The images don't seem to be that much better - if at all - in terms of chroma noise that the much cheaper SC2.
Unfortunately after 18 months I get the error and I can't use my camera again, call support but my factory warranty is done I will have to pay $499 to fix this camera absolutely i insane.
I bought this for building virtual tours for real estate and it does a great job! You probably could get away with a less expensive option but for something that is going to make me money, I don't mind having a tool that does its job well, and that I don't have to think that much about. I do wish the battery life was a little better, it only lasts about an hour or about 120 scans before it is dead, which is about enough for an average house. I can plug it into a power pack taped to the tripod if i need a bit more so I can make due if it is a large house.
The perfect 360 Camera...almost! High resolution, easy to use! I would like to see micro SD slot and better battery life in future designs!
I bought my Theta V about two years ago when we were selling our house and I wanted to help my realtor create a virtual tour, and the Theta V and original Theta Z1 were the only cameras that worked with the Zillow app at that time. The Theta V was a cool novelty for my photography, but the lack of image sharpness in the Theta V was always incredibly disappointing to me. This new Z1 definitely fixes that...the image sharpness makes me happy now. The onboard status display is also a big improvement. HOWEVER, I struggled to give it a 4 star rating (I was seriously considering a 3) because the Theta app for iOS is incredibly disappointing. The first thing I did when setting up the Z1 on the Theta app was change the wifi password on the camera, and just like with the Theta V, that was a mistake. Sometimes the new password works, sometimes it doesn't, and there is no figuring out why. When it won't connect and gives me invalid password errors, I have to shut everything down (iPhone and camera) and try again a little while later. I am also very disappointed in the overall design of the app. I started my professional career as an IT programmer, and the app reminds me of what I create when I am early stages of a new project and just trying to get the code to work without any concern for an intuitive end user experience. I was actually okay with this awkwardness two years ago, but Ricoh has not tried to make this any more intuitive during that time! Why are so many features buried in the awkward plug-in part of the app? And why are there still so many dropped connections regardless of if I am connected via Bluetooth, Wifi, or Wifi LAN? I even bought the Ricoh remote control hoping that would negate the need to use the app, and the remote control also struggles to connect and stay connected to either the Theta V or my new Theta Z1. Overall, with the much improved image quality of the new Z1, I expect I will be much more willing to deal with the awkwardness of the app. If there was a better app for controlling the camera, I would give the Z1 5 stars, but I cannot rate the app more than 2 stars, so a combined 4 stars is generous.
I wanted a 360 camera that I could use indoors for real estate tours, as well as a camera that I could use outdoors in sunlight for garden and yard tours. The Theta Z1 fits the bill. I used bracketed HDR for stills to get the results I want, and do a minimum of post processing. The dual fisheye plug in stitches the hdr together in camera for an even faster post processing experience, although you can't control the dual fisheye plugin with the Ricoh mobile app. All in all, I am happy with this purchase. The Theta Z1 is easy to use and allows me to cover a lot of ground quickly.
Easy to use and gets the job done
1st things 1st - I'm NOT a photographer but do use this for VFX related stuff and virtual tours... Ease of use is fantastic and image quality seems very good for what it is. RAW files have good dynamic range albeit with more noise than I'd like. Lens seems to be optimized for objects that are close. Low light ability is very good and bracketing features in the app allow easy HDRI capture. Great for getting environment lighting for CGI on the fly but no ND filter options means direct sunlight environments are not possible.
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