The Ricoh Theta V 360º Camera
I always look for something different in photography wether it’s the method of taking a photo or even the equipment.
Recently I saw the Ricoh on the web and my curiosity was peaked. This camera can do 360 images as well as video!
I asked, and Ricoh sent me a demo unit to try for two weeks. I was surprised that it came accompanied only by a case and usb cable
it didn’t even have instructions!
But with only 2 lenses and 4 buttons, I figured it was simply designed and therefore would be simple to operate. I was right!
Basically you turn it on, choose video or stills and shoot. It really is that simple. But since there is no screen or viewfinder using it without linking it to a phone or tablet is like shooting from the hip. Although you really dont know what your shooting, you still get everything because of the 360º functionality.
The unit is bluetooth and can connect to a phone or tablet and thats where this really gets interesting. The app allows you to control the camera, see before you shoot as well as view and share the images. There are numerous settings and the camera can be set for manual or automatic modes. The app is also necessary to view in 360º and its needed to share to the Ricoh site or Facebook or Twitter. The app also has the instructions on how to use the camera.
Note that simply importing the images from the camera to your favorite photo software will make you loose the the 360 rotation but you will still have a full flat image.
Importing to your phone or tablet is gives you much more than importing to your computer. There are two Theta apps one as I mentioned before to control and download from the camera and a second which is a editing app. It does some cool stuff like creating a animated video from your still shots. Similar to the Tiny Planet app.
The first thing I noticed when looking at the photos is my hand was in all of them. The cameras software is designed to hide the camera but not necessarily your hand. So using a stick, a small tripod or something that puts your hand below the camera is a good idea. I took subsequent photos using a phone tripod as a stick and also tried it on a painters pole. Both worked well.
This camera is a great way to capture everything that going on! Take a look at the sample images below and also the ones on the Theta site
Sample of a flattened JPG
-----
Key Features
• Capture 360° 4K videos and 12MP photos, and live stream 360° 4K footage
• Built-in 4-channel microphone with high-quality and seamless transition recording
• 19GB of internal memory
• Includes THETA app for iOS/Android
• Designed to combine dual images with minimal stitching artifacts
• Optional 3D 360° spatial microphone and underwater housing supported
Video Resolution
• 3840 x 1920 at 29.97 fps / 56 Mbps in H.264
• 1920 x 960 at 29.97 fps / 16 Mbps in H.264
Photo Resolution
• 5376 x 2688 (12MP)
Live Streaming Resolution
• 3840 x 1920 at 29.97 fps / 120 Mbps in H.264
• 1920 x 960 at 29.97 fps / 42 Mbps in H.264
Twin-Lens Folded Optical System
• Two wide-angle lenses, each with 7 elements in 6 groups
• f/2.0 aperture
Recording Capacity
• Approximately 4800 photos
• Total Video Recording Time: 40 minutes in 4K, 130 minutes in 2K
Battery Life
• Approximately 300 photos
• 80 minutes of video
Capture Modes
• Photo: Auto, Shutter Priority, ISO Priority, Manual
• Video: Auto
• Live Streaming: Auto
Exposure Control Modes
• Program AE
• Shutter Speed Priority AE
• ISO Sensitivity AE
• Manual Exposure
Wireless LAN Transfer Speeds
• 2.4 GHz (20 Mbps)
• 5 GHz (50 Mbps)
