Ricoh Theta S vs Kodak SP360 4K

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.

The range of mounts offered by the Kodak SP360 4K enable it to be fixed to anything when capturing shots.

This device can capture 720p @ 120 fps videos.

The camera is splashproof, waterproof via a case, shockproof up to 2m via a lens cover, freezeproof up to 14°F / -10°C and dustproof, making it an excellent device for use outdoors when exposed to the elements.

The camera can be controlled remotely from the user's mobile device, allowing for added flexibility.

The company offers free stitching software for those who opt for the dual mount.

SP360 4K allows for one of the rare 2-camera setups that's capable of capturing completely spherical 4K video at 30 frames per second. Most alternatives either can't match the resolution, the framerate or require more than 2 cameras (which means more stitch lines). Important to note that in order to capture spherical footage, you'll need another SP360 4K camera and a dual camera base mount. Once captured and stitched, the output video is 3840 x 1920 @ 30 fps.

Unlike most other 360-degree cameras, SP360 4K only uses a single lens which means that there's no need for stitching the video.

The user can set the camera to a motion-detection mode that allows the camera to record videos when it picks up movement. It will then stop recording if there has been no movement for 10 seconds. This makes for an easy set-and-forget mode that can pick up one's pets or be used for security.

You can capture 2880 x 2880 footage @ 30fps with one camera and completely spherical 3840 x 2160 footage @ 30fps with 2 cameras. Within its price range, the video quality of the camera is excellent. The footage is reasonably sharp and it has good colors.

If you only want to shoot 360° x 235 then you don't need to worry about stitching the images. Though the software can be a problem, the camera itself is fairly intuitive.

Takes 12MP stills with clear colors.