Back in September 2013, Ricoh launched its first Theta 360-Degree Spherical compact digital camera, available in White. The camera has dimensions similar to a tiny remote control, with a fisheye lens on each side to capture and stitch the images together, forming a spherical image. It was quite a revolutionary product at the time, considering that Google’s Photo Sphere released with Android 4.2 Jelly Bean in late 2012 requires capturing tens of panoramic photos to be time-consumingly stitched together. Yet, two and a half years later, there is still no product quite like the Theta. Just a few months ago (September 2015), Harvey Norman Malaysia opens up sale for the successor to the first Theta — a 1.5G product, if you will — called the Ricoh Theta m15. It is almost identical to the first, except the new ability to capture 360-degree videos (up to only 3 minutes though), plus it comes in three additional colors besides White (Blue, Pink, and Yellow). And just today, Ricoh Malaysia at Sunway Lagoon officially launched the brand-new Ricoh Theta S, available only in Black, for RM1,779. Ricoh Malaysia told us that the Theta S was already on sale in Malaysia since December 2015.
While it looks very similar to the m15, Theta S now has a “larger” 8GB storage to store up to around 65 minutes of 1080p videos. In reality though, each video cannot be larger than 4GB or longer than 25 minutes. The 8GB storage can also store approximately 1,600 spherical photos at 5376 x 2688 or around 14.5 megapixels. Its exact battery capacity is not stated, but Ricoh said it could take around 260 spherical photos on a single charge. The shutter release button is smack dab in the middle, with a separate mode button on the side, to switch between taking photos and videos.
The aforementioned photo/video mode button is accompanied by the WiFi and Power buttons above it (if you’re holding the Theta S upright). The WiFi button is obvious — long-press on it to make the device discoverable to smartphone, and it connects through WiFi Direct. Once connected, you’ll need the Theta S app (Android, iOS) that acts as a viewfinder or a remote control, and the Theta+ app (Android, iOS) that lets you edit your spherical photos. Notice I said “spherical photos”, because there is actually another Theta+ Video app to edit spherical videos, but this is available on iOS only (for now). Not abandoning “legacy” OSes, Ricoh also has Theta desktop applications for Windows and OS X. Besides WiFi, you can also connect the Theta S through a micro-USB-B 2.0 or even a mini-HDMI cable. Download links to all applications, including the standard Ricoh Theta app for the older m15 model (Android, iOS), are available here: https://theta360.com/en/support/download/.
As a successor to the m15, Theta S touts to have a major upgrade in both image sensor and video quality. It can now shoot “near Full HD” resolution at 30 frames per second, with a 14.5-megapixel resolution for photos. The two fisheye lenses are actually designed in a way where they actually cover a little over 180 degrees, meaning that the two images overlap each other a bit, making the 360-degree photo/video stitching seamless without any merging errors. The Theta S comes with an f/2.0 aperture and dual 1/2.3-inch sensors.
Back to the Theta S app. As mentioned earlier, it has a new feature where you can preview the spherical photo in-app before capturing. The same app also has settings for white balance, shutter speed, and ISO, not to mention a remote shutter release button. Once you’re done editing the 360-degree photo (or video) with Theta+, you could then share it to Google Maps as a Street View, to Google+ as a Photo Sphere, or to YouTube as a 360-degree video. Not only that, Ricoh has its own website — https://theta360.com/en/gallery/ — where you could upload the spherical photos to. There, the 360-degree photos have their own links you could then share to social networks like Facebook and Twitter, or embed them to your site like the images below, taken earlier today. Check out the sample videos below too, after we go through specifications.
Ricoh Theta S’ official Malaysian launch at Sunway Lagoon on January 27th 2016. – Spherical Image – RICOH THETA
Ricoh Theta S test photo – Spherical Image – RICOH THETA
Ricoh Theta S specifications (with 4 additional photos)
Click to view slideshow.Object distance
- Approximately 10cm–∞ (from front of lens)
Shooting distance
- Still image: Auto, shutter priority, ISO priority, manual
- Video: Auto
Exposure compensation
- Still image — Manual compensation (-2.0–+2.0 EV, 1/3 EV step)
ISO sensitivity (Standard output sensitivity)
- Still image: ISO 100–1600
- Video: ISO 100–1600
- Live streaming: ISO 100–1600
White balance mode
- Still image: Auto, Outdoor, Shade, Cloudy, Incandescent light 1, Incandescent light 2, Daylight color fluorescent light, Natural white fluorescent light, White fluorescent light, Light bulb color fluorescent light
- Video: Auto
- Live streaming: Auto
Shutter speed
- Still image: 1/6400–1/8 second (in auto, ISO priority or shutter priority modes), 1/6400–60 seconds (in manual mode)
- VIdeo: 1/8000–1/30 second (in 1920 x 1080 video size), 1/8000–1/15 second (in 1280 x 720 video size)
- Live streaming: 1/8000–1/15 second
Recording medium
- Internal, approximately 8GB
Number of photos that can be recorded, video time
- Still image: Approximately 1,600 images when image size is 5376 x 2688, approximately 9,000 images when image size is 2048 x 1024
- Video (timer per recording): Maximum 25 minutes or less than 4GB
- Video (total recording time): Approximately 65 minutes with 1920 x 1080 video size, approximately 175 minutes with 1280 x 720 video size
Power source / battery life
- Lithium-ion battery (built-in)
- Approximately 260 photos
Image file format
- Still image: JPEG (Exif version 2.3), DCF2.0 compliant
- Video: MP4 (Video: MPEG-4 AVC/H.264, Audio: AAC)
External interface
- Micro-USB terminal: USB 2.0
- Micro-HDMI terminal: (Type-D): HDMI 1.4
Exterior/external dimensions and weight
- 44mm (W) x 130mm (H) x 22.9mm (17.9mm) (D)
- Approximately 125 grams
Usage temperature range:
- 0ºC–40ºC
Usage humidity range
- 90% or less
Storage temperature range
- -20ºC–60ºC
Waterproof
- No
Colors
- Black
The official distributor of Ricoh Theta S is DSC World Sdn. Bhd. where it has already been selling the device since December 2015. One of the official partners where you could purchase one, is Harvey Norman Malaysia, but you could also get it directly through Ricoh’s eStore. If the RM1,779 price tag is a bit too high for you, Harvey Norman seems to still carry all colors of the slightly-older Ricoh Theta m15, for RM1,299.
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