Sure, they’ve been shooting panoramas since the days of sepia-tone, but it’s never been so easy, and it’s never been so def. Hi-def, that is. This new Olympus gadget shoots full circle within a vertical plane of 50°. The company explains that by optimizing the axisymmetric free-form-surface lens, which apparently is the cylindrical lens element, they were able to achieve this high definition feat. The same element is used in the Surround-video camera’s mate, the surround-video projector. It’s easy to think of uses for this little guy, from security camera to full-immersion video tourism to mounting on your car so you don’t run over so many kids. The devices shoot and project in 1080i, which looks great, but if they’re doing cool future-toys, I’d like to see them lose that “i”. And what’s with that cord hanging from the top?

Olympus: Shooting and Projecting Omnidirectional Video Images in Full HD [TechOn, via Wired News]