vr & 3d cameras, market overview

BY CHRISTOPHER GRAYSON

2 BY CHRISTOPHER GRAYSON

This report was originally published at Giganti.Co, the blog of Christopher Grayson.

This report is not a review of 3D cameras. It is rather an overview of the offerings in the 3D camera

marketplace, as the backdrop for my own insights into this market. The devices shown are not meant to

be comprehensive (impossible) but a breadth of examples to show the variety in the market.

For phone consultations and corporate speaking,

Christopher Grayson is represented by Gerson Lehrman Group.

INTRO


3D KEY:

3D content can be produced by a variety of methods. We will attempt to cover all the major bases here

including cylindrical 3D, spherical 3D, stereoscopic 3D, and their hybrids, stereo-cylindrical and

stereo-spherical. Each one of these also may have a variety of competing capture methods. Also, though

scan-based 3D image capture is beyond the scope of the report, it will be touched upon briefly.

From this I will draw some conclusions about the market.


CONSUMER EXPERIMENTS

Over the last 18 months or so the market has been flooded with a whole variety of fist sized 3D cameras, many of them ball shaped. In

the mass consumer market they are all going to fail.

When I see a new gadget and wish to gauge its potential success in the mass consumer market, I don’t just look at the need in the

market, I ask myself, “How will a smartphone eat this?”

In the short run, new gadgets come along as standalone devices. They typically achieve mass market success if they are “pocketable,”

and if so, they are only viable up until they are absorbed into the smartphone. Phone? Music Player? Digital Assistant/Day Planner?

Camera? All now merely features or apps on our smartphones. Ball shaped 3D cameras are neither pocketable nor a form factor easily

absorbed into a smartphone. They therefore fail my mass consumer adoption litmus test. How well they do or do not perform at their task,

technologically speaking, is irrelevant. Sure, a couple of may find a niche user base, but as a mass market category, these are doomed.


The only winner I see in the personal 360º camera market is the Ricoh Theta. The Theta is a pocketable 3D camera that employs back-to-

back fisheye lenses. It also benefits from being quite simple. I can see an easy path to absorption into the smartphone. I suspect we’ll see

at least one handset come to market with this kind of configuration … but I do not think this will ultimate prove to be the lasting solution in

the mass consumer 3D camera market, either.

Before I move on to a form factor that I do have confidence in, in the consumer market, I want to explore a few of the many other splendid

variations in the 3D camera market.

CONSUMER WINNER


The back-to-back fisheye lens solution of the Ricoh Theta is one we also see in the semi-pro and security

camera market. Fisheye lenses are popular in security / surveillance applications because their wide field of

DUAL FISH-EYE PROFESSIONAL


view can cover large areas with fewer cameras (hard to hide). Some can see up to 180º, hence when placed

back-to-back, can see in a full circle. The Kodak PixPro SP360 is used in such security applications, but also

has an available back-to-back tripod mount accessory turning these professional grade cameras into a 360º

system, with the assistance of stitching software. Nikon also makes a similar camera, the KeyMission 360, in

one self contained unit.

If you have existing hardware, such as two SLR camera

bodies, you may consider other fisheye lenses that can be

configured using cameras mounted in pairs, providing you

have the software to assemble the final panorama. Both the

professional and consumer fisheye lens market goes beyond

the scope of this review, constituting a market of its own.

Fisheye lenses of a variety of makes and models are available

for most cameras, including ones for use with smartphones.

DUAL FISH-EYE PROFESSIONAL CONTINUED


If you’re working with a single SLR camera body there is another solution available to you — convex mirror

lens attachments that, with post processing, can produce 360º panoramas of acceptable quality that have

the added benefit of no stitching required, eliminating the odds of a poor match between multiple lenses.

PANORAMIC MIRROR LENSES


MIRROR SPLITTER LENSES

Mirror splitter lenses attach to an existing camera, as a modification to the

optical path, creating stereoscopic output from a previously monoscopic,

single sensor camera. Poppy was a popular crowd-funded project that not

only turned the user’s iPhone into a stereoscopic camera, but on the reverse

side is a stereoscopic 3D viewer.


THE GOPRO ECOSYSTEM


THE GOPRO ECOSYSTEM

The GoPro HERO sports and hobby camera has an extensive

ecosystem of accessories, many for 3D, as shown on the

previous page. Though they’ve had their own stereoscopic rig

available for years, they have mostly relied upon the

third-party accessories market (and 3D printed accessories)

to accommodate anything more complex. However, in recent

weeks GoPro introduced the GoPro OMNI, a six camera rig

strikingly similar to Freedom 360’s Explorer Plus.

CONTINUED


STEREOSCOPIC PANORAMIC

In the pro-sumer and professional markets, there are many dedicated 3D camera products and

configurations.

If the goal is not just 360º photography / videography, but something usable in Virtual Reality, you will need

to understand a few terms like stereoscopy, parallax, and pupillary-distance. In our context, stereoscopy

refers to imagery that has two camera views, one for each eye, as humans do. Stereoscopic vision allows

us to see the world from two slightly different perspectives. The difference between these perspectives is

known as the parallax effect. It creates our perception of depth. If you place an object close to your face

and open-and-close your eyes, one at a time, the object may seem to jiggle, as each eyes views it from a

different angle.

The scale that objects appear relative to the viewer is determined by pupillary-distance, or more crudely

stated, the distance between one’s eyes. Average pupillary-distance for an adult humans is about 60mm.

Therefore a 3D cinematographer who wishes to place a viewer into a scene will have two camera lens,

placed ~60mm apart at center, and ~165cm above the floor-plane. On the other hand, if she wishes to give

a “god’s eye view,” she may shoot stereoscopically with two cameras placed very far apart. Relative to the


STEREOSCOPIC PANORAMIC CONTINUED

human pupillary-distance, this will make the objects appear small, or conversely, make the scene appear as

viewed through the eyes of a giant — an effect that might play very well, for instance, when experiencing a

sporting event from above. In the opposite extreme, if stereoscopic pairs of cameras are placed very close

together objects in the scene will appear large, as if the viewer themselves are very small, like a rodent’s

eye view, or an insect’s eye view, etc.

Stereoscopy can be achieved optically, or algorithmically.

For videography that is shot with a fish-eye lens, a convex mirror, or a ball of lenses, and algorithmically

stitched together into a cylinder or sphere, one can artificially generate two vantage points from the

available image data, and approximate stereoscopic vision of various pupillary-distances, though with each

post-production treatment the image quality is going to experience some degree of distortion / degradation.

On the other hand, if the stereoscopic effect is generated from the original source, limited by the quality of

the cameras used, the end result should be of higher quality.

From the collection above, the Vuze Camera, the Samsung Project Beyond camera, and others like them

will see adoption for amateur sports and other events. The higher end Nokia OZO and Jaunt ONE can be

expected to compete in the same space, at the higher end of the same, for live streaming VR sporting and

events.

These are also excellent devices for virtual tours including real estate, both commercial and residential; and

virtual tourism, both marketing for a destination as well as virtual tourism as an end unto itself.


STEREOSCOPIC PANORAMIC CONTINUED


TOP OF THE MARKET


The use of 360° video in cinematic productions will not become a thing.

Stereoscopic? Yes. 360°? No. I stand by this position for multiple

reasons.

The director’s role is to “frame the narrative.” Directors wish to keep

this control. Viewers want them to have it.

On set at a live shoot, “out of frame” is where infrastructure is hidden.

Viewers willfully suspend disbelief, not mindful that just out of view

stand lighting and mic-ing equipment, people holding reflector

boards, a dolly moving the camera, many assistants and various

specialists — all of this hidden from the camera. So in cinematic

production, the director wants to frame a narrative, the viewer wants

a reclining experience (don’t make me work), and when you factor in

the production cost, the economics for 360° in cinema do not work.

Stereoscopic on the other hand …

I predict that in cinematic VR production, a popular format will emerge: a narrow field of view, stereoscopic (20° wider than a given VR

device’s FOV, perhaps). In this manner, the viewer-experience will not be a completely locked vantage point. The production is then able

to create the sensation of presence (things like the subtle perspective changes caused by one’s own breathing, for instance), but keeping

a narrow crop, so the director is still in control of the narrative. The viewer will experience the illusion that they can look all about, but are

really just a wide-angle stereoscopic view. This is my prediction.

I would like to add, right now Virtual Reality is dominated by Silicon Valley, hence content creation is dominated by the console gaming

industry. There is a desire to project game-dev thinking into virtual reality cinema. I do believe that VR movies are coming (and excellent

VR gaming experiences will get here first), but I’m going on the record to say that the most widely adopted format for cinematic

productions in VR will not ultimately be full 360° field of view.

TOP OF THE MARKET CONTINUED


When working in 3D, there are other capture tools besides cameras. Light field technology, and laser

based 3D scanners offer other input methods, particularly at the higher end of the market. Heavy

industry, land surveying, architecture / engineering, and the movie special effects industry are all already

employing scanning technology. While this goes slightly beyond the scope of the overview, expect this

field to become more crowded as well.

OTHER PRO 3D CAPTURE


Set aside 360° for a moment.

Stereoscopic is where the tech industry will soon refocus its energy.

STEREOSCOPIC


For decades stereoscopic video has been used in robotics research where, like the eyes in our head, it

is used for depth perception. As 3D vision and other depth sensors become mainstream technologies,

these specialized companies will either focus on their other product lines, focus on vision software, or go

out of business (as Videre already has).

ROBOTIC STEREOSCOPIC


CONSUMER STEREOSCOPIC(CLASS OF 2011)

Five years ago, for CES 2011, stereoscopic cameras were a thing. Many were introduced. Most are no

longer available. The trend peaked prematurely. The problem in 2011 was that there were no good 3D

content consumption devices. You could take stereoscopic 3D images and video, but there were very few

ways to view it. In 2011 there were military-grade VR headsets, and personal viewers that were little more

than glorified Victorian era stereoscopes.

What a difference five years makes (in tech).


This time will be different — today, with many low cost HUDs on the market, adding stereoscopic

photography to smartphones will complete the virtuous loop of content creation and content

consumption. In the user-generated-content space, I expect to see short clips, Vine video like VR

moments, perfect for handheld viewers like Google Cardboard, Viewmaster VR, and Goggle-Tech.

SMARTPHONES TOO(CLASS OF 2011)


SPECULATIVE


Bringing this report full circle, I am projecting that the stereoscopic camera smartphone will make a

comeback … updated. Firstly, the lenses need to be placed at the proper pupillary-distance of aprox.

60mm, to match human scale for VR content. There will also be additional depth perception sensors.

I believe quite strongly that this is the form factor that Apple will be using in near

future iPhone updates, if not 2016, then likely by 2017. There are many reasons

to believe this will be the case. Two years ago Apple purchased 3D sensor firm,

PrimeSense, the company whose depth sensor technology was licensed by

Microsoft for use in their Kinect. Apple has thus far stayed mum, and their technology has yet to appear

in an Apple product. Last year Apple acquired LinX, holder of IP for two-lens camera systems. No

product has yet come to market using LinX two-lens technology. Then early this year, Apple acquired

FlyBy Media, responsible for the software licensed by Google for their multi-camera and depth sensor

based 3D mapping (SLaM) project known as Tango. Apple now owns all the technology, both hardware

and software, to build just such a device. Add to this my first requirement for consumer market success:

Stereoscopic 3D in an easily pocketable form-factor with a clear path to being eaten by a smartphone.

I also believe that an Android, in a limited production run, may come to market first.

Sony’s CTO doesn’t believe Apple can implement LinX technology in a 2016 iPhone

due to a supply chain bottleneck, but an Android manufacturer producing a limited

edition model could move faster.

CONCLUSION


SPEAKING / CONSULTING

For phone consultations and corporate speaking representation,


Christopher Grayson


SPEAKING / CONSULTING

For phone consultations and corporate speaking,


For U.S. & the Americas: Emily Voight, +1 512 651 3878

For Europe: Stephen Berry, +44 (0) 20 7147 4709

For Asia: Derrick Hui, +852 2912 0731

PAST SPEAKING TOPICS HAVE INCLUDED:

Startups and M&A Activity in Face Recognition Software

The Augmented Reality Eyewear Market

Desktop Augmented Reality in Retail

The Future of Virtual Reality Content

Convergence in Wearables and Fashion Accessories

Computer Vision and Digital-Out-Of-Home (DOOH) analytics

Surveillance, Privacy and State Power


Visit

cheers,

Christopher Grayson

vr & 3d cameras, market overview

Technology