Product Comparison: Ricoh Theta S vs Ricoh Theta SC

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Ricoh Theta S Digital Camera (Black)

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Ricoh Theta SC 360° video and still camera (Blue)

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General Specifications

Brand

Ricoh

Model

Theta S

Theta SC

About the Product

Beauty as far as the eye can see, and a breathtaking sense of presence making you feel you are "right there, right now". From still images to long movies (max. 25 minutes long), record your memories in a vivid, high resolution 360° world. The new RICOH THETA S gives you even higher quality and performance.

RICOH THETA SC is compatible with the Google Street View app. The app enables you to record and publish 360 photos to Google Maps. Join people from around the world in mapping and exploring new spaces with the RICOH and Google.

Origin

China

Key Specs

Sensor Resolution

12 MP

Sensor Type

CMOS

Video Resolution

1080 p

Maximum Aperture

2.0 f/

What customers say about "Key Specs"

Ricoh Theta S Digital Camera (Black)

Dual lenses. Most of the competition uses a single lens, meaning you necessarily end up with a blind spot. The dual fish-eye lenses have fields of view that overlap just beyond the camera body, meaning very little falls outside its gaze.
Amazing Image Resolution and Dynamic Range.
The resolution is substantially better in this model from the M-15 (which I also have). This tells me that Ricoh is capable of making even better Theta cameras in the future.
Love it! Many complain about the resolution. It is not the greatest, but looks fantastic!
Video in generally is terrible because of the low resolution. Pictures are ok.
1080p video is spread over the entire 360 degrees of the capture so it doesn't have high enough resolution for good or excellent quality. But, it looks fair when viewed on my computer using their app.

Ricoh Theta SC 360° video and still camera (Blue)

It's not perfect, but at this price point I didn't expect it to be. The camera delivers a very nice resolution in stills and video.
It's also great for landscapes or to capture a specific moment. The resolution is pretty good, although at times the photos seem dark.
Image sensor can be reacher (by iphone 7 made pisc with more detail, but there is problem with adjustments stching)
Resolution is much lower than I expected. I understand that, the small sensor need to cover a much larger area/FOV than a normal camera.
Awesome but low resolution

Size & Weight

Height

5.14 in.

5.11 in.

Width

1.78 in.

Depth

0.9 in.

Weight

4.4 oz.

3.6 oz.

Imaging

Video Encoding Formats

MP4, MPEG-4 AVC/H.264

Image File Format(s)

JPEG, DCF 2.0 compliant

Slow Motion Recording

HDR Mode

Yes

Image Stabilization

Digital Zoom

What customers say about "Imaging"

Ricoh Theta S Digital Camera (Black)

This is a cool device and it works well. The still image quality is good.
The HDR capability for stills does a pretty decent job on indoor shots of rooms with brightly lit windows as well as saving the sky on bright sunny days!
The low light image quality is MUCH better than the Ricoh Theta M15.
Very small vith very nice picture. Try to shoot in HDR mode, that is the best quality.
Video quality is horrendous if any type of movement is involved since there is no stabilization.
For hdr photography the camera does not support any raw capture, so you have to accept whatever color correction Ricoh adds.

Ricoh Theta SC 360° video and still camera (Blue)

Takes really cool photos that capture a moment in time.
You will notice some chromatic aberration, and the images can look a bit grainy or pixelated when viewed on a large computer screen. But overall the images look really good when viewed on an iPhone or tablet.
The Ricoh Theta SC is half the price of the S. Picture quality is the same as the S, a little more sensitive at night scene.
Image quality is really bad I video. Bland and very grainy.
The lens quality is terrible, chromatic aberrations are all over the place, and the signal range with the phone is just ridiculous, it's almost impossible not to be in the picture because if you hide too far, the camera won't shoot.

Features

Shock Resistant

Water Resistant

Additional Accessories Included

USB Cable, Soft Case

Extras

Memory warning lamp, Power lamp, Wireless button, Capture mode button, Wi-Fi module, HD live streaming, HDMI terminal, Wireless lamp

Power lamp, Wireless button, Capture mode button, Wi-Fi module, Wireless lamp, Compatible with the Google Street View app, Compatibility with both iOS and Android

Shock Resistant
Water Resistant

What customers say about "Features"

Ricoh Theta S Digital Camera (Black)

The auto-stitching algorithm is fairly good at editing out the camera itself without cutting out anything else.
Smartphone app control. If I can't have a display on the device, at least there is a sweet and feature-rich control app.
Battery life seems very decent. I haven't completely run out of power yet, but a full charge apparently takes 4 hours or so.
The compact form factor is amazing. It fits well even in jeans pockets.
The included camera "case" is just a thin neoprene sleeve. Supposedly that's enough to protect the glass lenses, but I don't like how tightly the sleeve slides over the lenses.
No native display, just a couple of potentially ambiguous LEDs.
When using the smartphone app, there is a delay between shots because each picture must be processed and downloaded.

Ricoh Theta SC 360° video and still camera (Blue)

iOS editing apps are pretty good, wish there was more support in third party apps.
The app is easy to use. The camera can be operated from a cell phone from a distance. I made a video of a water fall from about 30 feet away.
The weakest aspect of this product is actually its Android software. A little buggy, a little lacking in features. I had a couple instances where connection to the camera was sporadic but it may have been my phone getting overheated.
The placement of the shutter button is remarkably bad, using it guarantees a nice big thumb in the frame that can't easily be masked or cropped out.
Missing gps sensor (if shoot made without phone, there is no geolocation)

Connectivity

Tripod/Monopod Mountable

Yes

Microphone Input

Number Of USB Port(s)

Internal Memory Included

Memory Card Slots

What customers say about "Connectivity"

Ricoh Theta S Digital Camera (Black)

I used a tripod that allows the camera to be fixed horizontally.
This camera also mounts on normal tripods.
I've also discovered lot of features after first uses, like Live video, that allows you to use it as a webcam, connected to you computer by USB cable, and you have also the ability to output as HDMI at HD quality.
There's a standard micro USB connection and a not-so-standard mini-HDMI connection.
Easy transfer of files, comes with a mini hdmi port.

Ricoh Theta SC 360° video and still camera (Blue)

I did not have any connectivity issues with my I phone 7. Using the software on my I phone (Theta SC) and then uploading to Facebook.
It has a threaded tripod mount on the base (which is also designed to allow one to stand it upright on flat surfaces, for hands-free shooting), and comes with a USB connector/charging lead.
Charges the battery by attaching to the USB port of a computer, and delivers pictures through the same port.
USB cable is very short.

Power

Charging Interface(s)

USB

Removable Battery

Rechargeable Battery

Yes