Back in February, Ricoh announced its Theta Z1 360-degree camera had been sold out ‘due to its popularity’ and suggested more units weren’t being produced due to supply chain issues and ‘compliance with new [Japanese] laws and regulations.
’ Now, a month later, Ricoh has announced the Ricoh Z1 51GB, a newer version of the Z1 that keeps all of the same specifications, but more than doubles the internal storage.
In its original announcement, Ricoh said it was ‘urgently preparing to deliver products that comply with [the new] laws and regulations as soon as possible. ’ Specifically, Ricoh said it would have more information available ‘by the end of March. ’ Well, the end of March is here and while the announcement isn’t exactly a new 360-degree camera, it is a slightly improved version of the now-discontinued Theta Z1.
Ricoh hasn’t elaborated on what specific components needed to be changed to comply with the Japanese laws and regulations that inhibited the production and sale of the original Theta Z1, but it seems it’s sorted out both that issue, as well as its problem with the supply chain for its new Theta Z1 51GB.
Both visually, and in terms of specifications, the Theta Z1 51GB remains unchanged from its predecessor, aside from a bump in internal memory (up to 51GB compared to the 19GB inside the original Theta Z1). Internally, there could be changes that have been made to comply with regulations, but even if components have changed, it doesn’t appear those changes have affected the specifications at all.
All that’s to say the Theta Z1 51GB still features a 23-megapixel (6720 x 3360 pixels) 1-inch backside-illuminated CMOS image sensor and is capable of recording 4K (3840 x 1920 pixels) 360-degree video with three-axis rotational stabilization. Unfortunately, like its predecessor, the Theta Z1 51GB lacks any add-on storage options, meaning 51GB of onboard storage is all you have to work with.
The Ricoh Theta Z1 51GB is expected to ship in late May for 1,049. 99, a $50 price increase over the original Theta Z1.
. dpreview.com2021-3-25 19:36
