GoPro is a name always associated with action cameras. With a wide range of flagship products under its belt, the company has long dominated the industry. Now, GoPro hopes to again expand its lineup with the coming of the Odyssey.
First announced during Google's I/O Conference back in May, the GoPro Odyssey is, to put it simply, a camera rig. However, instead of the usual action mounts, the Odyssey is a 16-cam, consumer-edition camera mount that allows content creators to shoot virtual reality-type 3D content. The Odyssey is GoPro's special take on Google's Jump VR ecosystem.
When assembled, the Odyssey can shoot 2.7K video in 4:3 aspect ratio, with a 360-degree 3D captures.
However, as individual GoPro action cams are more often than not, targeted for amateur freestyle content capture, the Odyssey's launch might be focusing on professional content making, based on its system features and other aspects such as the rig's price.
The Odyssey will be released as a complete package for 3D VR content enthusiasts. Fans who will purchase the rig will get a package of connectivity packs called "bacpacs" for each action cam, memory cards, cables and accessories, and the heart of the system — GoPro's proprietary Odyssey panoramic capture rig and 16 Hero4 Black cameras.
The Odyssey system will also come with its own Pelican case, plus a "video assembler" software for the Google Jump and playback platforms.
The complete package for the GoPro Odyssey will sell for a whopping $15,000. In addition, it seems that the rig will not be available for everyone, as GoPro will only sell limited numbers of the system to "select industry professionals" who need to register first in order to make a purchase.
For those who would like to try filming their own virtual reality, 3D-rendered captures, Google has its own rig that uses only six cameras, which would probably be much cheaper compared to the GoPro Odyssey.
The GoPro Odyssey will be made available in November for those who have applied for purchase.
