I have to say, I am excited! This week I had the fortune of being invited to the Nikon KeyMission series launch in London, it was peak excitement!

Now I must make a disclaimer, I am a Nikon user but nonetheless, that doesn’t change the fact that Nikon have come up with a series of products that could really shake up the 360 and action cam range.

Like many others, my peak interest was in the KeyMission 360, for those unfamiliar, it means the camera films in 360 degrees of vision, using two cameras facing front and back (they slightly overlap) before stitching the image together giving you a true 360 degree image. What I hadn’t expected on the day was to be so taken with the KeyMission 170 and 80.

But first, the main event, the 360. 

The KeyMission 360 is water proof to 30m, shock proof to 2m and rated to operate at temperatures down to minus 10, straight out of the box. Nikon have developed a bespoke snap bridge app for your laptop/desktop/mobile device so that you can perform basic editing functions. One neat trick the 360 performs is a ‘guided view’ function whereby you can channel your inner Christopher Nolan, drawing the user through the footage with your very own direction. If your mobile device has an accelrator function to it, the user can perform their own ‘look around’ the footage you may already be familiar with. The KeyMission 170 is a full on action cam, aping GoPro and will be seeking to challenge the market of the more established action cams already available. The 170 is only rated to 10m waterproof but Nikon have a range of accessories available, including a waterproof housing (making it 40m), wristband controller, wristband mount and others that work across all devices. The 170 also has a slow motion function available to it that can be operated from normal recording function. The real treat of the day has to be the KeyMission 80. Quite simply it is an anywhere, anytime, rugged action cam for the life logging intrepid adventurer. 

The 80 attaches to the shoulder strap on your backpack and can be set to record whilst in its housing or, it can be set to record as soon as you remove it. The KeyMission 80 features rapid start up and is water proof and shock proof, again straight out of the box. No more having to get your smartphone out in precarious positions, now you can just grab a hold of you 80 which sits quite nicely on the outside of your shoulder strap on your backpack and life log your way on to YouTube with minimal worry.

Overall, the thing that stood out about the three products was their Spartan-like ruggedness and ease of use. There are few steps between unpackaging and capturing stunning 4k quality imagery. I am on a list of people who will get to test them as they become available and I cannot wait to give them a proper whirl. Stay tuned for a KeyMission update! Until then, see the Nikon promo video below for a taster of what’s to come.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYC1j-pgO2k