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Z4XC - Take 360 video in the most challenging scenario

Z4X kit set

This challenger is at your service! You can make seamless 360 video in compact space very easy now with the Z4X rig, and no more nasty broken seams everywhere when shooting inside a car or jet fighter. Working with four mini 194 lenses shall give you more freedom to shoot your next 360 master pieces. Being 33% lighter than 6-cam setup, the excessive overlapping between lenses shall be very generous & forgiving with the parallax issues. With the special design, seamless 360 video can be taken at as short as 0.5m away. fyi, we have user able to produce better in-car video than the Nokia OZO system.

The Z4X Armor mount was made with aluminium. The output resolution from four 4K video is 5620x2810 pixel, almost at 6K level, when down sample to 4K the image can be better especially in low lighting situation. More oftenly the suers love to shoot at 2.7k@60 mode, making naitve 4K@60fps video which is more responsive when viewing through HMDs. In super close shooting environment like inside a crowd, 4:3 video mode will ensure maximum forgiving in stitching. Usually stitching could be mostly done with a simple click preset click in Kolor AVP, or with our PTGui template in VideoStitch, saving you days in the post production. It's also live streaming compatible.

This kit set includes everything you need to convert four of your gopro camera into a quadro-lens 360 video system. The Z4X kit set shall come with four 194 fisheye lenses, the Z4X mount and a rugged carrying case.

Retail price: $1399

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Update: We are offering limited offer for the Armor edition that made with Aluminum, ever sturdy and able to shoot much longer time.

Update2: Video tutorial of stitching with Z4XC: https://youtu.be/DHtXlbSGRkg


Z4X - the FAQ

What to know more about the details of the Z4X system? Just feel free to contact us by email :)

1) What is the benefit of using Z4X?

A: The Z4X was designed for addressing the daily problems of professional 360 video producers who may need to take 360 video in compact space. Usually they have to set the video system on a very long pole in order to get the seamless stitching result, however sometimes it's just not possible due to physical limitation of the space or it's unable to balance while shooting, such as filming 360 on a surf board.

By having excessive overlapping between cameras, we have more forgiving margin to work with and we can have much shorter working radius, shrinking from traditionally 2m down to 0.5m with the Z4X. With Z4X, 360 producers can now take indoor 360 video without broken seams everywhere. Without the long pole, we can make the 360 video at a much normal first person perspective, which shall make the 360 more immersive as viewer shall no longer peeking a virtual scene from a remote spot, as they can BE at the center of the scene.

HDR is now possible with Z4XC rig. With every pixel shooting for twice, two set of video with exposure difference can be aligned and combined for HDR output with some special technique.


2) Which stitching software could be used?

A: we provide a stitching template made with PTGui & Kolor AVP. Users can use the template for easier stitching once the video was synchronized. When the reference panorama was aligned, users can render the video using PTGui via batch jobs, or done more quickly with VideoStitch or Kolor autopano video.


3) Is it difficult to change the lens by myself?

A: the lens of hero3+/4 black can be removed very easily with a simple piping wrench with the following steps.

Please check the full tutorial here.

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4) Which Gopro model are compatible? Does it work with Gopro Hero4?

A: We designed the system with Gopro Hero series, fitting for all Hero3 & Hero4 camera.


5) What is the output resolution of the Z4X system?

A: Just like the Z3X, Z4X can work with 16:9 4k/2.7k mode, as well as taking full circular image with 4:3 modes.

- Usually with four 2.7k@60 input video, the size of output video is upto 4K 60fps;

- The new 4k@30 mode of hero4 is supported, making 6k output;

- With Photo mode, the output resolution is 5620x2810 pixel.


6) How to display 360 on Oculus Rift, view on Internet and smartphones?

A: Currently there are many free players can play 3D360 media nicely on desktop such as VRplayer, Kolor Eyes player, and equivalent. Select the media source as 2D spherical format and track with Oculus Rift DK2, users shall able to see the panoramic video with head tracking. Users can also view the 360 immersively on smartphone HMD adaptors like Durovis Dive, Google Cardboard or the up coming Samsung Gear VR with 360 video playback apps, such as Kolor Eyes player (iOS/android) or VRplayer (android). Users can still track the 360 and display them nicely with full screen without the HMD adapter.

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7) Is it taking full spherical coverage?

Yes, it's full spherical. It's taking every pixels almost twice. With optics upgrade user can have semi stereoscopic 3D360 with a special workflow.


8) Can we use other lens with the Z4X mount?

A: Users can get full spherical pano if the full 360x180 field of view was captured by the cameras. However, most mini fisheye lenses available in the market was not making sharp & nice color at the rim zone of the circular image, making the stitching work very difficult and down grade the output quality. We tested over 30 mini lens from the market before making our very own one. We designed our own lens to maximize the fov on the 3000 vertical pixels of the gopro camera and produce sharp image at the edge, enabling sharp panorama at all regions.