THETA S – Field Test | Perth to Broome with Aussie Wanderer
Putting Theta S to the test with a bus load of Backpackers over 9 days and 3000k’s
Big day on the bus nearly over, Monkey Mia here we come! #AussieWanderer #theta360 – Spherical Image – RICOH THETA
This month I travelled on assignment for Aussie Wanderer for nine days covering over 3,000km from Perth to Broome and even Karijini National Park! The main mission was to shoot high quality panoramas and still for the client. This also seemed like the perfect time to grab a new Theta S and put it to the test!
So here’s my results from the nine days
Portability – It’s pocket sized and comes with a cool neoprene cover, the cover actually keeps the lens clean thus every time you pull it out to take a snap you don’t have to clean the lens.
Battery – I didn’t manage to run it flat over the nine days as I topped it up every second day or so. (It charges via micro usb)
The App & Wifi – Very simple to use on Automatic, however sometimes it takes a while for things to get connected up. There is a cool little viewer inside the app that shows you what your image is going to be like when you take the shot. You will get some blurring of the action in low light, advanced setting with sort this out with iso, shutter control etc. The distance of the Wi-Fi seemed to be about 6 meters.
Uploading and Social Media – This is where this device becomes a social media monster! Via the app it’s possible to take a pano and upload its straight into your Facebook feed via Theta’s website/platform via a link. Out on the road I was slamming out the panos and the selected panos were on my Facebook feed within about 60 seconds….AMAZING!
Image quality – You get what you pay for when it comes to quality, so for $500 you can expect with world. I guess in this travelling scenario people are simply not as hooked up on quality as much as I am. There the resolution is “OK”, there is plenty of chromatic aberration and quite a few shots came out blurry. Once I moved away from “Automatic” to “Manual” settings things got a lot better, however getting the shot verses messing around with the settings to make it perfect can miss the opportunity. Does everything need to perfect for the average punter with a Theta S …nope…just get out there and have fun!
360 Video – Great fun – Check out OKA and the Aussies Wanderers at Divers Tavern in Broome
Getting the shot – I took a single very inexpensive photography light stand with me worth about $40 AUD, which did the job nicely. It did fall over once due to being hit by a gust of wind, so after that I used a little bit of weight at the base when required.
The verdict – Get one!
https://www.aussiewanderer.com.au/
Aussie Wanderer Day 2 – Kalbarri’s Natures Window – Spherical Image – RICOH THETA
Karijini National Pk – Aussie Wanderer – Spherical Image – RICOH THETA
Big day at Turquoise Bay – Spherical Image – RICOH THETA
