Ricoh exhibited a concept camera at CP+ that captures spherical panoramic images and sends them wirelessly to a smartphone or tablet. 'The idea is, the pictures you take arrive automatically,' [in the phone] said a Ricoh representative (via DigInfo.tv translation).
Ricoh concept camera that makes spherical panoramic images in one exposure. [Image credit DigInfo.tv]
Apparently produced mainly to gauge market reaction, Ricoh released no technical info on the camera apart from the fact that it uses two opposed 180-degree lenses whose images it combines into one spherical panorama. Users can zoom in on the image elements and swipe to look around the sphere; they can also zoom out to a circular image. The company imagines printing images on spheres as a potential product concept, and is considering video capture as well as stills.
I can't believe this! It just happens in a one shot, thats so cool! I want to use this at least one time. In the market you can also find different types of watermark software. To know more please visit www.masswatermark.com
Nothing new here. Pentax proposed an even nicer concept some years ago,but many other did. http://www.sandydan.com/photo/wide/sphere/nikonlrg.jpg Stitching two emispheres brings some problems to the final result. You need a quite perfect fisheye lens, with a very corrected CA and fringging down to the very border. Let's say more. You need more than 180 degrees, 200 at least, an incredible flare resistance and a very precise exposition and synchro of WB, or you will ALWAYS see the stitching seam, fisheyes must be closer or you will have a large blind area! Then is better to use a squared, or a 4/3 sensor, in order not to throw away a lot of black pixels. Let's say they use a 24MP apsc sensor. The circle dia would be 4000 pixel. Cut edges, overlap area etc. and you end up with a 3500x7000 panoramic image. I stitch panoramas since 1998, and project software and panoheads since 2003. I've seen it all, nobody is doing a really GOOD non-stitching camera
Great for sports. Stuck on top of our race car we could see everything that happened around us after the race. Software would allow distortion free prints in any direction
You might be able to wear it as a hat - like one of those "propellor hats". Certainly any advantage of being able to take street shots without pointing the camera directly at the subject might be lost by the attention generated by the hat. Certainly you would be able to see what was going on behind your back and watch out for knives being planted there. Sounds like a great tool for big business and politicians.
Or make it into a regular lens and then go about holding your camera on your head? Image to smartphone seems better.
Not a new concept - my old 360 One VR from Kaidan parabolic mirror lets me do that with a number of my cameras, but the resolution is low. Having a small device like this might gain some traction in the real estate market for low-cost walk-through photos but I can't see it replacing serious pano work with panoramic heads and high resolution photos.
Ah, but can it capture a recognizable face if placed in a 7-Eleven? This would be a real time saver for high end real estate. Looks a bit like a Toucan with batteries, though.
Finally I would be able to take a wedding photograph with myself included in it cuz guests always say you have been taking photos all day long, let me take a picture of you.
It may make me rething on what to wear on the day of the photoshoot. The possibilities are limitless ;)
now we need a 360 degree fill flash cuz I like to be lit properly
Interesting that mobile viewer he's running shows a "Share to Facebook" icon - AFAIK Facebook has dropped support for the few panorama viewing apps that were prototyped on their service. Panoramic photography won't be coming to the masses until the popular social media platforms support some standardized panorama rendering engines, be they QTVR, Flash, HTML5 or whatever.
The biggest issue with these types of cameras is the resolution of the captured image. To get any decent resolution, you are going to have to have a LOT of megapixels (gigapixel for anything realistic). Lotsa mpxls/mb and wifi to phone/tablet usually don't jive too well if you have a lot of photos or are in a hurry or have limited storage space, and definitely not for a data plan.
The built-in panoramic functions of most compact cameras suffer similar fates, giving you a panorama of maybe 5mb up to 20mb in size if you are lucky. To get detailed panoramas, you really need to get up above 50mb, and that is just for a 360* pano with one plane. For a 360 sphere, you would need at least 3x that for detail. So far as I know, that is only done manually, outside the camera, on a potent computer (maybe Defense industry has in-camera tech, but we will never know).
All that being said, I love the idea/concept. Please give us options for different resolutions!
This would work well for shots taken in fairly large spaces (church interiors, landscape), but there are problems with tight places like car interiors or when there are objects close by at the stitching seam area. This is because there is a slight parallax error as the lenses can not be at the same spot, this does not happen with nodal point panorama heads, which, on the other hand, are clumsy and slow.
Perhaps it can be redesigned to kill the distance between the lenses and diminish the parallax problem? Maybe it would be possible with some back-to-back sensors arrangement. Using three lenses seems more sensible, as their FOV would overlap so much that seamless stitching would be flawless. However, this has a lot of potential, worthy of further exploration. I like it.
Printing images on spheres! The images would have to be inside-out, so that looking at the spherical print would be like looking through a crystal ball into the room.
Could be cool to use for security with wifi sending images in say 3 second intervals of stills. Mount it in a dome and attach to interior exterior of home with motion detector car or entry or helmet ect.
I understood your idea, but the issue still remains... you'd be taking only one shot when you need two! Your idea needs two lenses, two cameras aligned and in synch, which isn't far from some extreme 360º setups. This effort by Ricoh does it all.
I dont think you get it. The idea is to use the camera body for battery and processor ect so you slap this on with its own sensors and lenses. the camera body has all the expensive stuff to make this better and cheaper.
Many cameras today include built-in image stabilization systems, but when it comes to video that's still no substitute for a proper camera stabilization rig. The Ronin-S aims to solve that problem for DSLR and mirrorless camera users, and we think DJI has delivered on that promise.
The SiOnyx Aurora is a compact camera designed to shoot stills and video in color under low light conditions, so we put it to the test under the northern lights and against a Nikon D5. It may not be a replacement for a DSLR, but it can complement one well for some uses.
At its core, the Scanza is an easy-to-use multi-format film scanner. It offers a quick and easy way to scan your film negatives and slides into JPEGs, but costs a lot more than similar products without a Kodak label.
Canon's EOS R, the company's first full-frame mirrorless camera, impresses us with its image quality and color rendition. But it also comes with quirky ergonomics, uninspiring video features and a number of other shortcomings. Read our full review to see how the EOS R stacks up in today's full-frame mirrorless market.
If you're looking for a high-quality camera, you don't need to spend a ton of cash, nor do you need to buy the latest and greatest new product on the market. In our latest buying guide we've selected some cameras that while they're a bit older, still offer a lot of bang for the buck.
A question frequently asked on the Internet is 'what's the best DSLR?' In this buying guide we've answered that question – but also whether it's the right question to be asking in the first place.
What's the best camera for under $500? These entry level cameras should be easy to use, offer good image quality and easily connect with a smartphone for sharing. In this buying guide we've rounded up all the current interchangeable lens cameras costing less than $500 and recommended the best.
Whether you've grown tired of what came with your DSLR, or want to start photographing different subjects, a new lens is probably in order. We've selected our favorite lenses for Sony mirrorlses cameras in several categories to make your decisions easier.
Whether you've grown tired of what came with your DSLR, or want to start photographing different subjects, a new lens is probably in order. We've selected our favorite lenses for Canon DSLRs in several categories to make your decisions easier.
The 250mm F4 is Fujifilm's longest lens for its medium-format system. It's equivalent to about 200mm on a GFX camera, and we put it to work on some portraits as well as some scenes around Seattle's waterfront – take a look.
A new patent from Canon lays out the schematics for a speedbooster-style adapter for mounting Canon EF lenses onto EOS M cameras, but with a variable baffle to reduce the risk of flare.
The Jackson Hole Travel and Tourism Board has started a campaign asking visitors to stop geotagging their specific locations when visiting Wyoming's national parks.
Film simulation app Filmborn has been updated with new presets, features, and overall improved support on Apple's latest mobile operating system and devices.
We've been shooting with the LX100 II both in and out of the studio, as part of our ongoing review. We're pretty impressed, so far, with the revised JPEG color and addition of a touchscreen both noticeable improvements.
Skylum's Luminar 3 arrives on December 18 with the long-awaited ability to manage your photo library. However, it won't be a full DAM (digital asset manager); the company plans to roll out features throughout 2019 and won't charge for updates from Luminar 2018 during that time.
Nikon's IPTC Preset Manager, a tool for creating predetermined sets of metadata, has received an update. Version 1.1.0 no longer uses Microsoft Silverlight, sheds the network connection requirement, adds extended language support, updates support for Windows 8.1 and Windows 10, and ends support for Windows Vista and Windows XP.
Camera app developer Hipstamatic says it has found a way to use the depth data generated by the iPhone X to improve the way its TinType app works out which areas of a picture to render out of focus.
If you're looking for a high-quality camera, you don't need to spend a ton of cash, nor do you need to buy the latest and greatest new product on the market. In our latest buying guide we've selected some cameras that while they're a bit older, still offer a lot of bang for the buck.
The Verizon-owned social network platform Tumblr has announced it will be removing all adult content - including photos - from its platform starting December 17th, 2018.
Guests who would rather spend time actually enjoying their Swiss vacation can now do so while still maintaining a presence on social networks, thanks to Ibis Switzerland Hotels' new social media sitting services.
Two challenges to Apple’s claim that its iPhone X can shoot studio quality portraits have been turned down by the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).
After years of development, Sony’s mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras offer among the most advanced autofocus technologies on the market. Here's how to make Sony's AF work for you.
It's that time again! This is your opportunity to make your voice heard by voting for your favorite photography products of the year. Polls are currently open in six categories but don't deliberate too long – they close December 17th.
Comments