You know we’re at peak levels of crazy when somebody shoves 16 8K RED Helium sensors into a single camera. But that’s exactly what Facebook and RED have done with the new Manifold 360 camera. Designed for “immersive cinematography”, the Manifold allows RAW video capture from all 16 cameras at 8K resolution and 60 frames per second each simultaneously. Oh yeah, it’s way out there.

According to Facebook, the way it works… Well, let Facebook explain it themselves. Last May, Facebook and RED Digital Cinema announced a collaboration to build the world’s first end-to-end solution for 3D and 360 video capture. Today, we’re excited to reveal a first-look at the Manifold camera. Read more about it here: http://facebook360.fb.com/2018/09/26/film-the-future-with-red-and-facebook-360/ Posted by Facebook 360 on Wednesday, September 26, 2018

Using RED’s best-in-class camera sensor design and image processing pipeline, filmmakers get superior image quality when shooting their projects, from live and avant-garde performances to big-budget spectacles. Facebook’s industry-leading depth estimation technology captures 3D information from any scene—like characters, props, and everyday backgrounds—resulting in high-quality video bursting with enhanced volumetric detail and movement. Basically, it captures an entire scene in ultra high resolution and then, using something akin to photogrammetry, rebuilds the scene in 3D, remapping all of the original footage on top. This allows for panning and zooming at any angle, but also some degree of camera movement after the fact. Manifold captures multiple camera angles simultaneously from within a given volume, enabling infinite perspectives to be generated from any direction within a field of view. Read here: http://facebook360.fb.com/2018/09/26/film-the-future-with-red-and-facebook-360/ Posted by Facebook 360 on Wednesday, September 26, 2018 So, when you’re sitting there, watching the content on your VR headset, you can not only look around but also move around a little within the scene, too.

Sensors

16 RED(R) Helium 8K(R) Sensors arranged to allow full 360 6DoF captureRecord raw from 16 cameras running 8k @60 fps simultaneously

Optics

Custom Schneider 8mm, F4.0, 180 degree fish eye lenses

I/O Connections

Single SMPTE 304M cable for power, control and dataCamera Control Unit and storage device may be up to 100 meters from Camera Head5, 12g SDI outputs for monitoring or third party stitch processingMultiple third party storage device choices providing 1 hour or more record time

Accessories

Front of lens ND filters availableQuick release handles for maneuvering and setup

UI/UX

Web app based control interface for flexibility of user interface device choiceSDK provided for post processing

There’s no word on price for this, but looking at the specs above, it’ll be out of the reach of most budgets, even amongst many high-end professionals. It’s certainly not the kind of thing you’re just going to throw on a selfie stick to create tiny world clips for Instagram. Facebook says, though, that they plan to “continue on the road to commercial availability”. It sure will be interesting to see the kind of content this thing can create, though, and to experience being “immersed” in it. [via Facebook360]