduced its latest VR camera, the Yi Halo, one year after partnering with Xiaomi-backed, Chinese action cam maker Yi Technology. The $17,000 spherical device, which uses Google’s cloud-based stitching system Jump for producing stereoscopic 360-degree videos, will be available this summer. The Yi Halo combines 16 4K action cams with an extra camera facing upwards. While Google unveiled Odyssey two years ago, featuring 16 GoPros, the rig has largely served as a test case. The Yi Halo, however, is commercially designed with feature improvements and multiple extras. Continue reading NAB 2017: Google Unveils the New $17K Yi Halo VR Camera

Headed by camera expert Brian Cabral, a team of Facebook engineers unveiled plans for two new orb-shaped cameras to capture 360-degree video. With an eye towards image fidelity, one of the cameras features 24 lenses and the other, less expensive one boasts six. Both feature six axes or “degrees of freedom,” meaning they have a great range of motion for capturing a more complete image. With the new cameras, Facebook aims to outfit professional filmmakers with the ability to capture 2D and 3D 360-degree video. Continue reading Facebook Advances its Plans for New Virtual Reality Cameras

Drones are a booming industry sector. Gartner Research says global drones sales in 2016 bumped up 60 percent to 2.2 million, with revenue growing 36 percent to $4.5 billion. The Consumer Technology Association reports that hobbyists in the U.S. purchased 2.4 million drones in 2016, compared to 1.1 million in 2015. But it isn’t easy to nail down sales numbers for drones, given that the definition for what constitutes a drone varies. Gartner calls an aircraft that can connect to the Internet a drone, a “conservative” definition.  Continue reading Sales of DJI Drones Are Going Sky-High as Market Takes Off

Snap Inc. will open the doors to a new online store dedicated to expanding sales of its connected sunglasses. Spectacles.com launches just as the company’s New York City pop-up store closes, and anyone in the U.S. can buy a pair of Spectacles, priced at $130. At the same time, Snap’s founders will start marketing its upcoming IPO to mutual funds and hedge funds in London. Snap released Spectacles, its first hardware product, before filing for its IPO. They were initially sold in a handful of vending machines. Continue reading Snap Opens Online Store for Spectacles and Readies its IPO

Grass Valley regional account manager Mark Chiolis moderated the HPA Tech Retreat 2017 version of an annual panel looking at the latest trends in remote, mobile, live productions. “Last year’s panelists focused on traditional remote, mobile, live,” said Chiolis. “This year we’re expanding the definition of what live and remote is.” NEP technical advisor George Hoover, focusing on the use of IP in live events, described a new remote production model in which only cameras, camera operators and audio capture are at the venue. Continue reading HPA Tech Retreat: Latest in Remote, Mobile, Live Productions

Following failed attempts at becoming a media company, GoPro announced it plans to shutter its entertainment division and cut 15 percent of its staff, about 200 full-time positions. Former Microsoft exec and Skype CEO Tony Bates, president of GoPro since 2014, will step down by the end of the year. Despite high-profile hires, including Charlotte Koh from Hulu Originals and Bill McCullough from HBO Sports, as well as a 2014 Emmy for its Hero 3 camera and a variety of athlete endorsements, GoPro has been unsuccessful in pushing its entertainment offerings. After losing about half its value this year, the company hopes that restructuring will help return it to profitability. Continue reading GoPro to Lay Off 200 Employees, Tony Bates Stepping Down

DJI’s Mavic Pro drone is now being reviewed and sold to consumers, and it’s coming up roses. Already sold out or back-ordered in many places, the drone features numerous advanced features in a highly portable package, with a range of 4 miles and a top speed of 40 mph. The Mavic Pro has taken a page from the technology book of the larger Phantom 4, using an array of cameras to see obstacles in 3D and make quick decisions to avoid them. The small controller can hook onto a smartphone, which becomes its main screen. Continue reading Mavic Pro Review: DJI’s New Drone Is Compact and Capable

Snap is already sold out on its first run of Spectacles, the $130 Snapchat sunglasses with a built-in camera for shooting video. The sunglasses were for sale in a pop-up vending machine, dubbed Snapbot, at the company’s Venice Beach headquarters, and now some of them are already for sale on eBay priced at $600 to $1,000. Snap is deliberately rolling out Spectacles in a playful fashion, with vending machines festooned with balloons and designed to look like a Cyclops cartoon character. Continue reading Snapchat Offers its Spectacles via Snapbot Vending Machines

In fall 2014, Google began developing a project it just unveiled: the Jump 3D video capture and production platform for virtual reality. Just as the newly released Daydream View makes the VR headset affordable, with Jump, the company hopes to make VR production both less expensive and, with 3D, more immersive. Although 3D has lost popularity, its use for virtual reality creates more of a “you are there” experience by emulating the way human vision works. Most 360-degree videos are currently still shot in 2D. Continue reading Google Launches Jump Camera Rig and 3D Video Assembler

GoPro just introduced the Karma Drone, priced at $799, and two new Hero cameras: the Hero5 Black, priced at $399, and the Hero5 Session, for $299. The cameras will release on October 2 and the drone will ship on October 23. The Karma Drone, which is small and folds into the rectangular backpack it comes with, requires no assembly: its four arms, each of which sports a rotor, fold down against the body to store and snap into place for action. The drone itself is very flat, which makes it easy to carry. Continue reading GoPro Unveils Karma Drone, Hero5 Black and Hero5 Session

GoPro has been in the content business for some time, making money with branded video (including partnerships with Ford and Wimbledon), a content licensing portal (especially action-sports clips shot with GoPro), and a YouTube channel with more than 4 million subscribers and 1.25 billion video views. Now, GoPro is committing to entertainment in a new way: launching 32 short-form shows through the end of 2016 and into early 2017. The company is differentiating itself from rivals by offering video editing tools in the cloud. Continue reading GoPro Doubles Down on Entertainment with 32 New Programs

Google is readying Daydream VR, a store/software service, set to debut around the same time as new Android phones, VR headsets and controllers. Daydream will offer users apps from YouTube and HBO Now among others. Google is also investing in original content to help build the buzz for its platform, including 360-degree projects with YouTube stars such as the Dolan twins and Justine Ezarik, as well as projects from Hulu. The goal is to become the dominant way that consumers interact in VR. Continue reading Google Pursues Original VR Content Prior to Daydream Debut