Originally published at: RICOH Launches New THETA X 360 camera – RICOH THETA Developer Community
11K image with 60 megapixels, 5.7K video, color touchscreen, removable storage and battery, internal GPS
The new RICOH THETA X is the perfect 360 camera for businesses that take pictures and video for real estate and scenes with good lighting.
Unique THETA X Technology Features
The THETA X is the only RICOH THETA camera with these features at the time of blog publication:
- 11K high resolution video
- 5.7K @ 30fps high resolution video
- 2.25 inch color touchscreen on camera body – 360×640
- removable battery (DB-110)
- removable storage card
- GPS inside the camera
Unique THETA X Usage Features
- ability to install plug-ins direct from the camera
- ability to upgrade firmware direct from camera
- exposure compensation and white balance adjustment for live streaming
The THETA X takes still images at 11008×5504 and video at a resolution of 5760×2880 at 30 frames per second.
The new camera has a 2.25-inch color touchscreen on the camera body which helps with standalone use and should help us take some amazing shots without having to always connect to a mobile phone and use the mobile apps.
The new THETA X has a removable microSDXC card and battery. These are very common requests by many people in the .guide community. Although existing RICOH THETA cameras have very good transfer speeds to mobile phones or over a USB cable, the ability to transfer thousands of photos on a microSDXC card can improve many workflows. For example, if you need to capture video at a construction site, using microSD cards to transfer the video could speed up the workflow.
Although many companies use RICOH THETA cameras with external batteries, the ability to replace batteries in the field could open up new types of streamlined workflows that don’t rely on external equipment.
The DB-110 is the same battery in the RICOH THETA V. See this video for a community tear-down and unofficial replacement of the DB-110 with Li-92B batteries with 1500mAh.
High Resolution is Great for Real Estate
The THETA X has a 1 / 2.0” image sensor that can take 11K pictures at approximately 60 megapixels.
This makes it excellent for real estate and travel shots where there is good lighting. If there is low lighting, such as at a construction site, people may want to try different settings to reduce image noise.
Plug-in Developers
The announcement indicates that the THETA X runs Android OS and will allow third-party developers to release plug-ins for the camera. This is very exciting because the ability to control plug-ins from the OLED touchscreen is a huge advantage for plug-in applications.
The THETA X also allows the installation of plug-ins directly from the camera. Similar to a mobile phone, the THETA X can connect to your worksite router and get plug-ins directly.
The V and the Z1 used versions of Android 7.x on Qualcomm Snapdragon architectures. See our blog posts on detailed Z1 technical specifications and using Vysor for plug-in development.
USB API
Although the announcement doesn’t specifically state that the THETA X will work with the USB API, all the recent THETA models support the USB API. I suspect that the THETA X will also support it. See our article on the USB API for development tips we’ve organized for existing RICOH THETA models.
Web API
We will test the THETA X API and compare it to the Z1 and SC2 API support. Previously, we produced an article on SC2 WebAPI Differences.
Firmware Update
The firmware can be updated directly from the camera using Client Mode Wi-Fi access. Previous models required use of the official RICOH THETA mobile or desktop applications to update the camera firmware.
More Information
The team at theta360.guide will perform extensive testing of the THETA X and compare it to the THETA Z1 and the V. We’ll publish these test results in the future. If you have any questions about the THETA X or requests for tests, please post them below in the comments. If you are unable to post comments, send an email to info@oppkey.com
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