Eye mirror has released a series of products that allow the capture of 360° panoramic images. The devices can be attached to compact, SLRs or video cameras and the company has also released a series of underwater housings that can adapt to existing housings. It can be used to capture both still images and video.

Underwater lens options start at $349 and will be available from December.

Eye Mirror launches

Hawaii Maui 5 November 2012 — Today Eye mirror launches its web site with a full range of products for capturing panoramic 360 degree immersive experiences both underwater, on land and in the air. You can use your compact, DSLR or video camera with our product line of lenses and attachments to record interactive video or still images.

Please see the following Interactive 360 video example.

Revolution in panoramic video quality:

By using all-glass optics construction, including the mirror, image quality is maximized whilst prices are kept to a minimum via innovative manufacturing techniques. “Our manufacturing processes have been developed to ensure prices are kept low” said Tom Seidl, chief designer and CEO of Eye Mirror. “It’s easy to make a mirror lens of this quality for $2,000 but to sell it to customers for $350 has been a big challenge. Mirror shape is also key to producing great results. The shape used in this design uses what I like to call RMT (radial manipulation technology). The mirror thinks it’s a very large mirror with all the associated advantages, such as longer focal depth, but in fact no one has told it that it’s a small mirror. It also has the advantages of a small shape, including reduced perspective distortion, significantly enhancing the viewing experience. This shape came from 14 years of designing mirror shapes for other companies, but these companies never wanted to make it affordable with quality so I decided to go it alone.”

Underwater 360 video:

Pushing the frontiers of panoramic video is one of the aims of Eye Mirror. “We could have really spent more time marketing the standard lenses,” said Dan Burton, Head of European distribution, “but Tom and I wanted to see the results we could get underwater if we designed a waterproof housing. With my experience of shooting underwater for the BBC, Top Gear and The Discovery Channel, I knew the direction I wanted to take the housing. Shooting the scene at the end of the main demo with the rebreather in Egypt and seeing the results was so rewarding. That diving experience I can relive again and again.”

Sharing your 360s:

Eye Mirror realized that sharing your interactive content easily, without being an internet genius, was crucial. At the center of this is a YouTube-style website that allows most users to upload their video without any processing required at their end. 360s can then be shared with family and friends using Facebook, Twitter, e-mail, blogs etc. just by a simple link.

People with their own website have the option to host their content themselves by using an interactive viewer.

There is also a software option to create a wide panoramic video that can be uploaded directly on to video sites like YouTube and Vimeo. Video looks spectacular, as people walk off the left of the picture they appear on the right. Nothing is missed. See a demo of this effect here.

Pricing and availability:

• The Eye Mirror on land version retails at $349.
• Underwater lens options start at $349.

• Available in December 2012.

  Demos and contact.

  Please click for an interactive tutorial 360 degree video demo.

  Please click for our stills options.

  Please see our website for the complete product range and contacts.