I bought a USB travel charger for Ricoh Theta S Charger from a camera retailer, but when I tried to plug on the wall outlet and plug my Ricoh Theta S, Red flash blinked twice and off. I am confused that my charger said:
Input: 100-240V - 50/60 Hz 0.15A
Output: 5V - 1A
Does that mean I bought the wrong one? I asked them is this the right one to charge for my Ricoh Theta S? They said yes and they had experienced. They also said that if I charge in my computer, it would risk my theta battery life, it’s not stabilized to plug in PC.
I used Theta for a year, and always charge at my PC with red light, not blinking. I still want to find the right charger tho.
Here is a link to the charging section of the Theta S users guide.
https://theta360.com/en/support/manual/s/content/prepare/prepare_03.html
The Theta S is very “picky” about what it will charge with. Good usb chargers like the ones that come with iPhones and iPads seem to always work but some 3rd party cheaply made phone chargers will not charge the camera.
Also beware that you need a good charging cable as well. Ricoh recommends that you only use the one supplied with your camera. A poorly made cable could cause a voltage drop which will bring the charger delivered output voltage down below what is expectable for charging the camera.
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So yesterday I went back to the camera retailer and asked them to change the charger into iPad USB charger. And yes, I used the original cable that Ricoh product supplied when I bought them. Turns out the iPad USB charger works as the red lit turned on and not flashing.
But when I check their power supply specs, the iPad one said: OUTPUT: 5V—2A ; Out:2000mA. and it has two USB plugs on it. Yes I know the charging guide, it seems suited with iPad charger, but I’m still afraid to use this charger, as I heard that the ampere for Ricoh Theta S must be 1.5 Ampere. I don’t really know about electricity. Is it safe or not for my battery using the iPad charger to charge?
This is a bit risky to respond to, but in the interest of helping, I’ll share my personal experience and my opinion.
First, can you verify that you have the newest firmware in your camera? It should be 01.82. You can upgrade the firmware using the desktop app. I believe the original THETAs had more problems charging when the amperage was below 1.5amps. I thought this was largely resolved with the newer THETA cameras.
I believe that the THETA S will not charge below a certain threshold for amps. Previously, this was stated as 1.5 amps (or 1500 ma). This is probably not a hard threshold. I suspect that in certain cases, a 1 amp charger could charge the THETA, but just take longer. However, if it’s too low, then it probably won’t charge. Thus, my opinion is that the 1 amp charger is too low and doesn’t have enough power to charge the battery.
Going above 1.5 amps, I’ve always assumed that the internal regulator of the THETA could compensate for 2 amps. I’ve been charging the THETA with external 2amp USB chargers for over over a year and haven’t had any problems.
Right now, on my desk, I am charging the THETA with this powered USB hub, which should be outputting 2 amps.
https://www.amazon.com/Anker-Adapter-Charging-Storage-Devices/dp/B014ZQ07NE
I’m also using this wall charger
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00VH958F0?ref=emc_b_5_t
The black device (the first one) gives my computer many USB ports. The second device (the white one) is only for charging phones, cameras, tablets. The white one is used my family in the kitchen as a community charging station.