Taro's camera stabilizer uses infrared for better tracking
It gives the DJI Osmo a run for its money.
If you want to capture any kind of sports on camera, it's incredibly valuable to have a camera stabilizer that can track the subject's movements for you. That's why many sports videographers have sung the praises of the DJI Osmo gimbal stabilizer, which can do just that -- you tap the person in a companion app, and the Osmo will follow the subject around for you. Except, it doesn't work all of the time. If the person moves too fast or if there's an obstruction, the Osmo will often just lose track. The Taro, however, aims to solve that with a series of new stabilizers that combines both infrared technology and artificial intelligence.
Simply called the Taro Tracking stabilizer, it works with the attachment of an infrared module (seen in the pictures here) atop the camera. Then, the athlete in question would strap on a wristband with an IR tag -- she can wear it out in the open or under her clothes -- and the module will immediately recognize it, and start following it around. And since it's following the athlete based on this IR connection, it doesn't matter if she skates behind a pillar or slides into the shadows -- the camera will still follow her every move. A Taro spokesperson tells me that it'll even track speeds of up to 50 mph.
At CES, the Taro team has released two different versions of its stabilizer. One is the T1, which is for smartphones and GoPros and the other is the Taro TX, which is for DSLRs and mirrorless cameras. The infrared module is called the Taro M1, which you can buy separately.
Speaking of price, the Taro T1, TX and M1 retail for around $359, $969 and $179 respectively. That said, if you pre-order them right now, the prices are only $199, $599 and $99 respectively. Shipping is slated for May of this year.
