Japanese multinational imaging and electronics company, Ricoh, which is well known among Indians for office equipment and printers, has launched a new 360-degree camera called the Ricoh Theta S. The device is all set to hit the Indian market by December 14 and is priced at Rs 39,995. The device is available for sale via e-commerce portal Amazon as well as various Ricoh dealers across the country. Ricoh Theta S is an upgrade to the previously launched Ricoh Theta, which was released two years ago.

The high-spec model has been designed to let users capture 360° photos & videos in high resolution from the comfort of their palm. Let’s take a look at the various features onboard this mini camera.

The Ricoh Theta S comes with a dual 1/2.3-inch, twin fisheye lenses—each with 1/ 2.3- inch 12MP sensors which are expected to give a 14MP equivalent output, and wide angle fish eye lenses with a f/2.0 aperture. It can capture complete 360-degree spherical panoramas in a single shot.

This handheld camera also lets you record spherical videos in full HD resolution, and has a maximum record time of approximately 25 minutes. Ricoh Theta S, features 30fps recording, 25 minutes of continuous shooting and live streaming option.

Additionally, the company has also launched a new Theta S app for iOS and Android, which lets you configure several settings. The camera connects effortlessly to iOS and Android devices using Wi-Fi.

The spherical images can be uploaded in various public sites as theta360.com, Google Maps, YouTube 360° Channel and shared easily in Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr and Google+.

The camera has been developed using injection molding technology. It weighs about 125 g (including the lens section) and has the dimensions: 44 (W) x 130 (H) x 22.9 (D) mm.

It has a storage capacity of 8GB; however, there is no scope for expansion. The ISO ranges from 100 to 1600 for both still images and video. The shutter speed can be set from 1/6400 sec. to 60 seconds.  The live streaming function allows connecting an external device via micro-HDMI terminal and the output comes in 10fps.

The built-in chargeable lithium-ion battery powers the Ricoh THETA S and its battery life is said to be approx. 260 photos.

Coming to the technical specifications, onboard the camera we find a Camera Status Lamp which says shooting in progress when lit, a shutter button to capture images, a wireless indicator lamp, a video recording lamp, a capture mode lamp and a memory warning lamp.

At the bottom of the device, there is a USB terminal, a HDMI port and a Tripod mount hole. On the other end i.e. the top, you’ll find a microphone and a speaker. On one of the sides, there’s a power lamp, a power button and two buttons one for wireless & capture mode for ease of access.

This is all about the newly launched 360-degree spherical camera in the market. The makers have started pre-booking for the device where customers can pay 20% advance i.e. Rs. 7199 right away and pay the remaining amount after the launch.