Ricoh Theta Z1 51GB

[Update 22MAY19] OK after a couple of weeks now I'm more impressed than I was as I've had a chance to test the camera properly in some very challenging situations. The ability to recover detail in the shadows and highlights is incredibly important. This can only be done because of the raw files. The noise in very dark and ultra-high contrast environments is completely acceptable and it's possible to recover even disastrously underexposed images into something that can at least illustrate the thing you were trying to shoot. These disasters are very noisy, no question, but they still contain good information. This is something that was impossible with the JPEG only cameras.Flare resistance is frankly amazing. Bright sunlight appears to have zero impact upon the camera. There's no exposure difference across the two lenses. The colour rendition is excellent. There will always be some chromatic aberration due to the nature of the lenses but LR corrects that easily, it's a lot less aberration than the Theta S.The video footage is much cleaner than the Theta S and contains what feels like a lot more detail.Battery life is not fabulous, I managed to get it down from 100% to 15% in about an hour and a half of stills shooting. The sleep mode is useful here as you don't have to power down the camera completely which means it responds to power up a lot more quickly.The protective sock that comes with the camera is quite good at protecting it in use, just don't get any sand in there or you'll scratch the lenses.As with the Theta S, storage is not upgradeable or removable by the user (unless you search for ways to do it on the web and thereby invalidate your warranty by doing so) and with the increased resolution and the better video you might start filling up fast. A JPEG is about 8Mb and the corresponding raw file is about 47Mb. So for one picture you're taking up the equivalent of 7 times the space needed by one.I'll update again when I have something more to report.[/Update]Been playing with the Z1 for several hours now after it was delivered today. First thing to notice is that it's thicker than the Theta S and heavier, although not by much. It's made of metal and has a very high quality feel to it in the hand. The two lenses are bigger than the S and it also has an OLED display for settings which I have just realised automatically dims in low light.I bought the Z1 for the increased resolution but mostly because it will shoot in raw. That's where the sensor data is recorded directly to the card without being turned into a JPEG. This means you can adjust the image exposure much more than you could with a JPEG. To do that however you'll need a program that will edit raw files. I'm using LR but there are plenty of others out there.Taking photos with it is just as easy as the other Theta cameras in that you power it on, which takes a couple of seconds until it's ready whereas the Theta S is ready to go almost instantly, then press the shutter button on the camera, it beeps, and you've taken a photo. Easy. It is controllable from your smartphone with all the usual settings you can control there including the switch from JPEG only to Raw+JPEG and GPS tagging.One thing to note is that the preview image on the phone is far better than the Theta S, it's much higher resolution and it updates more smoothly. I think it's using the 5GHz wi-fi for this rather than the old 2.4GHz. Transferring images from the device to the phone via the Theta app is extremely quick. It must be 5 times faster than the Theta S. Although you can't transfer the raw files to the phone. But as it's taken a JPEG along with the raw file that's no problem, you just transfer the JPEG instead.Connecting it to the phone is easier than the old way of connecting to the camera's wi-fi before using the app. Now it's all done in the app and after me typo-ing the serial about 10 times I finally got it right and it connected straight away.It's USB C and you get a cable in the box but you can get excellent and inexpensive ones from Amazon. File transfer speed to the PC are also extremely fast.Image quality is a significant step up from the Theta S. The resolution is about 25% higher but the main thing is the larger sensor which means much less noise. That lower noise is very noticeable when taking images indoors under domestic lighting. It's pouring down with rain at the moment so I've not had a chance to get it outside and take some shots. I'll update when I've done that.There's a pouch in the box for the camera but I'm going to get a hard case for it now. The pouch is good, the one for the Theta S was also good, but I want a bit more protection, and I'm looking for a lens cap. When the silicone covers come out I'll get one of those for it too.Thus far I'm impressed. It feels good, it's easy to use, and the image quality really is much better. It's still by far and away the most useful 360 camera available. So easy to use.

The Z1 probably has the best picture quality you can get for this price.I'm using it for stills, haven't really used the video functionality much.Pros:- great picture quality (good lenses, good sensors)- it runs android and you can make programs that run on the camera itself- supports the DNG RAW format- the companion Android app works well- can use F2.1 aperture, so works well in low lightCons:- built-in battery, you can't just bring more batteries with you- can only use built-in storage space, you can't just bring more SD cards with youThese couple of shortcomings are pretty odd, the Insta360 One X has neither of them, but the picture quality is way worse.If you can program, the ability to make programs that run on the camera (they call them "plugins") is invaluable.The build quality is very nice, it doesn't feel cheap at all.The lenses are rather big, I'd recommend never to leave the Z1 anywhere without at least the soft case on, or scratches may well happen.

Ive updated this review after a year of using it - I think it was down to me be inexperienced and doing far too many scans for the battery to run down so quickly. Now I can do two properties in their entirety before needing to charge.Fantastic product.=-=I am using paired with the matterport app to create 3D virtual tours. Does the job well but the battery life is poor and the drain rate is pretty exceptional. I can be doing a property over three floors and by the third floor start to panic that it’s down to below 25%. About 1 hours work. I don’t mind that the battery is built in, many are. It’s the fact it’s not very powerful. In addition the 1/4 screw attachment is RIGHT next to the charge port, so you can’t charge whilst using (I’ve tried many adapters and they all cover the port) this is a material flaw in the design - surely put it on the side. The SD card is less of a problem, you can take 2240 images on this thing- who can’t manage that?! Are you scanning St. Paul’s cathedral?!

I edit a board game review site (Board's Eye View) where the USP is our use of 360º photography to showcase games and their components so I've used several different 360º cameras, including two earlier Ricoh Theta models. All have their strengths and weaknesses but, in terms of picture quality, this is the best so far. I especially use it for 360º photos but it is also a 360º video camera. You can check out some of the photos taken with our Ricoh Theta Z1 on the Board's Eye View page on Facebook. The battery life is a little disappointing - it seems shorter than on my previous lower-spec and much cheaper Ricoh Theta - and set up is sometimes slower than it should be. My other reservation is that, as with previous Ricoh Theta cameras, the glass covering the lenses is easily scratched, which means blur or distortion on all your pictures. I'd have liked these glass covers to have been user replaceable. So it's not perfect, but even with these caveats, this is currently the top 360 camera.