Ricoh has successfully pushed the ‘world first’ button with the Theta, a pocket camera that’s the first mass-produced camera to take full spherical, 360 degree photos.
The Theta, which is similar in shape and size to a cheap pocket camcorder, uses an “ultra-small twin-lens folded optical system that captures the scene around, above and below the device in one shot for unprecedented, fully spherical images.”
The precise nature of the ‘world first’ is a tad confusing, as evidenced by Ricoh’s description of the Theta as “the world’s first mass-produced imaging device that encapsulates fully spherical scenes with one shot.” Nonetheless, it looks like a neat, innovative gadget.
The app lets you crop, rotate and manipulate the sphperical shots as you please and then share them on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr or Microsoft Photosynth.
It goes on sale in the UK this month for £329.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
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We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
