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Ricoh, Ricoh... Theta shmeta, and now Theta S
  • Ricoh Theta - camera making 360 degrees photos, for $400 :-(.

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    Specs:

    • Auto exposure
    • Exposure compensation +/- 2.0EV
    • ISO100 - ISO1600
    • 4GB internal memory
    • Up to 200 shot battery life
    • JPEG
    • Has microUSB
    • 95g
    • 42x129x22.8mm

    http://www.us.ricoh-imaging.com/spherical/RICOH_THETA

    Available at:

  • 22 Replies sorted by
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    The Ricoh Theta is capable of impressive images, particularly when viewed using the interactive methods.

    http://www.ephotozine.com/article/ricoh-theta-review-23706

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  • Lovely idea in a real compact platform. Like the design and overrall feeling. Many things could be done by software with this 360 images, and the creative world now has a specialized camera for 360° works for a "ok" price.

    V , good post thanks, i may buy this shit

  • Theta creates unique images that would be hard to capture any other way. It is an easy, accessible, and fast way to capture an entire room or scene in one shot. Landscape enthusiasts and realtors may find it more appealing than the average user.

    http://www.digitalcamerareview.com/default.asp?newsID=5548&review=ricoh+theta+360+camera

  • It could be useful for HDRi images for subsequent use in 3D modelling ..

    You could composite something in and have it lit the same way that the original scene was.

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    Ricoh has updated its Theta 360-degree camera with video recording. The latest Ricoh Theta m15 is a little handheld shooter can take up to three minutes of omnidirectional video.

    https://theta360.com/en/

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    PR

    Ricoh announced today the release of the RICOH THETA S, the newest model in the RICOH THETA series of spherical cameras that capture 360-degree scenes surrounding the user. Unveiled today in Berlin at IFA, the world's largest consumer electronics show, the camera features extra-high resolution, fully spherical photos and videos in one simple shot, a live preview function and even greater compatibility with social media platforms.

    The RICOH THETA S, which retains the lightweight portability of the current model—the RICOH THETA m15—captures high-resolution spherical images of up to nearly 14 megapixels. It can also record spherical video in full HD (1920 x 1080*1 pixels at 30fps) with a maximum recording time of 25 minutes. The better quality images are enabled by an enlarged image sensor and fast F2.0 lenses to allow more light through Ricoh's proprietary ultra-small twin-lens folded-optical system.

    Also, superior image processing technology and bulb mode for long exposures produce spherical still images with less visual static, even in low-light settings.

    Spherical images can be uploaded to theta360.com, shared via Facebook™, Twitter™ and Tumblr, and posted to Google Maps™, Google+™ and YouTube™360°Channel. The application program interface (API) for RICOH THETA S is based on Google-supported Open Spherical Camera API for compatibility with Google's services.

    Coinciding with the launch of the RICOH THETA S, Google Maps today introduced the new Google Street View app that allows you to capture and publish your photo spheres instantly to Google Maps for people all over the world to explore. The app also offers the ability to shoot photo spheres and to connect to spherical cameras. This new capability to connect to spherical cameras makes it easier than ever to create Google Street View experiences.

    The new RICOH THETA S app for smartphones and tablets can be used to configure settings and instantly view spherical photos and video via wirelessly connected devices. An improved Wi-Fi® module transfers data four times faster than the current RICOH THETA model.

    The RICOH THETA S also boasts a fully updated design and user interface. Usability has been improved with an elegant but practical sure-grip black rubber coating and handy face-mounted LED mode indicator. Internal memory has been increased to 8GB.

    The RICOH THETA S will go on sale at a base price of USD 349 (or equivalent) from late October in Europe (Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, Switzerland, Turkey, and the UK), North America (Canada, Mexico, and the United States), and Asia-Pacific (Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand). Ricoh Imaging will market the RICOH THETA S, which was developed and manufactured by Ricoh.

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    The m15's twin cameras combine to record images just 3584x1792 pixels in size, equating to 6.42 megapixels. That would have been considered pretty respectable back in 2007 for a standard compact camera, but 6.42MP doesn't capture much detail when the lens' field of view is as vast as the Theta's. Even when viewing images on a 4.7-inch smartphone screen, you can immediately see that detail is lacking.

    http://www.photographyblog.com/reviews/ricoh_theta_m15_review/

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    If you have a need for 360-degree panoramic imagery, the Ricoh Theta S is a no-brainer. Get one now; you won't regret it.

    http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/ricoh-theta-s/ricoh-theta-s-field-test-part-i.htm

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  • VR thing ala google

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  • Still alive and kicking

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  • The Ricoh Theta S is a compact and handy camera that takes good quality images. It's especially ideal for situations where you want to capture the whole scene including everyone and everything, without omission.

    360 cameras seem to be coming into their own at the moment and the although at the moment that can sometimes seem a bit novelty, the ability to actively explore your image or video once you've taken it is a highly engaging one that lets the viewer interact with images a lot more.

    https://www.ephotozine.com/article/ricoh-theta-s-review--28856

  • A major bugbear of the Theta m15 was its 6.4MP 3584x1792 image resolution, which though adequate for a normal photo, isn't nearly high enough when the image is stretched all around your viewpoint. The Theta S' 14.4MP resolution (that's the total image size formed by both 1/2.3-inch image sensors) is a big improvement, recording images at 5376x2688 pixels and providing a small but noticeable increase in detail. However, even at this resolution, there still isn't enough detail to be able to zoom in very far on any particular area of the panorama. That's because once the image is wrapped into a sphere, you're only ever looking at roughly 3MP of image at any one time.

    http://www.photographyblog.com/reviews/ricoh_theta_s_review/

  • Theta S HDR 360 photo, shared:

    Spherical Image - RICOH THETA

    Click the rightmost icon for full screen.

  • Another Theta S Panorama VR HDR photo:

    https://theta360.com/s/fkCYQwY5jM9cI47FZzjlsIbvk

  • Another Theta S trick: inside/outside panorama. Normally, the white balance differs between the inside (incandescents) and outside (sunlight), so a photo with both prominent (big window) ends up with odd colors (e.g., yellow cast inside and/or blue cast outside). Plus the level of light is very different inside and outside. With two lenses and sensors, plus HDR, all of that is taken care of:

    Spherical Image - RICOH THETA