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What is the real resolution of XPhase Pro?

What is the real resolution of XPhase?  DSLR shooters want to know in order to compare to the panoramas they currently shoot.  Is the resolution really higher?  I found the answer using PTGui.

XPhase (reviewed here) is the highest resolution 360 camera as of August 2019.  XPhase claims a resolution of 200mp because it has 25 sensors that are 8mp each.  But the stitched resolution is only 16,384 x 8,192 (134mp).  Meanwhile, the Panono also has a stitched resolution of 16,384 x 8,192 but they only claim a resolution of 108mp because it has 36 sensors that are 3mp each.   If you argue that the stitched resolution is the true resolution, then Panono and XPhase have the same nominal resolution, even though XPhase is actually much more detailed.  You can use the 360 camera comparison tool here or watch my comparison video.

1:1 crops from Panono (left) and XPhase (right). Even though they have the same nominal stitched resolution, Xphase is significantly more detailed
1:1 crops from Panono (left) and XPhase (right). Even though they have the same nominal stitched resolution, Xphase is significantly more detailed

On the other hand, while the unstitched photos do have 200mp in total, some of those pixels are redundant because some overlap is necessary for stitching.

To avoid confusion, I decided to find the resolution of the XPhase using PTGui, one of the most popular stitching software used by DSLR panographers.  Using PTGui to stitch XPhase photos, the resolution I get is: 17,490 x 8,745 (around 153mp):

Xphase resolution in PTGui
Xphase resolution in PTGui

Therefore, based on PTGui’s calculated resolution, the XPhase is actually more detailed than its stitched resolution of 134mp.   If you want to stitch with PTGui, here are instructions and a stitching template.  Please note, however, that I found XPhase stitching to work much better than PTGui for stitching XPhase photos.

By comparison, when I stitch a panorama shot on the Sony a6000 (24mp APS-C) with a Samyang 8 2.8 (diagonal fisheye on APS-C), the stitched resolution in PTGui is 13484 x 6742 (91mp).   And indeed, in my comparison, I found the XPhase to have significantly more detail than the Sony a6000 / Samyang 8mm f/2.8 combination.

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Mic Ty

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  • well, i make panos (not even close to full 360 images) regularly around 200 mpix. so no, i don’t think the 360 cams are ready to kill the dslr+rotator anytime soon.

    but… i have also use the insta360 one x, and i love it for speed and convenience!!!

    • Thanks Joseph! Sure, the xphase could not possibly replace a DSLR. A DSLR provides better quality, better stitching, and nearly unlimited resolution (just depending on your patience). I’m certainly not selling any of mine 😀 But for many people who shoot panos using a fisheye, the xphase provides similar, if not higher resolution, with the convenience of 360 and the opportunity to capture candid moments instantly 😀 That’s the part i really love.

  • Thank for this update. I can’t wait to get my hands on the XPhase Pro. I have it on order. Quick question, how was your experience with stitching the images on PTGui? Did you get a lot of stitching errors or less than the one on the XPhase app? Did you create a PTGui template that can be shared?

  • Hello Mic,

    Thanks for the review, For someone who is only looking at capturing 360 Photos for Virtual tours. I own an Insta360 one X and i’m not quite happy with its image quality and i was looking at investing in Fisheye lens and a DSLR for better quality images and certainly don’t want to spend above 2k.

    You had previously recommended the Aleta S2C. So Is the XPhase Pro the Cameras to buy?

    • Hi PK. Yes I would recommend either XPhase or Theta Z1. Theta Z1’s advantage is smooth stitching. Xphase’s advantage is DSLR-level detail. I compared them both here: https://youtu.be/XVbOKYGnluk

      The other alternative is to shoot with a DSLR and panohead. You’ll get high quality and great stitching, but more time to shoot and stitch, and patch the nadir.

  • Hi Mic, thanks for the great article. What settings do I have to enter in PTGui, so that the images of the XPhase are well put together? I have order the XPhase last Weekend and I’m already looking forward to the camera 🙂

  • The design is simple there s no screen and the mechanism for changing between 360 and 180 isn t the best, but that s only a small drawback. Its more the versatility and being able to swap easily back and forth between the two modes is what makes this stand out. The new clip on HoloFrame looks cool, whether this actually works in the real world though remains to be seen.