Nikon Launches KeyMission 360 action camera

Nikon Launches KeyMission 360 action camera

Nikon has launched a series of Action cameras and has energized this segment. The KeyMission 360 is a 360° camera to capture immersive photos and videos. It has two lenses in the front and back each capturing 180°. The internal software will stitch the two to create one seamless video. These 360° videos can be viewed in youtube as well as VR goggles.

This camera has got two ½.3 inch CMOS sensors with 21.4 Megapixels. ISO sensitivity ranges from ISO 100 to ISO 1600.

The Nikon KeyMission 360° is a small camera and is 2.6 inch wide, 2.5 inch tall and 2.4 inch in breadth and weighs 198 grams.

This camera is rugged and is waterproof upto 100 feet. It doesn’t need any additional housing for making it waterproof, so underwater recordings are expected to be better. There is however an additional lens protection cover that can be fitted when the camera is taken underwater. It helps in better focusing the lens under water. As a comparison, one can state that the recently launched Go Pro Hero 5 Black, which is not a 360° camera but a normal action camera, is waterproof upto 33 feet, whereas the Nikon KeyMission 360° is waterproof upto 98 feet. Nikon shows its pedigree here. This camera is also freezeproof upto 14 degree Fahrenheit or -10 degree centigrade.

Also the Nikon KeyMission 360° camera is shockproof and can be dropped without any problem from from a height of 6.6 feet. It is also fully dustpoof and hence will be a big help in our incredibly dusty country. The camera has glass lenses and consist of 7 elements in seven groups. The minimum focusing distance is 12 inches.

The Nikon KeyMission 360° captures 23.9 MP still images as well as UHD video (2840x2160) at 24p. Wish it had a 25p mode for PAL countries. There are other video modes like Full HD (1920x1080) at 24p, 1440x960 24/25p. A camera which is capable of UHD capture at 24p should be technically capable of shooting Full HD at 25p. So it sounds a bit weird. Nevertheless, I hope, Nikon cares about users in PAL countries like India and comes with a firmware update later to include 25p mode in UHD and also in Full HD modes. Else, a vast user base in PAL countries may skip it.

In the Full HD mode, there is a vibration reduction done electronically. For handheld videos it may prove to be useful. However, how its efficacy can be seen in physical testing.

Nikon has created apps for connecting with android and iOS platforms. There is a Micro HDMI output and Micro-USB 2.0 interface. Whether this camera can actually output UHD videos through the Micro HDMI port needs to be seen. The images and videos are recorded to Micro SD cards.

According to Nikon the sensors in Nikon KeyMission 360° has 21.4 MP resolution and it can record 23.9 MP still image. We are yet to ascertain how it is achieved.

One can connect to WiFi and Bluetooth.

The Nikon KeyMission 360° is priced at $496.95 US Dollars.
B&H Link: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/buy/Ni...DFF/d10-v1-t12