As usual Sony are at the forefront of technological innovation. Their latest, greatest idea is a 360? full-circle lens that can take a panoramic image without actually moving!

“Until now, taking a 360? panorama with a normal lens has required taking multiple shots while rotating the camera slowly and then combining (“stitching”) those shots together to form the panorama. In contrast, the 360? full-circle lens allows the full 360? surroundings of the camera to be imaged at the same time with a single lens.

Sony has now developed a camera module that uses this 360? full-circle lens, and is releasing as commercial products both a camera module that uses a 380K-pixel, 30 fps CCD that outputs a ring-shaped image as a composite video signal as well as a high-resolution camera module that uses a 1.28 MP, 7.5 fps CCD with a built-in panorama expansion processing function.”

- Images a full 360 degrees in one operation
- Supports pan, tilt, and zoom without mechanism
- Focus adjustment for distance not required
- Images the whole surround area with a small convex lens

Website: Sony - Full-Circle 360? Camera Module