Android Magazine 58 - 2015 UK

Ricoh Theta S

The world’s first 360-degree

camera can now shoot incredible

panoramic video

WhendesigningtheThetaS,whatwas

the most important area to change or

improve on from the first Theta?

A

We originally created the Theta series to

change the way people view and connect

with the world around them, [we did this] by

providingawayofcapturingthingstheycan’t

normally see. When developing [the] Theta S we

wanted to make the 360[-degree] experience

even more enjoyable and expand the product’s

usability with higher-resolution images and full

HD-quality movies.

What were the main challenges you faced

when making the new Theta S?

A

There are currently other products on the

market that can take 360-degree

panoramic shots or 180-degree hemispherical

shots. We worked very hard to make the Theta S

the only device [on the market that] is able to

capturefull360-degreesphericalshots,take

high-resolution images and HD movies, whilst

beingcompatiblewithiOSandAndroiddevices.

Allatanaffordableprice.

WhathadyoulearnedfromtheThetathat

youwereabletouseintheThetaS?

A

As the compact/SLR digital camera

market is nearly saturated, the product

was developed to leverage Ricoh’s strength

in optical technology to create a new

market [of its own].

How did you manage to strike the

balance between weight and

portability versus battery life and

size of the camera?

A

We aimed to find a balance between

these two features [that] we know our

customers look for in a product.

Have you ever considered adding SD

card support to the Theta?

A

There are no plans for adding an SD

card slot at this stage.

Jonathan Martin, general

manager, UK & Ireland, for Ricoh

Imaging Europe

Q & A

NEW TECH 360-degree photography

The Ricoh Theta was a revolutionary device enabling

users to instantly shoot a full 360-degree photo

thanks to its two wide-angle cameras on the front

and back of the stick.

Ricoh has followed up this excellent innovation

with the new Theta S, which is capable of fi lming up

to 25 minutes of panoramic video. This is a

technically challenging and very important step

forward for the product as it further increases the

‘never miss a moment’ attraction.

The Ricoh Theta S app, which can be downloaded

from the Google Play store, acts as a portal for you to

view the images you’re recording in real time. This is

so you won’t have to suffer the disappointment of

uploading your footage only to fi nd you had

completely missed all the interesting action.

Ricoh has bumped the internal storage up to 8GB.

This is enough to hold around 1,600 large images,

9,000 medium-sized images, 65 minutes of 30fps

video or 175 minutes of 15fps video. The Theta S is

capable of recording up to 25 minutes of video at a

time, so that could substantially eat into the limited

storage space available.

At a glance

» Product name Ricoh Theta S

» Available from http://www.theta360.com

» Price £299.00/$346.

A thin stick-like camera that is capable of taking instant

360-degree photos and videos. Take full 360-degree panorama pictures to capture eve

aspect of the moment you don’t want to forget

Sleek and simple

The body has been

redesignedwithablack

rubber coating and LED

lights to tell you if you

arehookeduptoWi-Fi

Stackyourphotos

Youareabletosplitthe

screen between the two

cameras, so instead of a

panorama you can take two

individual photos and stack

oneontopoftheother

Ta ke i t w i t h y o u

At 44mm wide, 130mm

high, 22.9mm thick and

125ginweight,thisreallyis

averyportabledevicethat

is light and slim enough to

slip into your jean pocket

alongside your phone

Flagship quality

The f/2.0 aperture on the

ThetaSiscomparabletothe

latest Android flagship

phones(asisthe14MP

resolution). It’s designed to let

in plenty of light to illuminate

your photos and videos