360Fly vs Ricoh Theta S

Unlike most other 360-degree cameras, 360Fly only uses a single lens, meaning that there's no need for stitching the video.

360Fly is dust-resistant (IP6X certified), water-resistant up to 50 meters, and shock-resistant up to 1.5M. This makes it a great device for recording extreme sports or general outdoor recording.

The camera has an appealing design: rounded in shape with divots much like a golf ball. There is a solid construction to the whole of the body and the free app is easy to navigate and use. Overall the design of every component of the device is well thought out, making for a pleasant experience for the user.

The 360Fly allows the user to use their app on Android, iOS, Windows or OSX. The user can then connect to the camera and get a real-time live preview, edit, and playback recorded videos. The smartphone apps connect to the camera over Wi-Fi or Bluetooth and the desktop apps can be connected via USB.

Thanks to the adapter, the user can easily use any GoPro mounts.

When the user is shooting, the camera's built-in stabilization reduces any vibration that could inhibit the quality of the shot.

The user can record more than two hours of footage on a single charge.

360Fly is water-resistant up to 50 meters. An example of underwater footage can be found here.

From within the provided 360Fly app, users can edit and upload videos to their social media accounts (such as Facebook or Twitter).

Allows manually tuning ISO, white balance, shutter speed, noise compression, and exposure compensation.

This device is very easy to use. Simply switch between photo or video capture by pressing a toggle on the side of the camera and then press the button on the front of the camera.

The camera is small, making it easy to carry around. It can easily fit into a trouser pocket.

The protective sleeve is not only highly practical, but it also looks very sleek and doesn't add much bulk.

The Ricoh Theta app is reasonably successful at stitching. While artifacts and splicing issues can occur, they will usually not be noticeable during a casual viewing, only revealing themselves upon closer inspection.

The smartphone app allows previewing the footage that the camera is capturing. It can also adjust settings such as exposure and white balance.

You can set intervals between images and the number of images you wish to take.

You can live stream to YouTube in dual fisheye mode.

HDR mode allows the user to capture exactly what they see before them and helps take overall better-looking photos. HDR is particularly useful when capturing landscapes, low-lit scenes and scenes in which there is excessive sunlight.

The app allows you to capture and publish your photo spheres instantly to Google Maps for people all over the world to explore.

The shutter button is placed far from the power button in order to avoid accidentally turning off the camera instead of pressing the shutter button.

Ricoh Theta S has a built-in service for uploading pictures and videos on social platforms such as Google+ and Flickr, making the whole process of uploading your work as seamless as possible.

The camera takes crisp 14.5MP stills with well judged colors. There's little noise or artifacting, and only minor stitching issues. It performs well both in daylight and in dim environments.

Ricoh Theta has a standard tripod/monopod mount.

Provided you take care with the lenses, the camera is more than able to hold up to casual use. It's made of a grippy, hard plastic and works in a temperature range of 0-40C.