Apple wants to change the future of filmmaking, and has introduced its first 8K 3D cinema camera developed to make movies for the Vision Pro. The camera can shoot 180-degree in high resolution, and record spatial audio for cinematic immersive content. All known details are below.
YMCinema was the first to report about Apple patent from 2021 titled “Camera apparatus and method”. The patent describes a double sensor camera that is dedicated to capture spatial content for the Vision Pro. The camera has high-resolution capabilities (8K) and is armed with two large sensors. As stated by our article: “It’s important to mention that although the sensor units are presented multiple times in the application, a size specification is not defined. However (!), by examining the dimensions described in the applications, we can conclude that it’s a big sensor since the dimensions of the filters are about 5 centimeters. So we assume these are two sensors of Micro-Four-Thirds so Super 35 each! That would be considered large sensors, especially for a stereoscopic camera”. Yesterday, Apple has introduced the camera to the public.
Apple has teamed up with Academy Award-winning filmmaker Edward Berger to make their first short film, Submerged, using their brand new immersive camera, which could change the way people watch things at home forever. The camera allows filmmakers to utilize the near-limitless possibilities of Apple Immersive Video, a brand-new storytelling format that lets its users create 3D video in 8K with a 180-degree view. Basically, it’s a very new camera that sees 180 degrees, specially developed by Apple. It’s a specially designed stereoscopic camera with microphones that are also, in a way, multidirectional in order to record spatial audio. When shooting with the camera, everything is in focus. Apple has not released any specs yet, nor availability and price. Nevertheless, from analyzing the BTS, we see that the base structure is indeed, very similar to the patent application explained above.
As said, there’s no info regarding pricing and availability. It’s a high resolution camera, reminds us IMAX, Blackmagic URSA Cine Immersive 8K 3D, Sphere’s Big Sky, and the ACHTEL 9X7 . It’s for filmmakers who want to produce content dedicated to the Vision Pro, as opposed to the IMAX, Big Sky and ACHTEL 9X7 that focus on dome screening and huge canvases. It appears that Apple is not going to release it to the public. Anyway, if you’d want to make movies for the Vision Pro, you can shoot with the “The World’s First Commercial Camera System for Apple Immersive Video” which is the Blackmagic URSA Cine Immersive 8K 3D. The truth is that we just don’t like the fact seeing a movie with the Vision Pro stuck on our head, and isolates us from the environment since watching a movie is a social experience. So we don’t like it at all. Technology wise – it’s an achievement for sure. But it does’t contribute to the future of filmmaking.
