Sphere Optics Company makes a patented single-lens system that captures a complete 360-degree spherical view on one camera sensor, without the stitching required by multi-camera rigs. Its unusual toroidal-mirror design supports close shooting with fewer parallax errors and works with familiar professional camera workflows, making it suited to immersive video and difficult spaces such as cockpits. The company currently offers its limited lens inventory primarily through short-term rentals for spherical video production.
Circle OpticsCircle Optics grew from founder Zakariya Niazi’s college idea into a Rochester imaging company known for solving the stitching problem in panoramic cameras. Its patented optical architecture aligns fields of view before images are created, producing real-time 360-degree imagery for organizations that need dependable visual awareness, including defense and aerospace users. The team brings more than 200 collective patents to its work.ROCHESTER, NY
360Rize360Rize, a 360Heros Inc. company, builds and manufactures camera systems and related solutions for virtual-reality, 360-degree video and photography, and augmented-reality work. Its 360Penguin camera can capture up to 6K video and 7K still images, while the company also trains production teams in immersive-video shooting and post-production. The company’s work was featured in the 2015 Guinness Book of World Records after it helped create a high-quality 360-degree video on Mount Everest.OLEAN, NY
PanavisionSince delivering its first Super Panatar projection lens in 1954, Panavision has designed and rents cinema cameras, optics and production-support equipment for filmmakers worldwide. Its long-running rental model keeps the equipment in company hands, pairing Panavision’s camera and lens engineering with personalized production support. The company’s tools have helped shape films from Ben-Hur and Lawrence of Arabia to Star Wars and The Hateful Eight, while its wider group now supports lighting, grip and remote systems, and post-production.ATLANTA, GA
Bounce ImagingBorn from work at the Harvard Innovation Laboratory and MIT after the 2010 Haiti earthquake, Bounce Imaging builds rugged, low-cost 360-degree camera and sensor systems that let first responders and military teams see into dangerous or confined spaces before entering. Its throwable cameras capture stabilized video and audio in every direction at once, giving multiple users a shared view and the ability to review what happened behind them. The company says its systems are fielded by more than 800 public-safety and defense agencies worldwide, including U.S. SOCOM and federal law-enforcement teams.BUFFALO, NY