Bite-size VR180 3D tours of various attractions, hosted by Sarah Haruko. Best viewed in a VR headset, so tighten up your specs - we're going on a trek!
Meet the Spec Treks team!
Sarah Haruko, instagram.com/sarahharuko Host, writer, producer
Chris Orsi, instagram.com/pixeltrippin Cinematographer, editor, producer
This is awesome. I am planning on doing a museum tour as well. How were you able to upload the 360 video on RU-vid? My Insta360 workflow is to import off the SD card into Insta Studio. Edit my framing and then export into Final Cut Pro where I color grade and work on audio and whatnot before exporting my final project.
Thanks! How do you visit the place. Is it open to non-concert goers? If yes, how does one access it? - tickets, timing etc. Some info will be highly useful. I am visiting from another country and I always wanted to be there. Unfortunately when I am visiting, there's no concert.
Yes! It is a public park that's open during the day when there is not an event going on. It is also free to park and walk around. You can drive right in.
Glad to see your videos back. Just curious, but are you able to upgrade your camera to something like the Canon RF5.2mm VR? I think whoever is shooting these Spec Treks has a _really_ good eye for cinematography. There's some extra thought put behind the framing that reminds me of a good documentary (the Arches National Park one still amazes me). Looks fantastic in the headset. Unfortunately, RU-vid compression degrades these beautiful images. Even on DeoVR it doesn't quite look as sharp as it deserves to look. I feel a significant camera upgrade would compensate and look so much more spectacular and breathtaking. Obviously, it's easy for me to simply say "just upgrade" as that Canon camera costs a lot. Regardless, thanks for making these VR videos! I like showing these vids to VR newcomers and some shots makes their jaws drop!
Thanks for the compliments! That's great! As far as quality, there is a lot to unpack. RU-vid recently put a cap on streaming to only 4K. Our videos are 5.7K and you used to be able to watch at that resolution. DeoVR also only streams 4K. Maybe the paid versions go higher? We took a long pause on making videos because we wanted to upgrade, but VR180 tech wasn't moving. We assumed the format was dead. Canon finally landed and we tested it out. It was awesome but bulky and needs a large gimbal for good moving shots. We needed something lighter for our vacation as we had a lot going on. We also built a custom VR180 setup with two new Insta360 X3s hoping for better consumer quality. It was a bit of a mess in getting the 3D to align, and the video quality was almost the same as the now-dated EVO we currently use. A bit disappointing, so we kept what we had despite the shortcomings. We might try the Canon again at some point for other projects.
LOL! "Polar opposite" - My grandparents lived in Palm Desert in the Winter so I've been up the tram a few times on winter break visits. Glad to see you guys are back!
They get big because the mist off the Pacific Ocean is able to hydrate the tree from the top down, as opposed to how trees typically nourish themselves - and affect their growth and size - which is from the roots up.
@@SpecTreksVR Thanks! Looks pretty good! I'm using the Canon R5 and thinking of trying to do some VR with their new dual lens fisheye. Have you tried, or looked in to this combo?
@@espm1982 Yes we have considered that one. The quality is outstanding, but it's more suited for stationary shots, unless you have a good rig. What we love about the EVO is that it's compact, weighs nothing, and has built-in image stabilization for moving shots. It's great to take on long day trips with no hassle.
@@SpecTreksVR Yeah, great points! The R5 has IBIS though, but probably the EVO have better stabilization. Guess it boils down to great quality but larger and more set up, versus lesser - but still good - quality and ease of use. Thanks for the inputs! :)
I was blown away by this video seen in my Vive Cosmos Elite VR googles and enjoy your wonderful guidance. Looking fwd to seeing all of your videos! Thank you so much for creating this virtual tourist journey!
Thanks! Good to see you again moibuspm. We're trying our best to get out there and find more experiences to shoot. We're doing what we can with things being so busy this year. Stay tuned for more!
Thanks! We pretty much leave the EVO settings on default. Sometimes we switch to HDR mode when the lighting is really harsh. We have been working on more episodes, but took a break to work on a VR horror film we hope to release by Halloween.
Very cool. Watch this in VR on your Oculus. This is one of the best VR presenters on RU-vid and the content is great too. Can't believe it only has a few hundred views. People are missing out. Thanks to the presenter for posting.
Thanks for watching! You would need to use Advanced Search to find 3D videos. In you search results click the Filter button and under the Features section select "3D."
Agreed 👍 its a nice series especially now with covid limiting travel. I originally came across your series as you use insta 360 evo. Do u still use this camera?
Yes we're still using the EVO and we're very happy with it. Hopefully Insta360 will release an upgrade soon. Many VR180 cameras has stopped being produced and we fear the format may be dying.
Thank you so much. My wife and I are avid hikers in Ontario. Your vid convinced us to travel to California for this adventure. My own vr180 camera pales in comparison to yours. Great work.
That's great to hear, Brian! Hope you and your wife have a wonderful trip - these parks have so much to offer. Thanks so much for sharing, and stay safe :)
A couple of questions, if you don't mind. I have been streaming a number of 180 VR videos to an Oculus Go and have been generally disappointed with the sharpness of the images that I see. In contrast, your videos seem much sharper, especially for objects in the background. Question no.1: Do you adjust ISO settings of the camera to achieve the optimal depth of field, given the lighting and size of a specific setting? Question no.2: do you notice a marked reduction in sharpness of your videos after they have been mounted on RU-vid as compared to the original videos right out of your editing suite? Thanks very much for doing all the work to provide such professional video. They are wonderful for a 3D geek like me.
Thanks Ralph! We actually leave the ISO and exposure at default settings in the Insta360 EVO. You can kind of see it automatically adjusting as we go from light to dark spaces, but it should not impact the focus. The camera has a long depth of field which is not adjustable. We also apply a general sharpness to the final video when we export in Adobe Premiere. We did a few tests in the headset for optimal settings. But yes, the video quality is greatly reduced when published to RU-vid. Due to the compression, we lose sharpness and contrast. This is why we bump up the sharpness to compensate the best we can. Thanks for watching!
@@SpecTreksVR Thanks very much for the prompt reply. I'm considering the purchase of 3D camera [the EVO if I can find one] but I had almost decided against it based on the resolution I was seeing in the headset. Now that I know that better picture quality is possible, I'll probably go ahead. Your help is very much appreciated. Stay safe and well.
Thanks for the heads up! It took a few days for RU-vid to render the 5K version. It should be much better now. Let us know what you think. Thanks for being a fan!
@@SpecTreksVR Yes its much better now! Thanks so much for these videos. I know I said this months ago but Ill say it again. Your videos are awesome. They are shot nicely so theres zero motion sickness, the music is always fitting and your voice is not only very soothing and relaxing but your narrative is very clear and professional. I wish other RU-vid videos were like your but unfortunately I search everyday and nothing comes close to yours. Please keep making more!!!
@@SpecTreksVR You can originally post your videos to Unlisted first, then a few days later when youTube renders, you can turn on Public... Or I wonder if setting 'premiere' will give you the same result. Great content by the way. Your camera guy gets me EVERYtime when he extends the camera over edge....EVERYtime!! haha (but seriously, very professional and stabilized!)
Wow, you took a tour of the Hollywood sign today. From a distance, it looked as if it might have been written in stone, as is the case with most of our mountains. But it is probably written by metal. Very nice thanks for sharing.
