The image above is of an open letter to Robin Williams at his star the Hollywood Walk of Fame only days after his suicide.
The End of the Spherical Report 360
So the Spherical Report 360°, a citizen journalism initiative sponsored by CNN and Ricoh, ended yesterday and a long with it my participation. In this post, I provide a brief project post mortem documentation.
[In case you haven't been following, here's a refresher: since last spring I served as a Project Monitor for the SR360 in which attempted to produce photojournalistic images using the Ricoh "Theta", an innovative one-shot 360° panoramic camera and then share them via social media channels for a chance to win an award and prizes.]
I received my Ricoh Theta at the end of May. It was defective in that one-side of the images was super soft and didn't match the other side. Ricoh customer service quickly and efficiently provided a replacement which enabled me to continue my participation in the SR360.
Much to my surprise, this diminutive little camera attracted a lot of attention everywhere I went. Everyone I met wanted to know what kind of camera it was and thereby made me somewhat of an evangelist for the camera.
The most memorable encounter was a very curious Kate Mulgrew (Orange is the New Black, Star Trek Voyager) whom I shot at the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences along with Jodie Foster last July. Mulgrew looked straight into the Theta and said "What kind of camera is that?"
Up until that point, I had fun with the Theta but I was sorely bummed at the low quality resolution it provided particular for this moment. While the shot of Jodie was pretty well timed (at least IMHO), the pixelation made Jodie almost unrecognizable.
As a technical note: all the images I submitted to share on the Ricoh Theta site are unedited and unretouched as I wanted viewers to see what the actual image from a Theta looks like out of the camera.
I think it's weird and a bit misleading that even on Ricoh's site, the banner image has what apparently represents an image taken by the camera with the disclaimer "This image is not an actual photograph".
What does that even mean? It just makes me wonder why this fauxtograph looks so much better than the images that my unit takes?
To be sure, since I've had my unit there have been software updates, the most recent came in August, that improve the image quality but it still has a way to go.
Pros and Cons - The Cons
I'll start with the cons. As stated, the camera has a long way to go in terms of image quality. What looked cool on my iPhone was embarrassing to share on a desktop or tablet because of the pixelation.
Also somewhat annoying was the desktop software's reliance on Adobe AIR. Why? AIR is a poor choice as it is not particularly safe because of security vulnerabilities.
But the biggest deal breaker for me was that the Ricoh Theta 360 image sharing website requires a Facebook login to enable users to showcase their images on their dedicated area of the site. Nowhere in the Theta's advertising or packaging is this requirement indicated.
Another issue was that the images failed to post with Tumblr after a software update at the beginning of August despite the fact that the follow up update in mid-August was supposed to fix that! So while it looks like I didn't upload many photos after July, I actually did. It's just they didn't integrate onto Tumblr. Meh!
Lastly, by its very nature the Theta is a selfie's best friend but let it be said that personally, I am loathe to taking selfies and get my narcissistic needs met in other ways. But this was something I just had to get over and not really an issue with the camera itself.
Pros and Cons - The Pros
The pros: I found this camera wonderfully engaging and all kinds of fun that I could honestly overlook all the things I didn't like about it. For one, It was small, compact and fit in my purse.
Also, as a panoramic photographer, using the Theta to "pre-viz" or pre-visualize my shots before taking higher quality panoramic images was a timesaver!
But the one single thing I loved most about the Theta was that it presented me with a number of wonderful opportunities and made friends everywhere I went. As a blogger, photographer and citizen journalist, I approached several festivals, events and organizations requesting a media pass and ... I was vetted!
Conclusion
The Ricoh Theta is a fun little camera. Taking a queue from Dale Carniegie, it really can help you make friends and influence people. The three software updates that were released since I owned my unit keep improving the camera's capabilities.
As a Project Monitor on behalf of the Spherical Report 360, I was able to attend some pretty cool happenings throughout the state of California, but I also made some key connections with many professional leaders and influencers that I had not expected or anticipated. This landed me several interviews for some very exciting possibilities that are still in the works. If it weren't for this camera, I don't think these opportunities would have presented themselves to me.
While this maybe considered a mixed review, all in all I really liked the camera and enjoyed using it. I say that cautiously, however, because I feel it's going to need to improve significantly if it's going to evolve from a technological imaging novelty to a seriously legitimate and usable camera.
Through their partnership CNN and Ricoh recognize the potential of the Theta in immersive journalism. Perhaps in the near future reporting and documenting newsworthy stories from dangerous war zones like Gaza, or civil unrest in tense situations like what took place in Ferguson, Missouri, could be covered quickly, efficiently and -- if incorporating drones -- safely. It would be amazing to claim that "no journalists were killed during the covering of report".
I'm looking forward to the development of the Theta and wish Ricoh much success with it.