The latest 360-degree camera rig to support Google's Jump technology for filming YouTube-compatible 3D videos is the Yi Halo, a 17-camera behemoth designed to make it easier for professionals to shoot and stitch together virtual reality scenes.
Unveiled on Monday, the Yi Halo is the first Jump-compatible machine to include an upwards-facing camera, which means filmmakers can capture the sky or ceiling in addition to everything that's next to the camera, as seen in this video of sample footage shot around New York City.
The Yi Halo is capable of capturing 360-degree stereoscopic video at 30 frames per second with a maximum resolution of 8K by 8K, according to its maker Yi Technology. It can fit on most existing tripods and camera support systems. Yi, founded last year, is a US-based startup backed mostly by Chinese tech giant Xiaomi.
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Once the Yi Halo's 17 individual cameras finish capturing video, Jump sets to work. Announced in 2015, Jump is Google's one-stop software platform for the entire 360-degree video process, from capturing footage to stitching it together to playing it back. The Yi Halo joins other Jump-compatible machines, including the GoPro Odyssey, a synchronized set of 16 GoPro Hero4 cameras.
While the GoPro unit might be within reach of amateur 360-degree videographers, especially if they already have some Hero4s lying around, the Yi Halo most certainly is not. It will retail for $16,999 when it goes on sale this summer, according to Engadget. That's still cheaper than some competing 360-degree designs for camera rigs from the likes of Facebook, which cost more than $30,000 to build.
Yi also announced that it is working on a cheaper model, the YI 360 VR camera, which vaguely resembles a Flip cam and is aimed at consumers who want to experiment with taking their own 360-degree video. Pre-orders are available now for $399, and it's expected to start shipping in June.