**The Ricoh Theta S: A 360 Video Camera Review**

Hey guys, this is Austin. The world of video is changing, and whether you like it or not, 360 video is coming. You might be used to standard boring 2D video like this, but with the Ricoh Theta S, you have a camera that fits in your pocket that can shoot full 360 video.

There are a lot of 360 cameras on the market, and what I like about the Theta is that not only does it shoot great stills, at least in theory, but it's small. Stuff like the Gear 360, while it's a great camera, only works with a single phone and it's also a lot harder to carry in your pocket.

**Unboxing and Features**

Inside the box, we get the actual camera itself, which reminds me of one of those old Flip cameras, but instead of having one camera, it actually has two. This means that no matter how you hold it, you're always in one of the camera's view. It's got a nice soft touch material and a button up front as well as a few things on the side to turn on and off Wi-Fi, switch between photo and video mode, and just turning on and off the camera.

On bottom, there's a standard tripod thread as well as USB and HDMI, so in theory, you can actually do livestreaming with the Theta; however, you have to plug it in, probably not going to be super useful. Inside, it's rocking eight gigabytes of internal memory, but there's no microSD expansion.

**Quick Start Guide and Accessories**

We also get the wonderful quick start guide, which does not look quick at all, and we also have a pouch. Since this is a 360 camera, it actually is important to keep those lenses clean. Most compact cameras will have some sort of lens covering or whatever, but these are big, really wide-angle cameras.

**Using the Camera**

The first step is to download the app. One of the nice things about the Theta is that while the Gear 360 only works with a few modern Samsung phones, this should in theory work with most everything. To take a photo, you can just hit the power button and... done! I'm sure we didn't look like nerds or anything at all there.

I really appreciate just how quick it is to be able to transfer stuff and turn on. Those pictures we just took, I can pretty much immediately bring out over my phone. Once it's copied, there's a little bit of hand action there. You can see they didn't quite perfectly stitch it.

**Stills and Video**

With the live preview, I can get a good look of what I'm going to get on the phone, which is super weird, but when I'm ready, 3... 2... 1...(laughs) That's like the greatest shutter noise ever! So once we actually get it on the phone, we can just swipe around and see that's wow, that's a little bit of a cool effect.

However, the issue is, it's just not that high resolution. It works, and it's definitely a cool effect, but honestly, I feel like the stills look a lot better than the video. However, it does take some getting used to.

**Conclusion**

So what do you guys think about 360? Definitely be sure to let me know what you think in the comments below, and I will catch you on the next one.

WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: en- Hey guys, this is Austin.360 video is coming,whether you like it or not.Now sure, you might be used tostandard boring 2D video like this,but with the Ricoh Theta S,you have a camera that fits in your pocketthat can shoot full 360 video.So there are a lot of 360cameras on the market.What I like about the Theta is thatnot only does it shoot great stills,at least in theory, but it's small.Stuff like the Gear 360,while it's a great camera,only works with a single phoneand it's also a lot harderto carry in your pocket.So inside the box, thefirst thing we get isthe actual camera itself.You know, this kind ofreminds me of one of thoseold Flip cameras.Only difference is insteadof having one camera,it actually has two.So no matter how you hold it,you're always in one of the camera's view.So it's got this nice soft touch materialand we have a button up on frontas well as a few things on the sideto turn on and off Wi-Fi,switch between photo and video mode,as well as just turningon and off the camera.On bottom, there's astandard tripod threadas well as USB and HDMI.So in theory you canactually do livestreamingwith the Theta; however,you have to plug it in,probably not going to be super useful.Inside, it's rocking eightgigabytes of internal memeory,but there's no microSD expansion.So that means that, whilethere's not a ton of space,especially considering that thestills are only 14 megapixeland the video is 1080p,you should be able toget a fair bit onto the camera.But, before we get too far into that,we get the wonderful quick start guide,which does not look quick at all.And we also have a pouch.So, since this is a 360 camera,it actually is importantto keep those lenses clean.Most compact cameras will have some sortof like lens covering or whatever,but these are big, reallywide-angle cameras.So actually probably makessense to keep it in the pouch.The first step is to download the app.So that's actually one of thenice things about the Theta,is that while the Gear 360 only works witha few modern Samsung phones,this should in theorywork with most everything.Oh, wow!That looks like a thing.Okay, we have video.So, what do I do here?Oh, what is that?Image synthesizing...Did I just take a 360 photo of myself?(laughs)Okay, well,that's a thing.That's definitely an amazing shot.The still looks really nice though.There's no artifacts or anything.I'm sure if you look close enough,you can figure out where it's stitched,but that actually looks really nice.Alright, so with the live preview,I can get a good look of whatI'm going to get on the phone,which is super weird, but when I'm ready,3...2...1...(laughs) That's like thegreatest shutter noise ever!So once we actually get it on the phone,we can just swipe around and seethat's, wow, that's alittle bit disturbing.Whoa, wait hold a second,so you can zoom it allthe way out to a sphere.Oh, interesting, that'sactually really cool.So honestly, the stills are kind of one ofthe cooler parts of this camera.But, there is a video mode as well.We should be able to seehow amazing the world looksin full 360 video.Or how crunchy and low resolution it is.But probably amazing, right?Probably? No? Okay.This doesn't look bad.I mean, sure, I'm watching it on my phoneand it's only a 1080p imagethat's being stretchedfor the full 360 frame,but it's pretty much usable here.Now if you guys want a full 360 videoand to be able to see abunch of samples from this,there will be a link in thedescription over on Facebook,which actually do a reallygood job of supportingthe 360 video,but, at first glance, it's not bad.So it's one thing to usethe Theta in the office,but the real world test is the real world.Something I really like about the Thetais just how portable it is.So it'll easily fit in a pocketand when you're readyto actually take a shot,hit the power button and...Done.I'm sure we didn't look like nerdsor anything at all there.I really appreciate just how quick it isto be able to transfer stuff and turn on.So those pictures we just took,I can pretty much immediatelybring out over my phone.And once it's copied,there's a little bit of hand action there.You can see they didn'tquite perfectly stitch it.So one of the things youkind of have to get used tois maybe holding it just a bit lower.So with those dual 12 megapixel cameras,we're getting a 14.4megapixel stitched fileand it looks really nice,even with the sort of,I would say pretty harsh dynamic range.You can see above the buildingis a little bit blown out,but honestly this isnot bad looking at all.And, if you really want to sort ofget the exact shot you want,you have full manual control.So I might just be sittingon a bench right now,.However, what I'm actually doingis recording a 360 video.So the quality isn't amazing.So yes, you can be ableto kind of look aroundand get the full 360 experience,if you're watching this in 360.However, the issue is,is that it's just notthat high resolution.It works, and it'sdefinitely a cool effect,but honestly, I feel like the stillslook a lot better than the video.However, it does takesome getting used to.So what I like about the Theta is justhow easy it is to use.It turns on quickly.It's easy to snap a quick shot.And you can transfer it to your smartphoneand see it thereor of course take it to a computer,edit it, whatever you want to do.Now, the image quality, I think,is a lot better than the video quality.However, if you want togive 360 video a try,and especially 360 stills,the Theta is worth a look.So what do you guys think about 360?Definitely be sure to letme know what you thinkin the comments belowand I will catch you on the next one.