LucidCam ($499; available on Amazon) addresses one of the issues that prevents wide adoption of virtual reality (VR): VR headsets aren’t hard to find, but VR content creation remains a major barrier.
LucidCam is a compact, lightweight (8 ounce) stereoscopic 3D VR camera (like OCULUS GEAR VR ) that slides nicely into the palm of your hand, and it promises to boost interest in casual content creation by and for mainstream viewers.
The unit, whose smooth, stylish exterior sports two front-facing fisheye lenses—like a pair of eyes with peripheral vision—gives you a 180-degree spherical 3D visual field of view (left, right, up, and down) for each lens. It captures both video and still images with a single button and switches modes easily. Both the still and video record at 4K per lens, with video capture at 30 fps.
One thing that sets LucidCam apart is that it records 3D 180-degree VR, as opposed to 2D 360-degree footage. Lucid VR is betting that its method will better serve amateur videographers by producing more dynamic footage with a well-defined, compositional point of view. The 3D quality makes it deep and immersive, but the 180-degree angle also makes shooting and producing more accessible because the output is internally stitched, and it is compatible with conventional photo and video software. The camera generates some 50MB per minute. It also records stereo audio via 48Hz microphones, which produce non-compressed, editable 16-bit audio.
LucidCam is functional right out of the box, packed with 2GB of RAM and 32GB of onboard storage, though you can plug an additional 32GB into it on a microSD card. If you want 360-degree 3D content from this unit, it can be done, but you’ll need three cameras loaded onto a rig.
LucidCam ease of use
LucidCam has no viewfinder, so you can’t see what you are filming with the camera. The best way to learn how to film, without the help of the companion Lucid VR iOS app, is to experiment with shooting to see what the camera sees, and thus position it properly without an assist.
With a 180-degree field of view, the camera sees what is in front of it in wide angle (f/2.2). Workflow instructions, linked from the LucidCam site, take you step-by-step through the process of shooting both images and videos.
The company says its lithium-ion battery lasts about 1.5 hours of shooting, but if you make sure the camera is off when not in use, it can last for the day
Lucid VR app
LucidCam works with its own mobile helper app, which lets you control the camera from your phone, observe previews of your shots, view your finished stills and videos, and even share the finished output via Facebook and YouTube.
The app also lets you view photos and videos from the camera on its gallery page, but you must choose the selections you want to save and download them to your phone.
