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Feature Requests (Nov 2016 POLL)

Ricoh Hardware and Software
#1

This is a community-generated list of feature requests that will be presented to the RICOH THETA product manager and overall business management team. We intend to collect them and report monthly. This is the third POLL, and we are collecting your votes before the end of November 2016.

Please add any feature requests or other comments by replying to this post. For your reference, the previous poll thread is here: http://lists.theta360.guide/t/feature-requests-sept-2016-poll/294/1

NOTE: It is unlikely RICOH will be able to release all the RAW image data as there is so much metadata associated with the RAW image such as sensor metadata. To authorize the release RAW image data, the engineering team will have to sift through what is too sensitive and what can be released. As this might take too long, we believe the best strategy is to narrow the request for certain types of metadata from the RAW image so the business managers can assess the risk of releasing a narrower set of metadata. Also, we here at the Unofficial Guide are not professional photographers, we may be asking the wrong question. Please specify the type of information you need from the RAW image to help us understand.

What’s the most important feature you want in the next version of the RICOH THETA?

  • HDR image data (please specify details on type of data needed in comments below)
  • Data for 3D reconstruction (please provide more information on what you need)
  • Meta data for other purpose (specify industry or application and what type of data you need in the comments below.)
  • Save still image as dual-fisheye on camera to speed up repeat interval shooting under 9 seconds
  • Save still image as dual-fisheye for automated post-processing. If you need the software from RICOH to convert to equirectangular for this as part of a workflow, please explain in the comments below. The current desktop software cannot accept command line arguments and the libraries have no accessible API.
  • Turn camera on using USB API (or wake from sleep mode)
  • 4K video
  • Removable/Expandable MicroSD card
  • Underwater cover (better than current test tube version)
  • Replacement lenses
  • Live streaming over WiFi (specify acceptable resolution)
  • Live streaming at 4K resolution using USB
  • Time / date tags on theta360.com images
  • Replaceable battery
  • 3.5 mm plug for external microphone
  • Ability to fine tune sensor focus on both fisheye lenses individually (@svendus)
  • For HDRi, take multiple photos and process them later (@utjduo)
  • Updates to the theta360 site - Examples include: Multiple image upload (instead of one-by-one on your phone); Ability to sort images into galleries/albums to share; Simple editing features (@nick)
  • Lens distortion information (lens parameter information) under NDA

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#2

This data is from Eric Rehm

Add my vote for raw image output without processing, at full resolution as well as access to lens distortion info. We would like to develop a poor-man’s radiance L(theta, phi, lambda) camera to measure underwater and under Arctic ice light distributions; delay between shots is not an issue.

Eric Rehm
Takuvik / Université Laval
http://www.takuvik.ulaval.ca

1 Like
#3

Selfie-stick trigger conector

There are plenty of cheap selfie sticks with triggers that connect into a phone’s audio jack or similar.

I’ve hacked this feature on my câmera, but out-of-the-box support would be great

1 Like
#4

Paulo,

Here’s one that connects into the mini-USB port of the THETA:

And here’s another that’s significantly more DIY but maybe an option since it sounds like you’ve already built some custom hacks:

Are these in range of what you had in mind?

Jesse

#5

Kind of.
Unfortunately the CA-3 is proprietary, expensive and impossible to buy in my country :frowning:
I was hoping for something on the line of “short circuit these two pins to trigger”

#6

I switched the feature request about USB full HD 1080p live streaming to USB 4K live streaming.

As of today, the THETA S can stream at 1080 using USB. See the article below.

#7

The ability to set self timers on the camera.

#8

see version 1.42 https://theta360.com/en/support/download/firmware/s/ to set timers

#9

None of those features in your list interest me. Not one of them would make me upgrade to a newer Theta camera.

  • An auto exposure mode where I can set the white balance. When timelapsing dawn and dusk I use auto so it can cope with the transition in light but at a certain point (as with all other cameras) it flickers between the various WB settings
  • To configure the video button to other functions like on other Ricoh cameras. I don’t use video so would like to be able to toggle it to HDR, timer, shutter sound, etc.
  • HDR to have the option to save the over/under exposed files separately
  • To configure the wifi to switch itself off once interval shooting has started
  • The limiter in interval shooting to have a higher limit. 200 is way too few shots as it only makes 8s of timelapse @25 fps. I want to leave the camera shooting and not have the battery drained or the card full when I can estimate how long I want it shooting for.
2 Likes
#10

May be a odd desire,
But a soft flat USB cable with the ferrite filter in the USB2 B end of the cable would be nice
May be a 90 degree solution in the Micro USB end of the cable (docent know) ?
Today’s cable are actuarily a bit stiff, and the THETA often disconnect when turning the camera on streaming HD.

1 Like
#11

One thing not listed is a metal tripod receptacle. A strong wind knocked my camera over (it was being supported on a tripod with legs close together) and the plastic receptacle cracked. I’ve asked on forums for advice about service and have not received any responses. A metal receptacle would have prevented this issue. I’m pretty sure I’m not the only person to have had this sort of mishap.

1 Like
#12

Adding 2 possible features (4k resolution and memory slot) from an email I got from a heavy user:

Any ideas when we can see a new pro camera. We work with clients who are going for 4K resolution and we would like to support there needs as well. Also as I build interactive mobile VR Apps for Cardboard and GearVR only the picture quality is good enough as in VR everything is magnified as you know.

I defiantly would prefer an optional or just memory slot like the Gear 360 has. Ideally also recording 4K videos to the available length of the SD Card. You know I am heavy user :wink:

#13

What’s missing is supporting pre-stitched images (as today) but writing them as ‘raw’ full-range (30 bit?), uncompressed and ‘un-denoised’ DNG files instead of 24 bit JPEGs.
This would allow to get maximum quality from the image data by using a raw converter such as Lightroom.
A high dynamic range is important for any kind of photography but especially for 360°, because here the subject is often covering both dark shadows and bright highlights as the light sources are almost every time part of the image.

#14

Thank you for the detailed feedback. I am not a good or even avid photographer, so my questions may be a bit simplistic.

Is this a limit of the storage capacity of the camera or of an application that you’re using? When I take timelapse, I move the pictures off the camera with USB, so I’m not familiar with the limitations of the applications.

Are you setting timelapse and leaving the camera on a tripod with no WiFi and no USB connection?

Are these white balance settings disabled in auto exposure mode?

https://developers.theta360.com/en/docs/v2.1/api_reference/options/white_balance.html

Or, are they not configurable from the mobile app?

I think I understand the three other requests.

Thanks.

#15

Thanks for the extra information on what the RAW image is needed for. It’s now clear from your explanation that there’s some quality loss when the image is converted to 24bit JPEG. Jesse and I didn’t realize this before.

1 Like
#16

The 4k video (saved to file) resolution and the MicroSD memory card wasn’t on the poll before??

#17

Did you try and contacting the shop where you bought the camera from? There could be a discount on repair.

#18

Say I’m timelapsing a sunset. I’ll know it’s pitch-dark 2 hours after I start shooting. A quick calculation says that’s 480 shots with a 15s interval.
I only need 480 shots but can only set the limiter to a maximum of 200 which would give me an interval time of 36s and be too infrequent.

Yes I leave the camera on a tripod with no WiFi or USB. I carry my Theta with me everywhere but I don’t always carry my laptop.

Not configurable from the mobile app while in Auto Mode. It is possible via any of the manual settings but I want it to choose the optimal shutter speed and ISO.
The only setting via the app in Auto is EV compensation. Interesting to see the’re available via the API.
As to how this could be implemented, maybe in manual mode you could have Shutter speed, ISO and WB have auto as an option in addition to being able to set fixed values.

1 Like
#19

THETA Delta roumor

#20

Cool. Did you make that video or did you see it on a site? Nice concept.