| Fotoqualität | |
| Videoqualität | |
| Material | |
| Zubehör | |
| Preis-Leistung | |
| Average 0/5 |
Usual cameras take photos and videos in a rectangular or square shape. But why should you limit yourself to this view only?
Meanwhile there are quite good 360 degree cameras that record everything around. The viewer can turn around with the mouse on the computer or via touch in the video/photo and direct his attention where he wants.
A concert, the beach on vacation or a hiking tour are captured even more vividly.
You can also upload photos and videos to YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and other sites to share with friends and family.
A very popular cam in this area is the Ricoh THETA V 360-degree spherical camera, which records video with built-in 3D space-sound. We took a closer look at this model and give you some feedback on it in this report.
Technical properties
In addition to state-of-the-art technology, the camera also shines with a high-quality design.
It looks very modern and also a bit futuristic. After all, the view is unusual for most people. The Ricoh THETA V 360 degree sphere camera has 2 high resolution cameras with 180 degree lenses each, which together create the 360 degree sphere.
The cam has several buttons on the sides and on the front to operate it. In order to be able to use the 360 degree camera even better, it is recommended to connect it to a smartphone via Wifi. Here you can view the images and transfer them to your device (tablet or smartphone).
There are several LEDs on the camera, which show the status of the cam, for example if the WLAN of the 360 degree camera is switched on.
By wiping with your finger you can move in all directions in the 360 degree sphere that was recorded.
360 degree photos and videos can be uploaded directly to social media platforms and shared with other people.
Image sensor, resolution and memory
In video format, the resolution is 3,840 x 1,920 pixels, or 4K. But you can also set 1.920 x 960 pixels to save some memory.
Photos are usually recorded with 5,376 x 2,688 pixels.
When taking photos, the two images from the cameras are added together to give a 360 degree overall picture. This process takes place internally directly after the recording. This means that a full spherical image does not have to be taken by the user, but is stored entirely in the memory of the Ricoh THETA V 360-degree spherical camera.
On the other hand, the situation is completely different with video recordings. Here, the videos of the cameras are simply stored and displayed next to each other. The merging and “calculating” of the two videos costs a lot of computing power and has to be done in post-processing.
To do this, you need to connect the camera to your laptop, transfer the two videos and convert them to a full 360-degree video using the Ricoh Theta program. Which is pretty simple with the software.
Other features and modes of the Ricoh THETA V 360-degree spherical camera
You also have the possibility to start a 4K 360 degree live stream. This is a 4K resolution and a frame rate of up to 30 frames per second.
The camera has recently been set up with a new Android operating system. There are now a lot of plug-ins, functions and settings available, so you can improve the connectivity to other devices. This feature is already partly implemented with the Theta V, but other functions are still in development.
Another cool feature is the 360-degree spatial audio display, also known as the 3D spatial sound method. The Ricoh THETA V 360-degree spherical camera has 4 microphones, capturing and reproducing the audio impressions in the best possible way.
This is especially interesting if you put on virtual reality glasses and use this function, because this makes the experience even more detailed and realistic.
Compared to the previous models, the transfer speed is also a bit faster and is up to 3 times faster.
Advantages and disadvantages
Advantages:
- High photo and video quality
- Lots of cool features – including 3D spatial sound
- Simple and intuitive operation
- Smooth, harmonious video playback
- Very good sound quality
Cons:
- Videos must be converted
Conclusion
If we look at the camera and the price in total, it actually does its job quite well.
Much of what was promised is still in development and even the improved processor (Snapdragon) doesn’t seem to be able to convert the video recordings directly by itself, this has to be done afterwards and unfortunately can’t be done during the recording.
If you’re not too bothered by post-production, the Ricoh THETA V 360-degree spherical camera is probably made for you. You’ll not only get a high-quality 360-degree camera with lots of cool features, but also a rich sound quality with 3D sound effects.
On Amazon you can order the Ricoh THETA V 360 degree spherical camera at a special price!
