What Features Will The Ricoh Theta Z2 Have?

The Ricoh Theta Z1 was released in 2019 and quickly became the most popular 360 camera for photography. Thanks for the revolutionary 1 Inch sensors, variable aperture and the ability to shoot in RAW mode, the Theta Z1 had all the ingredients for shooting excellent quality 360 images in an all-in-one system.

When I reviewed the Theta Z1 I praised its image quality and gave it a great review. Even to this day the Theta Z1 remains one of the top 360 cameras if you are more interested in shooting 360 photos. Now it’s been 3 years since the Z1 came out, and despite the release of the Ricoh Theta X, a true follow up to the Z1 has yet to be released.

Will There Be A Ricoh Theta Z2?

Ricoh have created a very popular product with the Theta Z1, which has primarily been used as a camera for shooting high quality virtual tours. Previously if you wanted to shoot 360 photos of equal of better quality you would need to use a DSLR and a rotating tripod head. This requires both long shooting and editing time with a high learning curve.

The Z1 offers a much faster workflow with results only slightly less impressive than a DSLR; this is probably why the Z1 has been hard to come by for most of the past few years.

Ricoh has actually released an update to the Theta Z1 however this only increased the internal memory from 19GB to 51GB, otherwise all specs remain the same. This isn’t truly a new camera but just a tweak of the original design.

Ricoh also released the Ricoh Theta X which is a completely new camera and design. Some may say that this is the successor to the Theta Z1 however the Theta X is aimed at a different price point and in many ways is a downgrade from the Z1. The sensor size of the Theta X is half that of the Z1 and it cannot shoot RAW images; two features that make the Z1 a powerful photography camera.

Of course the Theta X has many upgrades, including much higher resolution images, large touch screen, removable battery and a MicroSD card slot. Overall the Theta X is designed for people who want a short workflow and don’t necessarily require the best quality.

When comparing the two we the Theta X produces sharper images thanks to higher resolution however the Z1’s large sensors result in better quality images overall.

What Features Will The Theta Z2 Have?

In my opinion there is room for both the Ricoh Theta X for non-professional users and a Ricoh Theta Z2 for more advanced users who want to get the best possible quality. What realistic upgrades can we expect from a future Ricoh Theta Z2?

The main issues with the Theta Z1 is the lack of a touch screen, a limited memory and an integrated battery. By changing the design to add these would make a Ricoh Theta Z2 far more user friendly.

In terms of image quality the primary focus should be on resolution. The current max resolution of the Theta Z1 is 23MP, which isn’t particularly large for 360 images which require a very large resolution to remain sharp. The Z2 should also retain the ability to shoot DNG HDR images for maximum quality.

It’s unlikely that the 1 Inch sensors will change much as they are still quite advanced compared to the competition, however advances in colour and stitching technology could help a Theta Z2 achieve even higher quality images.

While Ricoh Theta cameras are not designed with video in mind, it’s likely any future Theta Z2 will feature improved video resolution; likely a boost from 4K to 5.7K.

The above upgrades would make a Theta Z2 a perfect camera for shooting high quality virtual tours in an all-in-one 360 camera. It would make shooting high quality virtual tours far easier and quicker than ever before. While shooting DNG RAW images requires a slightly.

This is a camera that many 360 photographers would love to see, and with the success of the Theta Z1 it would be a wasted opportunity for Ricoh not to continue this line.