GoPro and Google have launched their virtual reality camera rig

It’s been a few months since Google launched Jump, a virtual reality platform for creating and sharing content, as well as the wacky camera rig known as Odyssey that it co-designed with GoPro. What makes the Odyssey so wacky is that it’s able to create a 360-degree, three-dimensional video experience that’s optimized for Google’s Jump platform using 16 of GoPro’s synchronized Hero4 Black cameras. There’s no point in launching a platform for creating virtual reality videos if there’s no hardware to actually create them, right? As true as that is, the Odyssey’s $15,000 price tag definitely puts it out of reach for most content creators. 

Sure, your GoPro is cool. But you know what’s cooler? Sixteen GoPros that capture 360-degree views for virtual reality devices. The Odyssey, which GoPro first showed off at the Code conference earlier this year, is a “stereoscopic panoramic capture rig created to take your audience on incredible journeys.” Launched in limited quantities on Tuesday, the Odyssey boasts 16 synchronized Hero4 Black cameras capable of capturing content in 8K30 video. The device records 360-degree 3D spherical footage optimized for Google’s new virtual reality platform Jump. “Together, GoPro’s Odyssey and Google’s Jump platform will make it possible for anyone to experience a time or place like they’re actually there — through immersive, 3D, 360-degree content,” GoPro said. The whole setup will set you back a cool $15,000, but that includes the panoramic capture rig as well as 16 Hero4 Black cameras, microSD cards, and array bacpacs, along with all the cables you’ll need and a pelican carrying case. All 16 cameras are synched down to the “pixel level” to function as a single camera, GoPro said.