Just bought a cheap Ricoh 360 degree camera - anyone here into 360?

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Mike_9000

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On an impulse, I've just bought a used Ricoh THETA M15 360 degree camera (the kind with two lenses back-to-back).

It's obviously nowhere near the state of the art. However:
  • It was cheap.
  • I like those images that you can drag with your mouse cursor so as to 'look behind' the camera
  • I work with someone who renovates houses, and it will be great for 'before and after' images of rooms
  • I sometimes cover protests, and 360 images seem like a great way to provide context
  • Fun...
I already have a selfie stick too :cool:

Any observations or advice? I'm probably mad as a bag of frogs, but I couldn't resist .
 
I've never used one, but if one comes up at the right price sometime I'll certainly be tempted.

I'd like to use it to document when I'm out and about in my wheelchair to show people the abuse/crap I have to deal with on a daily basis.

It might be fun to attach it to the dog's harness too.
 
I use one at work for 360 pictures - useful for inventory pictures for rental properties. I also have a Matterport 360 that cost considerably more that the Theta but does not produced stunningly better pictures, indoors at least. I have, sadly, a reputation for dropping the Thetas down stairs, attached to a tripod. Trust me, it ends badly for the Theta.
 
I decided to go the complex manual route and got myself Manfrotto MN303SPH to use with 5D3 (ML enabled) and 16-35mm. That's about 40-50 frames per sphere with all the bracketing and fun merging it but the resolution and IQ is incredible.
 
I’ve dabbled recently, had a Theta Z1 but it came off the tripod and scratched. Now I’ve gone down the fisheye and panoramic head way as IQ is so much better.
 
Sky said:
I'd like to use it to document when I'm out and about in my wheelchair to show people the abuse/crap I have to deal with on a daily basis.
Click to expand...
That sounds like an interesting project...
 
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Tulipone: I'll try to avoid the stairs (and probably drop it down a lift shaft...)

Everyone else: high end panoramic and 360 images are brilliant. My Panasonics can stitch a jpeg panorama in-camera. However, if there's movement in the scene (which there will be in the scenes I want to make 360's of) you get all kinds of odd artefacts. It's got to be done in a single shot.

My purchase of the Ricoh is mostly motivated by adding a little perspective to coverage of protests. However, being able to take a picture of a whole room, that you can embed in a website so that the users can drag it and look around, is a cool bonus - especially if you can take it in one shot during a busy day.

If it doesn't turn out well... not much lost and it's still an option. If it does, I'll probably start to lust after something better :)
 
Mike_9000 said:
....... However, being able to take a picture of a whole room, that you can embed in a website so that the users can drag it and look around, is a cool bonus
Click to expand...

And that is exactly why I use one - when compiling an inventory of a rental property, a picture speaks far more than the words. It is a useful record being able to keep on file and having the inventory kept on line for the tenants reference also. When you get the "well the ceiling was missing when we took the house on' argument falters when we look at the file made on the day they moved in. Unless of course the ceiling was missing when they moved in! The Matterport (https://matterport.com/en-gb) are somewhat better, especially in gloomier places but a shed load more cash - especially if you want to host them on their service.
 
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