[Mistral75]

...on 31 March 2022.

Sales of Theta products at the Japanese Ricoh Imaging stores will also cease on 15 March 2022.

Ricoh itself, the mother company, will continue to sell Ricoh Theta products in Japan.

Sources: 360°カメラ「RICOH THETA」日本国内での販売について | リコーグループ 企業・IR | リコー and RICOH THETAの日本における販売について | RICOH THETA

It therefore seems that, in the framework of the shift in Ricoh Imaging's marketing strategy in Japan, Theta will become a pure BtoB product.

[biz-engineer]

It's only in Japan. No change for us.

[Mistral75]

It's only in Japan. No change for us.

...yet.

The Theta business being spun off from Ricoh Imaging is a worldwide decision.

[Jonathan Mac]

There are many photography products that I wouldn't buy because they're just not for me but the Theta is one item where I can see absolutely no reason for it's existence. I'm not surprised if they've decided to step back from putting so much effort into selling it.

[ffking]

cast out into the other other - oh no!

[ramseybuckeye]

There are many photography products that I wouldn't buy because they're just not for me but the Theta is one item where I can see absolutely no reason for it's existence. I'm not surprised if they've decided to step back from putting so much effort into selling it.

Not for me either, but I can see specific uses for it, although not as a creative tool. I know there are some people who love it and do think it’s creative, we are all different. I think they have made a lot of money on it, but are trying to put the product more where it aligns.

[JPT]

I think you could see this coming. Theta is popular and profitable, but it has always been something that seemed bolted on to Ricoh Imaging. They were just selling it for some other Ricoh entity.

- The people who design it are different (and don't have "Ricoh Imaging" in their job titles from the articles I've seen)
- Theta has long had it's own website, which has much more detail and "sells" Theta better than the RI site does
- Theta has a very aggressive attitude to app and firmware development that other Ricoh Imaging products don't (i.e. it's better)
- When you go to any event where Ricoh Imaging are exhibiting, the Theta products are there, but the RI staff don't seem to know much about them. At CP+ they usually have one or two people who just attend the Theta display.
- Similarly, there doesn't seem to be a lot of cross-over in the customers (I know there are a few forum members, but not so many)
- In the recent announcement about the new sales/manufacturing strategy, it clearly mentioned Pentax and GR, but Theta was conspicuous by its absence

So I think it's a natural separation. Ironically, it could mean that in Japan Theta stays in retail stores while Pentax and GR go full online.

In any case, it's a sign that whatever RI is planning to start in April is taking shape.

[reh321]

Not for me either, but I can see specific uses for it, although not as a creative tool. I know there are some people who love it and do think it’s creative, we are all different. I think they have made a lot of money on it, but are trying to put the product more where it aligns.

I can see myself using it.

At a place with lots of people, I can see using it to give “atmosphere” - people on all sides.

[AfterPentax Mark II]

There are many photography products that I wouldn't buy because they're just not for me but the Theta is one item where I can see absolutely no reason for it's existence. I'm not surprised if they've decided to step back from putting so much effort into selling it.

Last year they announced this as a possibilty to place Theta under Ricoh and not having it merged with Pentax and GR. Not because it is a bad product, but because it earns them more money than the consumer camera's. So your completely wrong about it being a bad product. It is one of the better products they have. They are just putting more effort in it to sell it to businesses which this product is aimed at. You can also see it in the light that they will go another route with the consumer camera's and perhaps, as they announced, will work on these camera's with a third party. All this can be read in the presentation of the CEO that he made last year.

[c.a.m]

the Theta is one item where I can see absolutely no reason for it's existence. I'm not surprised if they've decided to step back from putting so much effort into selling it.

I believe that the Theta and other 360-degree cameras are used for shots of real-estate interiors (e.g., for walk-throughs) and in other applications such as industrial sites, construction sites, factory floors, natural resource exploration, etc.

A guy used one to take images of the house across the street from us. He explained to me that the system is very useful to create online 'walk-throughs' of the interior, which complements the traditional static images. Gives prospective buyers a more complete impression of the property.

- Craig

[RobA_Oz]

I imagine that Theta and products like it will become more widespread in use as VR and AR systems grow in popularity. Instead of people being transfixed by their smartphones, they’ll be walking around seeing the world through goggles* (although probably less obvious ones than the current crop of VR headsets). At least they’ll be giving their necks a chance to avoid orthopaedic surgery in future.

* William Gibson’s novel ‘Agency’ depicts just such a trend.

[surfar]

Not for me either,

Nor for me.

just not for me

However,a few years ago I was intrigued by the concept so researched plenty.

Theta was 1 for stills and third for video.Since then the 1 inch sensor has arrived so no idea of how that affects things.

[c.a.m]

You Tube

You Tube

[house]

It's a shame that Theta and Pentax don't cross over more. Pentax could really benefit from the software side. At some point someone has to make a great camera app. I wish it could have been Pentax.

[clickclick]

I think they're really neat. If I had unlimited camera bucks, I'd grab one to play with just for kicks.