When Oculus kickstarted the VR revolution, Palmer Lucky made history by enabling affordable VR goggles into the hands of people like you and me. At CES this year, we did witness a huge rise in VR peripheral companies as VR hardware become increasingly commercialized. Of which, 360-degree camera becomes a necessity to produce VR content.

Traditionally, making 360° videos requires a 360-degree camera rig, 6~12 Gopro camera, and the video stitching software. The whole setup could be very expensive. Samsung announced Project Beyond, a 360-degree camera that generates 360-degree images for the VR goggles. Previously we talked about SphereVision as well as Bubl cam. At CES this year, there’s a rise in the amount of companies getting into the cinematic virtual reality space.

360-degree Cameras

Realtime Immersion

Realtime Immersion (RTI) is a company that specializes in capturing and streaming live 360° content with their proprietary camera. The patented camera was originally developed by RemoteReality, and was used in the US military to provide continuous situational awareness for manned and unmanned crafts.

Unlike most 360° camera, RTI camera does not require sticking separate frames together. The video combines high resolution (up to 9 pixels) with high frame rates (up to 60 FPS).

So consider RTI as a potential solution provider, if you ever have a need to hire a 360-degree video production company. RIT camera is not a commercial product. RTI works with companies like Red Bull, SF 49ers, Samsung, or even superstar DJ Deadmaus to produce their 360° videos.

Kodak SP360 Action Cam

Kodak made their return to CES for the first time in three years, this time they introduced their SP360 Action Cam. The water resistant camera has 16 megapixel MO sensor, full HD 1080p video, 10MP pictures with 10fps burst shooting, and wireless control pairing with iOS and Android devices.

Now, we all learned that Kodak did not do too well in the recent year, as the company had filed for bankruptcy back in 2012. What really disturbed us was learning that Kodak have not experimented with VR goggles with their camera whatsoever, and do not offer any software technology with their device.

Price : $349USD

IC Real Tech

Unlike Kodak, IC RealTech provide a total-solution for your 360° camera needs. They provide both the hardware and the software technology, and live-streaming capability. Several types of cameras are available for average or professional uses. The 360 content can be easily transferred into the software, with cloud storage, and virtual goggle viewing capability.

Ricoh Theta

The Ricoh Theta is a compact and sleek chic designed 360 camera that easily captures 360 photos and videos, and can be easily transferred into mobile VR headsets like the Samsung Gear VR.

Price: $299

Read a previous review of this camera here.

Blackloud I.C.E 360

This is another 360° camera that has live-streaming and cloud storage function. Blackloud told us that Youtube is in the process of developing 360-degree channel, and that Blackloud have been certified as an affiliate partner and will be the first ones to use the new Youtube 360° platform

Price: $250