Ricoh THETA V 360 4K Spherical VR Camera

With 360-degree cameras, it’s always a challenge. No matter how great the product is, like the Rylo and GoPro Fusion, it’s not a must-have technology. This applies to the Theta V: Overall, it’s a very good camera that’s easy to use, and it’s ideal for travelers or anyone looking for a camera that...

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  Simple to use, Tried-and-true design, Spatial audio, Good image quality, Faster performance

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  App could use an update, Wireless casting isn’t straightforward, Built-in storage capacity is small, No optical image stabilization

The Ricoh Theta V supports 4K 360-degree video and boasts a mic input, but it's more expensive than competing models and not waterproof.

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  Slim, handheld form factor. Dual f/2 lenses. 14.5MP imaging and 4K video capture. External microphone support. Live streaming support. Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Works with Android and iOS.

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  Video locked at 30fps. Waterproof case is an additional purchase. Internal, non-expandable storage. Expensive.

Ricoh arguably created the consumer 360-degree camera market, and now the Theta V wants to retake the crown from those that followed it. Making a welcome move to 4K Ultra HD, it adopts a new Android-based architecture that Ricoh promises should deliver far greater flexibility down the line, too.

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  Easy to use, 360-degree video join lines are masked well, Bluetooth connectivity is fast and leaves your phone's WiFi free, 3D audio has potential, plus there's a microphone input, Android-based system has plenty of app potential

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  Lacks the in-app creative features other 360 cameras offer, Ricoh has three smartphone apps instead of just one, Waterproof housing is optional and expensive, No expandable storage, Little use of app support at this stage

If price is no object, one of the leading devices in this category has been Ricoh's Theta V camera . It's tiny, but it packs a 4K sensor and the ability to record surround-sound audio (with a separate module).

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  Image qualityThe Theta V takes very good photos and video., DesignIt's compact and lightweight., SoftwareThe official mobile apps, particularly the Theta+ editing tool, are fantastic., CompatibilityThe camera works with all Android (5.0+) and iOS (10+) devices.

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  Price$400 isreallyexpensive. The official accessories are also pricey., Design (again)The side buttons are hard to press, and there is no water-proofing., StorageNo microSD card slot.

The Ricoh Theta V transforms spherical video from a fun gimmick into a feature usable for a variety of personal and professional applications. On top of that, it maintains the ultra-portable ergonomic design and long list of still imaging features supported by previous models.

Ricoh has made some pretty major improvements to their Theta V camera, and brought their popular 360 degree video system into 2017. The most notable improvement is the ability to collect 4K video.

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  Slim design, Takes good photos, Easy to use

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  Expensive, Too many separate apps, No removable storage

Camera element seems competent, but none of the Theta apps (Desktop Win or iOS) are capable of processing the video. iOS app crashes immediately. Windows app hangs around 2%. So I have video, but unless I find a 3rd party app there's nothing I can do with it.

The Theta V image quality is excellent in 360 videos and stills and screen shots of even portions of the 360 frame on my phone still look very good. Wireless group viewing of videos from the camera through my Fire TV Stick on a large screen TV makes sharing easy.

Nothing short of amazing!! Beats my Nikon 360 to pieces....Pics are sharp and colors are right on...use it with my real estate media business...knocks 360s out of the park...

It is my first 360 camera, owning it for about 2 years now. Great experience so far, although there are more powerful models on the market already. Voice recording is not the best I've had in cameras.

Camera works fine but super disappointed with the underwater housing! The tripod thread on the bottom has no reinforcement or helicoil so cracks easy and you can see the bottom of the housing in the video. Poor design

I have both models before the V, and the V is a nice improvement, especially for video. Quick and simple to setup, I can get a full VR tour set of images in a short period of time and get out of the clients way. The HDR feature in Ricoh's own software now works well with this camera.