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Computer vision company Lucid and cinema camera maker RED have partnered to create an 8K 3D camera that can capture 4-view (4V) holographic images and video in real-time. The camera is designed to work with RED’s upcoming holographic Hydrogen One smartphone—both by shooting holographic content that can be viewed on the phone’s 4V screen, and by using the modular phone as a “viewfinder.”
The camera itself (which has yet to be named) will be made by RED, but it will be powered by Lucid’s “real-time 3D Fusion Technology.” This tech generates 3D/4V footage in real-time, promising to turn a processing-intensive task into “an instantaneous point-and-shoot experience.”
The camera looks like any other RED cinema camera… sort of. Except instead of one 8K sensor the camera uses two “perfectly hardware-synced” 4K sensors and a beam splitter to capture and output 8K 4-view footage. That footage can be viewed after the fact or even live using the upcoming RED Hydrogen One smartphone, which will be able to integrate directly into the RED 3D/4V and act as a 3D viewfinder.
It’s important to not that this isn’t just a concept. RED and Lucid had a working prototype shooting scenes at the Hydrogen One launch party on May 19th.
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If you see this as a gimmick—and an expensive one at that—you’re probably not alone. But Lucid CEO and Co-Founder Han Jin has faith the world is ready for, and in fact craving, 3D/4V content you can digest without goggles or glasses.
“This partnership allows us for the first time to deliver the highest-quality 3D capture to our customers, and now they can view the content immediately in 3D/4V without headsets,” says Jin via press release. “At a time when two of the biggest challenges in the industry have been resolution and easy viewing of 3D content, we believe this is the solution everyone has been waiting for.”
We don’t have official pricing and release date information just yet. All Lucid and RED will reveal is that the camera—colloquially called the RED 3D/4V but still officially unnamed—will “be rolled out” in Q4 of 2018. To learn more about Lucid’s tech or this strange new camera, read the full press release below or visit the Lucid website.
Press Release
Lucid Partners with RED to Build 8K 3D/4V Camera for Hydrogen One
Collaboration will result in the first camera to convert full 8K 3D/4-View (4V) holographic images and videos in real time and the capability to dynamically adjust lens distances for the best 3D focus and zoom
Santa Clara, CA – May 22, 2018 — Lucid, the maker of the first VR180 3D camera, LucidCam, announces today it is working with Hollywood camera maker RED to build the next generation prosumer 3D/4-View (4V) camera for 8K video and image capture. The new camera is the first dual camera to give users full 8K video and picture capabilities converting to 4V in real-time while allowing them to shoot like professionals with dynamically adjustable lens distances for the best 3D focus and zoom. By attaching the soon-to-be-released modular holographic phone–RED Hydrogen One–to the camera, users will be able to view 3D/4V content in post and live as if it were the viewfinder.
The new RED camera is powered by Lucid’s real-time 3D Fusion Technology, transforming the time and processing-intensive 3D/4V workflow into an instantaneous point-and-shoot experience users crave. The look and feel of the new camera sticks to RED’s previous designs, but this time it has two perfectly hardware-synced 4K cameras which leverage a beam splitter to capture and convert the output to 8K 4V (.h4v) files. Once the content is created, all the high resolution 3D/4V videos and images can be distributed on YouTube and Facebook as well as through RED’s curated content universe.
“Having RED as a partner allows us to combine the best of both worlds – the highest resolution and quality hardware from RED with the most advanced software, our 3D Fusion Technology,” said Han Jin, CEO and co-founder, Lucid.
The RED and Lucid partnership enables both companies to extend their customer reach. Over the past year, Lucid has shipped and sold thousands of its VR180 3D LucidCams through Amazon and Best Buy as well as direct to consumers online, confirming the market interest and demand for creating and consuming such content. With Lucid’s solid consumer base and RED’s base of independent filmmakers and Hollywood producers, the new camera meets the need of a large, combined audience. The magic of 3D, VR and AR videos and images created by both the LucidCam and the RED 3D/4V camera can be enjoyed on the Hydrogen One without the hassle of wearing headsets.
The unique functions of the Hydrogen One phone in combination with the new 3D camera were showcased with a live 3D/4V preview at RED’s launch party on May 19th. Many people came to experience the holographic display capabilities, which provide a unique ability to let users look around and behind objects through 4-Views, and allow for viewing 3D, VR and AR content without any glasses or goggles. This phone also attaches easily to RED’s new camera and can act as a 3D viewfinder.
“This partnership allows us for the first time to deliver the highest-quality 3D capture to our customers, and now they can view the content immediately in 3D/4V without headsets,” said Jin. “At a time when two of the biggest challenges in the industry have been resolution and easy viewing of 3D content, we believe this is the solution everyone has been waiting for.”
The camera will be rolled out in Q4. Exact pricing is to be announced, as is the name of the camera. It will be sold through RED and its reseller channels.
For more information about Lucid, visit www.lucidcam.com.
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)