Android App to Manage In-Camera Stitching, Top/Bottom Correction, and Reset

[craig]

As we couldn’t find an existing app that can control in-camera static/dynamic stitching for interval shooting, @jcasman and I decided to put the test app on an app store for distribution.

As of April 11, we’re waiting for the Android version of the app to be available on Google Play. In the meantime, people can download the app directly from Google Drive. With this install method, you will have to agree to a warning that the developer is not recognized.

z1 tester

Click on the link from your Android phone. You will see a warning below.

The app also provides control of top/bottom correction and can reset the settings. It is for testing and educational use, but may be of use for specialized pictures if these functions aren’t already in an existing app.

This is a standard JPG image with no stitching. I’m using this test shot because it is easy to see that the app is working. The static/dynamic stitching is more difficult to test as it likely requires image stacking to show the differences in minor lens distortion adjustments.

Stitching

The RICOH THETA V and Z1 have six options for in-camera stitching.

RICOH THETA In-Camera Image Stitching Options Explained

The following features are supported in the Z1 tester app.

setting	Description
auto	Automatic
static	Performs static stitching
dynamicAuto	For Normal shooting, performs dynamic stitching, for Interval shooting, saves dynamic distortion correction parameters for the first image and then uses them for the 2nd and subsequent images
dynamicSave	Performs dynamic stitching and then saves distortion correction parameters
dynamicLoad	Performs stitching using the saved distortion correction parameters
none	Does not perform stitching

There are also five options to control top/bottom correction or orientation.

top/bottom correction

RICOH THETA Image Orientation in 2020 - How to take sideways images

The following settings are supported in the Z1 tester app.

Setting	Description
Apply	Top/bottom correction is performed.
ApplyAuto	Top/bottom correction is performed. However, for Interval shooting, the parameters used for top/bottom correction for the first image are saved and used for the 2nd and subsequent images.
ApplySave	Performs top/bottom correction and then saves the parameters.
ApplyLoad	Performs top/bottom correction using the saved parameters.
Disapply	Does not perform top/bottom correction.

---

features

In addition to the top/bottom correction, stitching, and reset, the app supports the following features to help with Z1 testing:

• take picture
• display last picture taken in equirectangular view only
• disable self-timer
• enable 3 second self-timer
• disable sleep
• enable sleep

Device Testing

Only tested with Z1 on iPhone 7 and Google Pixel 2. Should also work with THETA V. Does not work with SC2, SC, or S.

Android

iOS

[jcasman]

Tested this on a Pixel 1 running Android 9

The download from the Google Drive provided in the article here is smooth. As @codetricity mentions, you need to accept the install warning before downloading. Not a problem.

• Theta Z1 Tester app shows up - For me, not on the desktop, I had to swipe up to show all apps
• Interface looks like screenshots in the article above
• Take picture works
• Show image works

I don’t know where the images are being stored. I looked in the camera app under All Photos, do not see them. Not critical for testing.

The stopwatch with a line through it and the 3s delay button also work well. No problem.

When you take a picture, it doesn’t show up for about 5-10 seconds. This seems a little long, but while you’re waiting you get a clear message “Image loading may take a moment” so it’s easy to understand.

I change the Orientation to test. It was already correcting orientation. Which I tried by tilting the camera. Pressed Disapply. Pictures are now tilted. Pressed Apply, pictures are now nicely orientation corrected.

• Have not used Stitching
• Have not use Reset

[craig]

On Android, in the list of “All Apps”, you can tap and hold the app icon to move it to your home screen.

The mobile app does not save the picture to the mobile phone. To get the picture, you must connect the camera to a computer with a USB cable and download the app to your computer.

The Z1 has _topBottomCorrection (orientation of camera) on by default.

I am curious about the “ApplySave” values and when someone would use ApplyLoad.

I believe the most recent version of the official mobile app has a toggle between ApplyAuto and Apply.

Update:
ToDo: add increased GPS accuracy to picture metadata using internal camera GPS at the cost of greater battery consumption on the mobile phone.

Update Aug 30, 2023

API documentation location changed. Image Stitching is now here:

ricohapi/theta-api-specs/blob/main/theta-web-api-v2.1/options/_image_stitching.md