Ricoh announces Theta V: 360-degree camera with 4K and 3D surround sound

Theta V: 4K and better dynamics capture

Ricoh introduces the successor model to its popular entry-level 360-degree cameras Theta S and SC : Theta V offers a much higher resolution with 4K than the previous models. In addition, Ricoh is equipping its new 360-degree camera with four microphones, which enable a three-dimensional surround sound. This is intended to significantly improve the experience in virtual reality. Also new is the possibility to send pictures and videos directly to the Amazon Fire TV Stick .

As the name suggests, Ricoh goes to the fifth generation with his Theta camera . With the Theta S the company had brought one of the first cheap 360-degree video camera on the market. The Theta SC then turned again at the price screw, brought technically but no innovations. The biggest criticism of the two old models, however, was the resolution: for 360-degree video, Full HD with 1920 x 1080 pixels is just too little. Samsung then brought to a comparable price its Gear 360 and a successor on the market. These may work 4K, but work completely with only newer Samsung Galaxy S andNote models.

Now Ricoh is equal to the resolution and allows with the Theta V 360-degree videos with 3840 x 1920 pixels. The image rate at this resolution is 30 fps. Live streaming is also possible with 4K. The resolution for photos, which is still at 5367 x 2688 pixels, has not changed. Also the aperture remains unchanged with f 2.0. However, according to Ricoh’s own data on the dynamic capture and the white balance rotated. Also, the two 12 megapixel sensors seem to collect more light: the highest ISO value for photos is 3200, for videos at 6400.

Four microphones for 3D sound in the VR

Interesting is the 3D spatial sound process. For this, four microphones record the sound. When playing in VR, the volume is adjusted according to the viewing direction of the viewer as seen in the YouTube videos. If you can do without the 3D sound, the new model will be able to connect an external microphone. The maximum recording time is about 5 minutes in 4K recordings, in Full HD you can film up to 25 minutes at a time. The internal memory has more than doubled its predecessors to 19 GB, it is supposed to be for 40 minutes video.

Good connection: remote control and transfer to the Fire Tv stick

A cable connection is now possible via USB 2.0, for the older models, the data still slipped untimely over the first USB standard. Otherwise the Theta V is equipped with Bluetooth and WLAN. This allows the remote control of the camera via a smartphone app, but recently also the wireless connection with the Amazon Fire TV Stick . This allows you to watch videos and pictures directly on your TV. The 360-degree camera takes over the control of the image section via built-in gyroscope. With the software, Ricoh is based on Android and allows to expand the range of functions via plug-ins. Whether and how this is used, however, must first show.

The dimensions of the new camera are exactly the same as those of the compact Theta S , but the weight of the new model is slightly increased, and it still weighs 121 g. In addition, there is currently only one color variant with metal gray for the Theta V.