Introducing the new RICOH THETA

Testing my new Ricoh Theta! #cnn #sr360 #theta360 - Spherical Image - RICOH THETA

Imagine my surprise when, earlier today, the UPS guy delivered a package to my door from Ricoh USA.

At first I was mystified. I wondered to myself "What is this? I didn't order any camera gear!"

I ripped open the box with excitement and inside was a brand new Ricoh Theta, a one-shot 360 panoramic camera that's just arrived on the market.

The New RICOH THETA

The enclosed letter announced that I was selected to participate in the "Spherical Report 360" initiative Ricoh has developed in collaboration with CNN.

I had to laugh when I read the letter. Last March I had entered the call for photographers and citizen journalists on a lark and forgot about it so receiving this package was a complete surprise.

Eager to see what it could do, I tested the Ricoh Theta out this afternoon by attaching it on a camera extender and running it up some tree branches at a local park. The above image is what I got.

Now that I'm officially participating as a "project monitor" for the "Spherical Report 360" initiative, I will be sharing images made on the Ricoh Theta throughout the project's run from May until September.

Being given this camera is pretty epic but it gets better: the best pictures could result in an award and prizes including a grand prize of a new Pentax K-3 18-135WR kit.

So, I'm gunning for that grand prize (no surprise, I'm sure).  However, I won't be posting here on my blog but instead through social sites including Tumblr, Twitter and Facebook. I hope you'll join me this summer as I discover what this camera can do!