360 Camera News and Info

RUMOR: possible photos of Ricoh Theta V (Theta 4K?) and accessories

possible photos of the Ricoh Theta 4K
possible photos of the Ricoh Theta 4K

Japanese camera news and rumor site Nokishita Camera posted what they believe are photos of the rumored Ricoh Theta V (which could be the highly anticipated Theta 4K).

The 4K version of the Ricoh Theta is one of the most highly anticipated 360 cameras, something 360 shooters have been waiting for the past couple of years.  In April, Ricoh finally announced that they would indeed be releasing a 4K Theta by the end of 2017.  About a month ago, Ricoh posted a very short sample 360 video clip of the Theta 4K, which looked impressive.  Then, just a week after that, there was a photo of a “Theta V” leaked in an FCC filing.  Upon further analysis, it seemed to me that the Theta V and Theta 4K were one and the same camera.

Now, Nokishita posted what they believe to be rendered images of the new Ricoh Theta V.  Nokishita rated the reliability/ authenticity as “B” (trusted information), between “A” (confirmed) and “C” (credible rumor).  The renderings look very good to me, and they match the photos of the “Theta V” in the FCC filing and the photos of the prototype from NAB Show.  As with those photos, it looks almost identical to the Theta S, except that the bottom has what appears to be a microphone jack.

Nokishita also posted possible photos of accessories for the Theta V, including a very cool-looking waterproof case and a microphone.  The waterproof case shown in the rendering has buttons that would enable the Theta to be controlled even while underwater.  Notably, the case shown has an almost dome shape around the lens, which seems to imply that it would be able to reduce or minimize the effect of refraction underwater.  That would make the Theta one of the very few 360 cameras that are capable of shooting underwater and capturing a smoothly stitched 360 photo or video without a large blind spot.  (The other one would be the Kodak SP360 4K Dual Pro when used with its underwater housing.)

Ricoh Theta 4K waterproof case?
Ricoh Theta V waterproof case?

Funnily enough, on the Ricoh Theta Facebook group the other day, people were wondering what sorts of accessories would be available for the Theta, and here’s what I said:

If the computer rendering turns out to be real, maybe I will be starting a blog called PsychicRumors.com… lol

The other accessory shown in the Nokishita post is either a microphone or portable speaker (more likely to be a microphone).  It connects to the Theta via the microphone jack and the 1/4-20 tripod attachment.

Ricoh Theta V microphone or speaker accessory?
Ricoh Theta V microphone or speaker accessory?

I believe we’ll find out this Thursday at IFA Berlin if these are real or not.  If they are real, what do you think?  Would you be interested in these accessories?   Here is Nokishita’s post.

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Mic Ty

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  • +Mic Ty It says 3D microphone TA1 on the site… If we look at the camera itself it looks like it’s got one mic on the front, one mic on the back and a stereopair on the top. So – it indicates it’s got built in 3D sound (probably “poor” quality) – but – we can also buy a a good 3D sound mic as accessory 🙂 What I was wondering…on the mic there is a thread rod for the tripod hole and at the same time a 3,5mm plug to the cam – so…how do we screw on the mic to the cam without breaking the 3,5mm plug… 😉

    • Hi Ulf. First, we’re not sure if these photos are real. Second, I would guess that you insert the mic as much as you can and then as you screw the tripod attachment, the plug goes the rest of the way in.

  • What a champ you’re Ulf. We don’t even know if the pictures are real yet but this is 2nd negative comment about the next THETA.