3D Printed RICOH THETA V Hard Case

Noticed this posting on Facebook, by Tadashi Hattori, detailing a 3D printed RICOH THETA V hard case that he created, including downloadable .stl files. STL (STereoLithography) is a file format native to stereolithography CAD software.

Here’s the description, technical details, and downloadable files:

Here’s the original Facebook post:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/RicohTHETAUsers/permalink/1948883565329830/

YouTube description:

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Thanks for posting, Jesse. I was just giving a presentation to teachers on Monday from the Alameda County school district. They’re lucky enough to have access to the Theta V’s through a partnership with Pilot City – I recommended Ricoh, so I think they purchased 30 of them! One of the questions the teachers had was “How do we prevent the cameras from getting scratched when students hold them, drop them, etc”. This looks a nice sturdy approach to make the cameras less slippery, plus Pilot City has a 3d printer!

3 Likes

Andrew,

Oh, cool to hear you’re working with Pilot City. It seems like they’re doing some really cool things in the classroom. How did the presentation go?

Agree, scratching the lens is a big deal. Once it happens, you don’t have much recourse for fixing it easily. (Like removable protective lens.) I was at a @BenClaremont event on Sunday in Oakland and placed my THETA V down on the table. I always do it deliberately and gently. But one of the presenters pointed it out as being a bad habit. Always use the cover!

Yea, lots of stories about tripods getting blown over in the wind and scratching the lenses. Maybe this 3D cover is one solution. What do you do to protect against scratches? Does InstaVR have a recommended solution?

Jesse

Hi Jesse,

The presentations went great. The teachers are excited to introduce VR to their classroom projects.

I don’t have any special method of scratch resistance currently. I use the soft case provided by Ricoh and then am super super careful with the camera. I too reflexively put in on the table, which is a bad habit that I need to stop.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Look forward to seeing on this site some examples of great Theta V captures from your readers. (particularly 4k video!)

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Sounds like we have the same technique for protecting against scratches and accidents. Great to hear about the work InstaVR is doing in the classroom. I think a lot of the ways you guys save time and provide online tools for working with 360 would be really suited to student use and learning.

I used my glasses box for my Theta V hard case, its fit, safe and cheap :grinning:

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That’s a good one. I’m guessing you just noticed it would fit? Or did you go out of your way to buy an eyeglass case for your THETA?

Interesting, just tried it with an eyeglass case I have, and it fits pretty much perfectly. :slight_smile:

Yes, I would like tell everyone just pay a little price to buy a glasses box is a prefect protection with our Theta. It is because I do not want to pay so much money to buy the official hard case which is not really hard to protect the Theta compared the glasses box.

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@skyiver,

Turns out in this glasses-wearing household there are multiple left over eyeglass cases just sitting around waiting to be used. Therefore, thanks to your suggestions, I have found a very nice hardcover protection solution at $0 addition cost. Thinking it might even possibly even help with “camouflage” for the camera to hide it from desirous eyes when I’m out and about.

Just enough space to use the basic soft cover, too. With soft cover, still closes nice and tight, no problem:

Without soft cover:

Thanks for the suggestion!

–Jesse

July 4, 2018 1:01 AM
I would love to invest in a tripod but funds are an issue; however, I used the bottom of a Renuzit air freshner and a screw I found – works great, smells great thus far!

2 Likes

@ellabondella Great job and thanks for posting the picture. Very creative use of what’s available. I also like the general shape of the tripod you built. It may even function as an air freshener at your shoots to give the area the right ambiance.

The thread below may give you additional ideas if you want to keep evolving the design.The thread is 20 tpi by 1/4" and you can use a standard hex nut to prevent the camera from twisting.

Thanks for your contribution!