Ricoh Imaging Americas announced its Theta S 360-degree camera and accessories are now widely available. In the US, the Theta S has been available since mid-June.
Ricoh is the pioneer in the 360-degree consumer camera category, and its pocket-sized Theta cameras allow consumers to record fully spherical images, allowing them to see the entirety of a scene in photos or videos. Its newest model, the Ricoh Theta S, captures high-resolution spherical images of nearly 14 mega-pixels and records HD video at 30fps, with a maximum recording time of 25 minutes. The spherical images captured by both the Theta S and Theta m15 can be easily uploaded to theta360.com; posted and shared via Facebook, Google+, Google Maps and YouTube; as well as shared via Twitter and Tumblr.
The Ricoh Theta series camera is the brainchild of Ricoh’s Visual Revolution or VR division, an organization that is focused on developing consumer imaging technologies. The camera’s combination of small size, high quality imagery and functionality are a result of Ricoh’s experience in imaging and optical technologies. The company has long been a player in professional printers and copiers, and is known for its optics and optical components.
A key achievement with the Theta series is an ultra-small twin-lens folded-optical system capable of capturing two wide-angle images and then marrying them into a single spherical image.