The Ricoh Theta 360-degree camera series is an economical choice for consumers to record immersive video. The company now offers the mid-range product Theta SC for $299.95, between the entry-level Theta m15 ($249.95) and the top-of-the-line Theta S ($349.95).
Natural Ricoh Theta SC is a more affordable product than Theta S. The Theta SC has the same level of image quality as a high-performance 14-megapixel CMOS image sensor and a large aperture dual lens. The large still image resolution is 5376×2688, while the medium resolution image is 2048×1024. The video specifications are: L 1920 × 1080 / 30fps / 16Mbps and M-1280 × 720 / 15fps / 6Mbps.
They also have the same 8GB of memory, allowing them to store the same amount of images and video, record up to five minutes of high-definition (HD) video clips, and then easily upload to theta360.com. Share via people’s favorite social media sites such as Facebook, Google, Google Maps, YouTube, Twitter, and Tumblr.
The difference between Theta SC and Theta S is the connector and a slightly redesigned form factor. Theta SC is smaller and lighter than Theta S in four different colors: beige, white, blue or pink. The main change is that Theta SC lacks the HMDI-Micro connector. This connector allows Theta S to stream video in real-time to services like YouTube, which is why the price difference between the two is $50.
Kaz Eguchi, president of Ricoh Imaging Americas, said: “Our goal is to use 360-degree spherical imaging technology for more people using Theta SC. With immersive images, enhanced display (AR) and virtual reality (VR) are becoming increasingly popular, We hope to produce affordable, high-quality cameras that appeal to people who are interested in capturing and sharing the world with new exciting digital imaging formats."
With the launch of Ricoh Theta SC, the company also updated its Theta S application, the updated program supports both iOS and Android. The update aims to make the application easier to use, from shooting video to viewing, managing and sharing.