SnapChat’s New Hardware To Record Incredible Content
Observation: With two stereoscopic lenses that are capable of capturing 3D photos and video clips, Snap‘s newest eyewear release, Spectacles 3, takes a substantial step toward the future of augmented reality.
beneficial to content-makers, videographers and anyone interested in filming in the first person—this most recent iteration declares the tech company and social media brand’s intention of continuously breaking ground in the AR and VR space.
When you press the button at either temple, you record 10-second videos. Multiple presses extend the recording time up to one minute. By holding down the button, a 3D photo is captured. A sensor new to Spectacles establishes a unique relationship to depth and dimension, allowing these images to wiggle.
Spectacles 3 shoot 60 frames per second in a resolution of 1216 by 1216 pixels. Four internal mics pick up any accompanying audio. As for photos, resolution stretches to 1642 by 1642 pixels. Onboard, four gigabytes of storage carry the equivalent to 1,200 photos or 100 videos. All of this tech is built into the temples, hinges and arms. It’s the most elegant integration thus far, but—both when capturing and not—it was our experience that many who stepped in front of our line of sight were caught off guard by the fact that they were looking at two tiny cameras affixed to glasses. Perhaps with an increase in the camera-glasses, this will be less jarring.
It’s very easy to connect the Spectacles to Snapchat—a move that’s necessary in order to access and modify the captures. When paired with the app (through Bluetooth built-in WiFi), all photos and videos can be wirelessly transmitted to the app’s Memories section. There, experimentation begins. Users can apply one of many augmented reality filters or effects. The list includes an animated phoenix that flies forward into any linear perspective and a complete coat of bending rainbow colors. The depth captured by the aforementioned photo sensor allow certain AR accents to appear behind objects in the real world—integrated rather than layered. Snap worked with official lens creators Clay Weishaar and Cross Lucid, but will allow anyone to develop more through Lens Stud.
