Nokia Ozo: A 360° 3D VR camera out to populate the barren content desert

(credit: Andrew Williams)

With the Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, and PlayStation VR all due for release before the end of the year, there's no doubt 2016 is the year of virtual reality. And yet, with such a focus on headset hardware, it's easy to forget that there's a whole world of software and content needed to make VR work. Enter Nokia.

Now freed from the cut-throat mobile market, the Finnish company is hoping to kickstart VR content creation with the Ozo, a high-quality VR camera with eight camera sensors and eight microphones spread across a not-quite-sphere. It outputs 360-degree 3D video and surround audio through a single cable, bypassing all the issues faced when trying to get the same effect from a DIY assemblage of GoPro or Red cameras.

Before you get your credit card out, ready to be the first VR YouTuber with 10 million subs, there's one caveat we must point out: the Nokia Ozo costs an eye-watering €55,000 (£43,000, $60,000). This is most definitely a professional tool, not merely something to help with shooting interminable holiday panoramas.

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