[thibs]

Maybe. I have been pooling money aside to either purchase the new K3 or whatever, or buy a new Kawasaki ZX10R.

Either Ricoh/Pentax gets my money this year or Kawasaki.

Someone in Japan will love me and my money.

Your user name reminds me of a "Honda DN01".
Another product that a large corporation thought was a good idea.

Back to cameras and photography.

$400 is better used to get the new WR flashes or used towards a new DSLR.
Maybe a video slider or pocket travel jib (got them too).
Maybe better camera travel luggage (never enough luggage!).
Maybe a new Gimbal (not me, but for the hubby).

A dedicated 360' camera is soooooooooo far down the list.

[RANT]
Right, Ricoh has no right to market anything not to your liking.
World turns around you. How could I not see that sooner.

You finished ?
[/RANT]

[deadwolfbones]

Here you go, guys:

Ricoh Theta First Impressions Review - Reviewed.com Cameras

[monochrome]

Very nice review. Snappy, well-written, to-the-point.

The Theta is not a product intended for camera geeks. Pentaxians waiting for the inevitable K-3, this thing doesn't speak your language. Like Apple's iDevices, this is a lifestyle accessory, and Ricoh is pitching it like one.



Our coworkers' initial reactions to the Theta ranged from dismissive disinterest ("Who would spend $400 on that?") to guarded curiosity. But when those same staffers actually got to play with the spherical shots inside the Theta app, their skepticism immediately transformed into glee—interacting with these photos is just flat-out fun.

I thought it would be like that!

At around $100 they'd sell like hotcakes. At $400... well, time will tell, but we wouldn't be surprised to see them on clearance come next spring.

I smell Q.

[Pentaxtic]

This product is for the young, hip and "Look at me!" crowd. So that is the Facebook, instagram, online gaming, twitter, and other social network/media crowd which I am not part of.

This is the segment to make new roads in and Ricoh has a foot in the door. Give it time and people viewing these 360 degree type pictures would want them and I wouldn't be surprised if it was a hit in the social media universe. I would definitely view the 360 picture if it was on a Facebook or picture just to see what details was captured so it would take about 5 seconds more than I would take for a normal bland picture.

It is easy to bash and trash new things because it doesn't align with our expectations right away.

[Kunzite]

[I]The Theta is not a product intended for camera geeks. Pentaxians waiting for the inevitable K-3, this thing doesn't speak your language. Like Apple's iDevices, this is a lifestyle accessory, and Ricoh is pitching it like one.

Lifestyle what??? We all know how bad was that for Apple! (are they bankrupt yet?)

About the price, don't forget you're getting two cameras in one, nice build quality (I'll trust deadwolfbones on that) and styling - $100 is IMO ridiculous.

Thanks, deadwolfbones!

[mamethot]

two cameras in one

I see two lenses. One camera... :P

[Kunzite]

Two lenses, two sensors.

[deadwolfbones]

Still one camera, though. One exposure.

Not denying it's impressive tech/packaging.

[Kunzite]

I'll go back to my original point before stopping arguing about that: it has too much technology (2 lenses, 2 sensors, internal memory), build quality (according to you) and styling to be sold at $100. It's not one of those cheap, generic point&shoot made by about 100 companies, 3 millions each month, and sold in supermarkets at clearance prices.

[LaurenOE]

[RANT]
Right, Ricoh has no right to market anything not to your liking.
World turns around you. How could I not see that sooner.

You finished ?
[/RANT]

Did I rain on your parade?

[dagaetch]

I'll go back to my original point before stopping arguing about that: it has too much technology (2 lenses, 2 sensors, internal memory), build quality (according to you) and styling to be sold at $100. It's not one of those cheap, generic point&shoot made by about 100 companies, 3 millions each month, and sold in supermarkets at clearance prices.

It may be technically valued at that amount in parts and design, but something is only "worth" what someone else is willing to pay for it. Speaking for myself, I might consider buying this at $100 or so. At $400, not going to happen.

[Vylen]

It may be technically valued at that amount in parts and design, but something is only "worth" what someone else is willing to pay for it. Speaking for myself, I might consider buying this at $100 or so. At $400, not going to happen.

Which is fine from your point of view, but I doubt Ricoh would make a profit at that price... funnily enough, a multinational corporation is not a charity :P

[thibs]

Did I rain on your parade?

My parade? Certainly not I don't care a cent about that product.
But I actually accept it may interest others. Oh and btw, if Ricoh makes few cents on it, why whould we care ?

[nosnoop]

The image quality in theta360.com samples just plain sucks.
It's noisy, it's blurry - even outdoors ones! Only suitable to be viewed in a 4" screen in a smartphone.

[MouLaG Ôfr]

That's why they made ​​it, it's the concept