After months of speculation, Ricoh has officially announced the Theta V – price tag £399.99 with a September release date – its new 4K flagship 360 camera.
Ricoh announced the development of a new 4K Theta 360 camera earlier this year, but its name, nor official specs, haven’t been known until now.
Some information, and leaked images, found their way online in recent months, but now we know that the Ricoh Theta V will offer immersive spatial audio recording and high-speed image transfer, as well as the 4K video capture announced earlier this year.
Ricoh Theta V Features
The Ricoh Theta V shoots 360-degree 4K video at a resolution of 3840 x 1920 pixels at 30fps, and it produces 14-megapixel still images. It is also capable of 360-degree livestreaming.
In addition to supporting the H.264 file format for video recording, the Ricoh Theta V also supports the more recent video compression standard of H.265.
However, Ricoh states that the dedicated app only supports H.264. H.265 is a specification supported in anticipation of future applications based on the API release.
New to the model is a built-in 4-channel microphone which the Theta V uses to record spatial audio to link to 360-degree videos for a more immersive experience.
Ricoh says it is also launching a 3D Microphone TA-1, priced £249.99, sold separately, that is compatible with the Theta V and allows users to pick up natural sounds with a large volume of information from low to high frequencies.
Along with the microphone, Ricoh is also releasing a TW-1 underwater casing for the Theta V, priced £179.99, which allows you to take the camera to a depth of 30 metres.
Powering the Ricoh Theta V is a new image sensor that supports high-speed shot image data readout and the Qualcomm Connected Camera Platform with a Qualcomm Snapdragon™ processor.
Ricoh says that the Theta V is in fact 2.5 times faster than its previous Theta cameras.
What’s more, Ricoh says it has ‘completely changed’ the exposure accuracy and white balance algorithm by incorporating the same image processing technology it has developed for its DSLRs and GR compact camera range.
The Ricoh Theta V also introduces the ‘world’s first’ Remote Playback for 360-degree video, the company says. Installed as a plug-in, Remote Playback allows users to mirror playback of 360 images and video stored on the camera’s internal memory. In short, this means you can view your content over projects directly from the camera.
Like previous Theta cameras the Ricoh Theta V offers Bluetooth and WiFi built-in, and the Ricoh Theta V also employs an Android-based operating system like the previous Theta camera.
What’s interesting about its Android base operating system is that new functions like the Remote Playback feature can be added. This means that Ricoh can update the Theta V over time by drip-feeding new features.
Ricoh says a platform supporting open source plug-ins released by general developers is also in the works.
Other features include in-camera stitching, a max shutter speed of 1/25,000sec, a high sensitivity of ISO 3200 and 19GB of internal storage (about 4,800 still images).
Ricoh says it has also revamped the Theta V’s gyro sensor and internal acceleration sensor.
Ricoh Theta V Price & Release Date
The Ricoh Theta V price tag will be £399.99, with its new accessories sold separately. The Theta V release date is set for the end of September.