Last month 360-degree camera specialist Detu launched a Kickstarter crowd-funding campaign for its latest top-of-the-range product, the Detu MAX. Designed purely for the professional market, being able to record in 3D at an 8K resolution, the Detu MAX has easily achieved its funding target with plenty of time to spare.
While more and more 360-degree films are being made and showcased at events like the Sundance Film Festival, Tribeca, and Sheffield Doc/Fest, the professional camera market has had its fair share of ups and downs. The biggest shock in recent years came when Nokia announced the discontinued support for its OZO camera, yet there are others looking to take its mantle, especially in the prosumer category.
Devices like the Vuze+ from Humaneyes Technologies, LucidCam and Red’s 180-degree, 8K, 3D collaboration, and the Samsung 360 Round for example. And now there’s the Detu MAX, which looks to have gain enormous popularity since the Kickstarter launch as its $20,000 USD funding goal is now at $150,612 with just under two weeks left to go.
This isn’t a cheap spur of the moment pledge Detu is asking for either. With a device that’s offering 12K images, 8K videos and live streaming in 3D, the Super Early Bird Kit retails for $2,199 (of which there are some left), while the standard Kickstarter price is $2,499. That’s still going to be a significant saving over the normal retail price of $3,599, when the Detu MAX begins shipping in September 2018.
Putting down that much money on a Kickstarter campaign can seem like a gamble, especially if the company is unproven. Luckily this isn’t Detu’s first 360-degree camera with the Detu MAX being its fourth. Previously there’s been the F4, the Twin and most recently the F4 Plus, offering 8K video quality from four 200 degree fisheye lenses.
With the Kickstarter campaign due to end next week, if Detu posts any further updates about the Detu MAX, VRFocus will keep you posted.