360 Camera Reviews Virtual Tour Cameras & Lenses

360 cameras for virtual tours and real estate: 360 camera comparison, plus how to avoid being seen in a 360 photo (updated June 12, 2018)

360 cameras for real estate photos and virtual tours
360 cameras for real estate photos and virtual tours

How would you like to start using your 360 camera to earn money or to gain an advantage over other real estate agents?  I think the best opportunity for that is with 360 photos for virtual tours and real estate.  In this post and video, I compare some of the best 360 cameras for virtual tours and real estate, and what are the advantages and disadvantages of each one.  I also discuss some software and techniques for real estate photos and virtual tours, including how to avoid being seen in a 360 photo, even when there’s nowhere to hide.  (Updated with new cameras as of June 2018) 

Opportunity in real estate
Best 360 cameras for virtual tours and real estate
360 camera comparison for virtual tours
Virtual tour software and stitching software
Techniques


Opportunity in 360 photos for real estate

Manufacturers have been focusing on 360 videos, but I think there are many opportunities for 360 photos.  As I mentioned in my video, I submitted just 14 photos to Street View and got 2 million views from them.  The reason is simple: while some people are still debating on whether 360 videos will become mainstream, 360 photos are already a part of our lives.  People expect to see 360 photos of their hotels, homes, cars, pretty much everything.

This need for 360 photos creates an opportunity for 360 shooters, including for real estate agents who are willing to invest the time and effort to learn 360 photography and buy a suitable camera.

Best 360 cameras for virtual tours and real estate (June 2018)

For the absolute highest quality, use a DSLR and panoramic head.   A DSLR will give you the best detail and dynamic range, and if used correctly, can have perfect stitching.  It does take more time to take a photo but you save time with editing, because 360 photos from a DSLR are easier to edit.  Moreover, shooting with a DSLR is not as difficult as it may seem.  See my complete tutorial here, with suggestions for panoramic heads and lenses.

For a 360 camera, the highest quality for consumers is the GoPro Fusion (reviewed here).  Despite its lower nominal resolution, it has excellent detail except at the stitch line.  The dynamic range is also the best in class, particularly if you use the RAW mode.  It also has the best video quality among consumer 360 cameras, giving you the opportunity to shoot a video (360 or otherwise) as a value added service.  The downside is that you will need a desktop with a dedicated graphics card.

Another 360 camera for high image quality is the Xiaomi Mijia Mi Sphere (reviewed here) which is more affordable than the Fusion and is slightly more detailed, but requires more editing.  In particular, it has less dynamic range than the Fusion, and so you may need to use bracketing, which will require combining the shots for a manual HDR.

For a 360 camera with the best workflow (easiest to use) for 360 photos, I recommend Ricoh Theta SC, Theta S (reviewed here), or Theta V (reviewed here).   The Theta can not only stitch 360 photos in-camera, but it can also take HDR photos in-camera and blend the exposures in-camera, fully stitched.  This makes it very easy to use for virtual tours while also having good quality, even if it’s not as detailed as the Fusion or Mi Sphere.

For 3D 360 photos, I recommend Insta360 Pro or Kandao Obsidian Go.  Both produce high quality 3D 360 photos.  However, you will need to make sure you have enough distance between the camera and the nearest object, or else it will not stitch correctly.

For outdoor 360 photos such as photos of the exterior, or for large interiors such as hotel ballrooms, I recommend Panono for maximum detail and dynamic range.  Its detail even exceeds some DSLR panoramas.

360 camera comparison for virtual tours

In October 2017, I compared ten 360 cameras for real estate.  The comparison is still valid, although at that time, the Fusion had not yet been released.

Contents:

00:20 Introduction
01:19 Why 360 photos?
03:24 Comparison of 360 cameras
03:50 theVRKit
05:45 Ricoh Theta SC, S, V
07:22 Yi 360 VR
08:44 Xiaomi Mijia Mi Sphere
10:17 GoPro panoramic heads
11:58 Difference between Panohero H5B and Pano5+1 mk II
12:04 Pano5+1 mk II
12:59 Panohero H5B
14:10 Panono
18:52 DSLR + panoramic head
20:39 Tom Shot 360
21:10 3D 360 cameras
21:20 Insta360 Pro
22:30 Kandao Obsidian R
24:30 Comparison of 360 cameras
25:00 Software
27:12 Technique: how to disappear from a 360 photo even if there’s nowhere to hide

I compared 360 cameras at various price brackets to show the differences and similarities between them.  Here are the cameras I chose for this comparison:

Virtual Tour Software / Platforms and Stitching Software

There are many software for real estate photos and virtual tours, and I just wanted to point out three of them.

1) Veer Experience lets you create virtual tours for free.

2) Kuula lets you create virtual tours easily — even on mobile.  See my tutorial.

3) Cupix. You can create a Matterport-like virtual tour with 3D map, automatically.  The disadvantage is that it requires many photos (about one photo every five feet).

4) The most popular stitching software are PTGui and Kolor Autopano Pro or Giga.

5) PanoramaStudio 3 Pro – This is another stitching software.  Among the ones I’ve tried, this is the most user friendly.

6) KeepEyeOnBall.com. I mention this software because it can stitch panoramas from DSLRs and from the Panohero H5B, enabling you to stitch Panohero H5B photos for free. I think they’re also working on a stitching template for Pano5+1 though it’s not yet complete.

Technique

In the video, I also showed how to make yourself invisible in a 360 photo even though there’s nowhere to hide.  Simply said, you use a tripod to take two photos from the camera, keeping the camera in the same position while you move at positions that don’t overlap.  You can then mask yourself out using Photoshop or any 360 editor that supports layer masking.

Other software that can help are 1) Vanish360, which is only for Ricoh Theta, or 2) the Yi 360 VR app, or 3) Theta Converter Pro, which should work with any camera.  With any of these software, you can remove yourself automatically by taking three shots.

I hope you found this post helpful.  I know I couldn’t possibly cover everything about 360 cameras for real estate in one post but please post your questions in the comments and I’ll do my best to answer them!  Also, please consider joining the Virtual Tour Network on Facebook.

 

About the author

Mic Ty

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  • Also Panotour from Kolor is great for virtual tours, plus Autopano Pro can do miracles for stitching hi-res panoramic images, both single row and multi-row.

  • Hi Mic Ty!
    Thanks for this great presentation.
    I was thinking about to buy a matterport camera because i liked the great quality of the images.
    can you tell me wich of those cameras can be compared to the matterport?
    i will use it for professional purpose.

    Thank you!

  • My ‘hide’

    I have a 24 rib wood tipped umbrella
    At the top is a lag bolt with 1/4-20 screw on top, wood screw at the other end.

    A level strapped to the umbrella shaft.

    If I could find a 24 in bright green, I could do green screen effects. As it is, I use black.

  • Hi
    What do you think about the new VUZE+ 2018 Model (color-fidelity, details, sharpness). I work in real estate and have an eye on GoPro Fusion, coz of the detailed 360-degree-pictures and good quality in shadows. I also have often small rooms and often the problem with a very bright window at one side and a much darker background on the other side. For this i like the preview App-LiveView to regulate the brightness for every lense-side. So its possible to make the windows-side a bit darker and the darker side a bit brighter. Unfortunately i doesn’t found comparing of picture-images like Vuze+ vs GP Fusion. Also not in YouTube. Would be nice when you can say sth about this or put the Vuze+ also in one of your next videos.
    I like a lot your reviews and tests and im excited to see more. Greetings Uwe (from Germany)

    • Thanks Uwe! I don’t have vuze+ but i have vuze, which is similar. Fusion is more detailed than Vuze and Fusion definitely has better stitching. The advantage of Vuze is 3d 360 capability.
      best regards,
      mic

    • Absolutely, Pano2VR is an amazing tool for virtual tours. It’s great for power users.
      best regards,
      mic

  • Hi.

    Lightroom can merge raw photos into a panorama. I am already working in Lightroom for the color adjustments, so is there some reason I should not just be using Lightroom to make the 360 image?

    • Hi Trebor. Lightroom is not 360-aware. So if you make certain edits, it will cause issues. For example if you adjust highlights, you’ll find that if you view it in 360, the left edge and right edge will now look like it has a noticeable seam. Hopefully Adobe can make Lightroom 360 aware soon.

      • I’ve been doing some editing in DxO Photolab, which isn’t 360 aware as well, but sofar I haven’t seen any inconsistencies afterwards. Seems to work there?

        But I don’t believe Lightroom can actually stitch a panorama in 360. It can probably stitch flat 2d panorama’s, but for it to become a 360 there needs to be warping towards top and bottom and that needs a program to be able to translate flat to spherical.

  • Hi, i am complete newbie when it comes to this technology but a great enthusiast and really thinking about to giving it a start. After going through a few reviews, posts, Youtube videos, comparisson websites i was just wondering if someone could point me in the right direction, or if anyone has ever done it, of how to create a 3D mesh from a house interior with a 3D camera (dollhouse) apart from Metaport . Which one is the best camera and which software to use. Many thanks.

    • Hi JIBS! Welcome! You can use Cupix or Metareal. Cupix is automated and uses computer vision. Metareal lets you build the 3d model yourself