The three camera types include:

PanoCam:
The camera operates by rotating around the vertical axis. A CCD color sensor captures the surrounding scenery as a continuous set of vertical scan lines. The image data is transferred to the attached notebook computer for displaying and storing.
A complete 360° scan in a typical lighting situation takes less than 60 seconds.

SpheroCam:
Full spherical photography in ultra-high resolution and quality is the perfect tool for documentary work.

The SpheroCam is specially designed for use with fish-eye lenses, with a 180° vertical field of view. As it rotates about its vertical axis, the SpheroCam captures a complete spherical image of the surrounding scene at 50-megapixel resolution.

Every camera/fish-eye lens combination is individually fine-tuned during manufacture - a painstaking procedure that involves precisely determining the imaging characteristics of the selected lens, and aligning its centre of focus within micrometers of the camera's rotational axis. We know that doing it this way is the only route to superlative quality, full spherical photography.

Operation
SpheroCam operation and on-site working procedures are virtually the same as for the PanoCam. The notebook computer is the camera's control centre, where you can adjust exposure, focus and colour temperature. Then, you store the scene to disk in ultra-high resolution and quality. Mount a long focal length lens in place of the fish-eye, and you can use the same camera for high-resolution cylindrical panoramas at resolutions of several hundred megapixels.

Quality
There are some major differences to the PanoCam when it comes to post-processing the raw spherical image data. Utmost precision is vital to nulling out minuscule vagaries in the image, induced by tolerances in the fish-eye lens and the camera itself.

Every camera is separately hand-built and carefully calibrated to precisely determine its compensation coefficients. Every micrometer counts. We found that adjustment grub screws and demountable housings seriously impaired quality - which is why you will find only two gold-plated precision screw fittings in the SpheroCam housing.

If all that sounds a like a bit of an effort - well, yes, it is. But none of that need bother you. We did a lot of testing and optimisation, so we know you will have nothing but praise for the SpheroCam's image quality.

SpheroCam - the Benefits

•   Full spherical (360°x180°) digital images in a single rotational pass
•   1° - 1600° cylindrical panoramas in a single rotational pass
•   Highest-quality image data in the 50-megapixel league, with 48-bit colour depth per pixel and integrated ICC colour management
•   Fast operation: less than 5 minutes from setting-up and preview exposure adjustment, to final exposure
•   Image monitoring on the notebook computer display, also in real time during the actual exposure
•   Intuitive operation thanks to refined camera software
•   Fully-digital workflow - no film, development and scanning expense     
•   No "stitching" of discrete images
•   Significant time and cost savings compared to conventional techniques

SpheroCam HDR:
Merging real and CG worlds seamlessly is a challenging task.

The concept of using real-world photographic images to illuminate CG objects - image-based lighting - has proven to be one of the most promising approaches toward this goal. Today, most rendering software implements image-based lighting by using full spherical and High Dynamic Range images as lighting sources.

What is High Dynamic Range imaging?

High Dynamic Range imaging is, first of all, about not losing information when capturing an image: If an object in an image is a million times brighter than another object, then its pixel values should be a million times higher, and not just 255.

High Dyanmic Range imaging means measuring the real world luminosity as it is, without clipping of pixels or bleaching of regions within the image. Information loss is avoided during capture because the dynamic range of the SpheroCam HDR is larger than the dynamic range of the scene.

Full spherical HDRi completes the idea of an accurate measurement process by providing the high dynamic range information in every direction around the camera location.

Capture real-world luminosity with the SpheroCam HDR and bring real light into your scene!

SpheroCam HDR - Benefits

•   single scan, full spherical High Dynamic Range capturing
•   26 f-stops dynamic range
•   no bracketing of multiple exposures
•   no stitching of individual images
•   complete control through a laptop computer for preview and storage
•   real-time preview during capture ensures the best image the first time

SpheronVR has developed the SpheroCam HDR from the ground up for taking outstanding full-spherical High-Dynamic Range images. The system captures incident real-world radiance over the full sphere in a single pass and stores the image data in one of several widely accepted file formats. The high resolution gives plenty of detailed structure for reflection mapping and background shots as well.

Capturing full spherical HDR images with the SpheroCam HDR is very simple and efficient: set up the camera, record the light distribution in a single scan and save it as a raw file in highest resolution. Use the built-in post processing engine to generate the desired HDR output.

Setting up the equipment and preparing for the final capture only takes a few minutes. In a typical lighting situation a complete 360° x 180° HDR scan  takes less than 3 minutes.

SpheronVR provides a complete High Dynamic Range turnkey solution to create full spherical images: the SpheroCam HDR!

The camera is made in Germany. It is a reliable and handmade piece of precision mechanics, equipped with state of the art electronics and imaging components. Its innovative, bidirectional data flow makes working with the SpheroCam HDR interactive; e.g. electronic spirit level, directional focus or white balance. The compact dimensions of the camera also allow shooting in areas with limited space.

The SpheroCam HDR operates by rotating around its vertical axis. A unique color sensor captures the surrounding scenery as a continuous set of vertical HDR scan lines. The image data is then transferred to the attached notebook computer for display and storage. The results can be inspected in real-time during the scan using tools for display and quality inspection.

The SpheroCam HDR shows its strengths when compared with existing technologies for producing full spherical HDR images:

The SpheroCam HDR takes a HDR image in just one single pass and thereby avoids lens flare problems. Compared to stitching the results can be inspected instantly.

For more information go to http://www.spheron-usa.com.