theta
Latest
Ricoh's next camera can stream live broadcasts in 360
Ricoh makes one of the best, simple 360-degree cameras out there. It's gradually added better picture quality, more video skills (and cheaper models) to its Theta series, but the company's taking its tech in a different direction with a spherical video camera capable of live streaming 2K at 30fps. The stitching takes place in real-time and the product is unmistakably for creators and media types. This is the Ricoh R Developer kit, and you can preorder one now.
Engadget Live heads to Austin on Friday!
This Friday, October 16th at 7PM, we're heading back to Austin, TX, for our second-to-last Engadget Live event of the year! We're taking over the Austin Music Hall to bring together gadget lovers (like you!) for a night you won't want to miss. Tickets are free!
Engadget Live is coming to Austin next Friday!
We're excited to be returning to Austin, TX, one of our favorite cities, on October 16th at 7PM for our third Engadget Live event of the year! We'll take over Austin Music Hall and bring together gadget lovers and tech companies for a night you don't want to miss. Tickets are free, but if you'd like to get in an hour earlier (at 6PM), you can purchase an early-access pass.
Ricoh's upgraded its Theta spherical camera in all the important ways
Ricoh's Theta camera was a novel, but pricey experiment: a stick-shaped camera that took completely spherical stills (and later, video.) There was also the unfortunate problem of spreading a typical point-and-shoot camera resolution over an understandably bigger 360-degree digital canvas, which resulted in noisy images low on detail. Ricoh's Theta S camera, which launches globally next month, looks like it'll improve on its predecessor in those areas and more. The new camera roughly doubles the resolution of images it can take over the last Theta camera, and an upgraded f2.0 lens (like the optics found on high-end smartphones) ensures more light and less noise and blur. (The results of the last model were often lacking when there wasn't a strong light source.)
Engadget Daily: 'The Imitation Game,' Ricoh's upgraded 360-degree camera, and more!
Alan Turing has long been regarded as the father of modern computing. Why? We're glad you asked. Today, we dive into the history of the Turing machine, go hands-on with Ricoh's new Theta camera, and take a look at Corning's new Gorilla Glass 4. Read on for Engadget's news highlights from the last 24 hours.
Ricoh's new Theta camera delivers (relatively) simple 360-degree video
Ricoh's original Theta camera did a curious thing: it took instant 360-degree stills, courtesy of two hemispherical lens positioned either side of stick camera. We weren't completely sold on the initial model, which was also hampered by a $399 price tag that screamed niche photography enthusiast. The good news is that Ricoh has listened to said enthusiasts and, well, anyone else that stumped the money for the debut model. The upgrade has brought several improvements: firstly, the WiFi transfer speed from camera to smartphone has now doubled, (another issue with the first camera) while there's now a companion Android app -- something not there at the launch of the original. It also comes in five different poppy shades. But, most crucially, it can pretty effortlessly, capture photo sphere-style video (up to three minutes long) with a button press. It's still not quite perfect, but we've got more impressions and some samples after the break.
Ricoh Theta enables 360-degree photo uploads to Google+ and Maps
Folks who shelled out $400 for Ricoh's quirky Theta camera can now show off their 360-degree masterpieces to a larger audience. Circle-loving shutterbugs just got the option to upload their images to Google+ and Google Maps via the camera's companion apps for Android, iOS, Windows 7/8 and Mac. While users have been able to upload to Twitter, Tumblr and Facebook for quite some time, it's only now that the firm has made the apps compatible with Photo Sphere. As a nice plus, dedicated sphere photographers can string multiple 360-degree pictures together to create Street Views, though they'd probably look too trippy to help out a lost tourist.
Ricoh Theta WiFi camera shoots 360-degree photos for $399 (hands-on)
It's a big week for LCD-less WiFi point-and-shoots, but today's offering is a bit more unusual than Sony's lens-camera duo. What would you pay for a 360-degree camera that's compact, easy to use and compatible with an iOS app? $100? Maybe a buck fifty? Ricoh's betting big on a figure far higher -- a "consumer-friendly" $399. And we're not sold. Sure, the Theta is a unique device, but 360-degree images have limited appeal, and the fact that you (and your friends) will need to download a dedicated app just to view them without distortion doesn't help to seal the deal. Still, we're always up for trying out something new, and we're guessing you might be a bit curious, too. Click past the break as we go full circle with Theta. Follow all of our IFA 2013 coverage by heading to our event hub!
Play Theta: no DS required
Vitei's new Nintendo-published (in Japan) puzzle game Theta is pretty hard to describe. It's a bunch of puzzle challenges that are all very artsy-looking and abstract. In fact, we really have no idea how any of it works-- with the exception of the Kaiten Puzzle mode. We were only able to figure out what that's about because there's a Flash demo.Basically you spin gears, two at a time, so that little spheres fall into indentations, with the goal of getting both spheres into the shaded gear. It takes some fooling around before you see how it's supposed to work, and then it's fun. You can also watch a video of the Aquarium Puzzle game, which looks like it involves using the stylus to create currents that pull spheres into circular regions. Maybe.[Via Game|Life]
