Ricoh Theta V no-frills and easy to handle

The original Ricoh Theta, launched in 2013, was the trailblazer that brought 360-degree photography to the masses.

Its last iteration, Theta V, was released last year. But in terms of looks, the Theta V has not changed much from its predecessors.

In fact, it has a design that has been emulated by many copycats in the market - a slim candy-bar body with a 180-degree lens on its front and back.

There is a shutter-release button in front, the side withthe Ricoh logo, that you press to take a 360degree still image or video.

On one side of the camera are the Power, Wi-Fi and Mode (for toggling between photo and video recording) buttons. At its bottom are a microphone jack and a micro-USB port for charging its battery and transferring images to your computer.

This is a no-frills 360-degree camera that anyone can use as long as one has a smartphone.

  • SPECS

    PRICE: $628

    IMAGE SENSOR: 2 x 12-megapixel

    LENS: 2 x 180-degree f/2.0

    CONNECTIVITY: Bluetooth, Wi-Fi

    WEIGHT: 121g

  • RATING

    FEATURES: 3/5

    DESIGN: 4/5

    PERFORMANCE: 4/5

    BATTERY LIFE: 3/5

    VALUE FOR MONEY: 3/5

    OVERALL: 4/5

It lacks the bells and whistles of the GoPro Fusion and Garmin Virb 360. It also lacks any form of water resistance.

But it supports 4K (3,840 x 1,920 pixels) 360-degree video recording at 30 frames per second (fps) and 4K 360-degree live streaming. It is also able to shoot 12-megapixel 360-degree stills.

The Theta app (available on Android and iOS) is used to transfer images and also works as a remote viewfinder.

The Theta V connects to a smartphone via either a Bluetooth or Wi-Fi connection. However, I failed to connect it to my Android smartphone via Bluetooth during my tests and have had to resort to using just Wi-Fi to connect.

In terms of image quality, the Theta V's 360-degree stills are the best in this round-up. Most of the photos I took were beautifully stitched, without visible seams. The colours were vivid, with great dynamic range.

However, the 360-degree videos I took look grainy due to noise artefacts.

In addition, without image stabilisation, the videos I shot while walking are visibly jerkier than those taken with the other three cameras in this round-up.

Unlike many 360-degree cameras in the market, the Theta V does not have a memory card slot. Instead, it has an internal storage of 19GB. I think the combination of internal storage with a memory card slot would have been more ideal.

The Theta V's battery life is average, at about 80 minutes of video footage recorded.

• Verdict: If you are concerned mainly about still-image quality for your 360-degree shoots, the Ricoh Theta V is the camera for you.

Trevor Tan

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on October 31, 2018, with the headline Ricoh Theta V no-frills and easy to handle. Subscribe