Top positive review
Awesome little camera that takes decent 360 pictures and videos.
By JT on Reviewed in the United States on August 20, 2016
This product takes 360 degree photos or videos with one click of the button on the device. You can also pair with wifi to your mobile phone and control it through the phone. When attached to the phone it allows you to preview what the shot will look like. You also have complete control of the camera settings so you can adjust for lighting, etc.The pictures are decent quality and can be uploaded to Facebook and then displayed as in a 360 mode that Facebook supports natively now. I've included a photo I took with the camera on a tripod/selfie stick in a frontier house in smoky mountain national park. I'm around one of the corners controlling with my phone. I uploaded it a full resolution, not sure if Amazon will down size it. A couple of things that will get you started faster: 1. Download the Theta + and Theta S apps on your phone. 2. If you don't want your hand to look distorted set the camera on a flat surface and control with your phone or use a selfie stick and control with your phone. I got this selfie stick as it includes a mini-tripod on the bottom, Smatree® SmaPole Q3 Telescoping Pole / Selfie Stick +Folding 3 Legs Support Stand for GoPro Hero, Hero4, Hero3+/3/2/1 hd Cameras & 1/4" Threaded Hole Compact Cameras & Cell Phones, With Cell Phone Holder +Tripod Mount Adapter +Thumbscrew. 3. When taking a picture it puts the center of the image or the focus on the side opposite the picture taking button. So if you are taking a selfie it will look better if you put the button away from you and then struggle to find the button. This will put you in the initial focus and center when it stitches if not viewing in a 360 viewer. 4. When you share as a text message or email, which is pretty easy since it syncs with your phone, it will send as a "flattened" picture that looks a little distorted if you send as is. I would recommend downloading the Theta + app so you can edit the photos easily. 5. Sometimes, items close to the camera aren't stitch perfectly but it is still very good most of the time.
Top critical review
7 people found this helpful
Great still camera, overstated video quality and frustrating software.
By Seth Ward on Reviewed in the United States on December 26, 2015
The camera itself is a lot of fun. Photo quality is great, and you can create some really fun shots even from a quick set-up. I appreciate the ease of use, especially after using Gigapan Epic, which has tremendous output at the cost of much time and effort. Video is a bit of a disappointment. You can also do some fun things, but Ricoh is overselling the video quality. There may well be enough pixels to count as 1080p, but this is when you are looking at the full image peeled out onto a flat projection. Viewing any part of the image in spherical video is, of course, much lower quality. I am struggling to figure out a workflow to get a presentable quality video onto YouTube. Which leads me to the real disappointment of this kit: the software. It's terrible. Documentation is non existent. Labels and tooltips have been poorly translated into English, making it hard to understand what different actions are really doing. Share options in iOS are inconsistent between photos (upload to Ricoh gallery only) and videos (limited share sheet, missing some standard options). The Theta+ app does not offer an iPad version, and the output of edited photos is down-sampled and trimmed to the dimensions of an iPhone screen. I've found I get the best output by simply positioning the view and taking a screen shot. The Mac desktop software is worthless to me as the camera drive doesn't mount correctly in El Capitan. Also worth noting that while Theta S is "compatible" with Google Business View, if you're looking to be a certified BV photographer, this camera doesn't have high enough resolution output to qualify your shots for that approval. Overall, it's a great addition to my photo gear, and I'm glad I made the purchase. For still spherical photos, the Ricoh S is tops, and very easy to use. If your main use will be video you might want to shop around or wait for next year's version. I will look into 3rd-party apps and edit my review if it improves the experience any.
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