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mediavr
Up and Coming
December 21, 2013

My Gopro 3+ Black 180 degree stereo rig

Here is a 180 equirectangular stereo movie done with a twin Gopro 3+ Black rig
https://www.dropbox.com/s/gslyccr43c8whwy/eveleighmarkets.mp4

In VR Player under Media you need to set Format to Side by Side and Projection to Dome

Until recently there was no way to get good synchronization reliably with recent Gopros for stereo but there is now a sync cable you can buy from http://3dguy.tv/ which works well. I am not sure if the concept behind it can be extended to work with more than 2 cameras

Basically my rig for this video looks like this http://www.mediavr.com/gopro3plusfisheyestereorig.jpg
with replacement Sunex lenses to get about 180 by 150 degree coverage on the 1920 by 1440 format on the Gopros

It is very simple to shoot 3d for the Rift with this because all you need to do is hold the camera level and point it generally in the right direction.

For more accurate composition I can plug a Gopro LCD Backpak into the cable or I can plug a 7" monitor into the HDMI socket of one or other of the Gopros -- I have this one
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/FEELWORLD-7-TFT-LCD-HDMI-Monitor-FW678-HD-O-W-Sun-Shield-Shoe-Mount-f-Camera-/141125167872?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_15&hash=item20dbb72b00&_uhb=1

With two LCD Backpaks connected you can get stereo previewing of the video if you arrange some optics (spare Rift lenses maybe).

    153 replies

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    mediavrAuthor
    Up and Coming
    December 5, 2014
    I'm trying to understand the details about al these stereo rigs, but is it possible to have 3D stereo results with 4 Gopro's with your setup? If so, how would you position them?


    You need lots of cameras generally for 3603d -- like this ..

    http://www.roadtovr.com/previously-unseen-jaunt-vr-camera-prototype-appears-unexpectedly/

    ... but for 180/3d two of these Gopro 185 degree cameras would be fine

    here is another 360/2d movie with it (low light test)

    https://beta.littlstar.com/videos/c5a13cf2
    Gusev
    Up and Coming
    December 6, 2014
    I really need S3D 360 degree video for a project. I guess it's possible with less camera's than Jaunt, for example:

    http://izugar.com/product/z6x3d.html

    However, that's way too expensive. I hope j1vvy can create a 6 camera rig of his Mobius setup :) .
    j1vvy
    Up and Coming
    December 6, 2014
    The Mobius can only shoot at 1/30 and suffer from too much rolling shutter to make it a good solution.
    To minimize these problems I always keep the camera stationary.
    Gusev
    Up and Coming
    December 6, 2014
    Yep, I read that on your website too. That's not a problem for me, because the camera will be placed in the centre of a room and will not be moved around.
    Gusev
    Up and Coming
    December 18, 2014
    I've decided to do S3D 180 degree videos for the time being.

    Is it a smart decision to buy the Hero Dual Mount System with Gopro Black+ cams, or wait for a version for the Hero 4?

    In the meantime, would the following setup work for S3D 180 degree videos:

    - 2x Gopro Hero 4 black
    - 2x ??? 185 degree lens
    - sync cable from 3dguy.tv
    - custom holder to achieve orthostereoscopic configuration (65mm IPD)
    mediavrAuthor
    Up and Coming
    December 18, 2014
    My feeling is that Gopro 4 Black Dual Hero System compatibility is not too far away -- maybe a couple of months. Hero4 would give you better low light and usable 4K video. You could post-sync in software til it comes.
    Gusev
    Up and Coming
    December 19, 2014
    The Gopro Hero 4's are indeed more future proof. Furthermore, because there is no sync cable available at the moment, the best solution is to do it post-sync.

    Which software do you recommend for post-sync? I read that you use several software packages, like PTGui, After Effects, etc.

    Also, these are the lenses which you're having good results with right?
    http://www.aliexpress.com/item/1-29mm-180-degrees-super-wide-angle-lens-fisheye-lens-sport-camera-lens-M12-mount-lens/32224988585.html
    j1vvy
    Up and Coming
    December 19, 2014
    PTGui can not do sync. In fact it can only process images. So to use PTGui to correct lens distortion and align the images you need to extract the images first. FFMpeg works well.

    Most video editing software has a way to sync video to audio. I have used Premier to do this. A couple claps at the beginning of the video works well. Even a dog clicker if you want to be discreet. But to get perfect sync it is better to look at the video. With a 180° a clapper would work well. Or clap of your hands.

    If you go to spherical video then you will need something that all cameras can see at the same time. Putting a bag over them and firing a flash. Having them on a tripod and stationary then very quickly move them. That way you can see the first frame that has motion.

    VideoStitch can use flash, sound, and motion to automatically sync all the cameras together.
    Gusev
    Up and Coming
    December 19, 2014
    So to conclude:

    - a clapper or something visual so that syncing with software X becomes easier right?

    Before I buy one of the expensive software packages available. Which one is the easiest to edit 180 degree stereo videos for a beginner? VideoStitch?
    j1vvy
    Up and Coming
    December 19, 2014
    I use videostitch because I am coming from a panorama background. There are some stereo making software that might work better, but don't know if they will understand the optics of fisheye lens.
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