360 Camera News and Info Virtual Tour Cameras & Lenses

XPhase upgrade adds DNG Raw mode and other improvements; price increase

XPhase Pro gets upgrades!
XPhase Pro gets upgrades!

Based on customer feedback, the 200 megapixel XPhase Pro (reviewed here) hardware is being upgraded with new features, but the price will also increase.  Here are some of the improvements:

Raw DNG output mode: one of the most commonly requested features for the XPhase is the addition of a Raw DNG mode, and XPhase has listened.  If this is a true Raw DNG mode (and not just a container for JPG), we should see better dynamic range and greater flexibility in postprocessing, but in addition, it will likely be possible to use it with Kandao Raw+ image stacking software, which will improve image quality even further.

Manual exposure: the current XPhase Pro has no manual exposure and only has exposure compensation.  The upgraded version will have manual exposure (ISO and shutter speed).

Better lens consistency: my review unit had one or more lenses that were back focused.  The upgraded version will have better lens consistency, according to XPhase.

6-shot HDR (now confirmed): the HDR will be expanded from 3 shots to 6 shots, for even wider dynamic range.

To make these improvements possible, the XPhase Pro price is increasing from $699 to $879 ($180 increase).  However, orders before July 22 will be automatically upgraded to the new version. Please note again that this is a hardware update.  My prerelease version can have some of the new features, but not others such as the lens consistency, the 6-shot HDR, or the Raw mode.

My take

At $879, the new version of XPhase Pro is still the highest resolution 360 camera and at least on paper, it is still a bargain compared to the Ricoh Theta Z1 (24mp, $999), Ultracker Aleta S2C (66mp, $1210), and Panono (108mp, $2099).   BTW, you can get a free additional XPhase storage from 32GB to 128GB – just use my affiliate link.  Meanwhile, I will try to get the upgraded XPhase Pro to compare it against the original version, and to other 360 cameras.

What do you think?  Are these improvements worth the price increase?  Let me know in the comments!

About the author

Mic Ty

11 Comments

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  • Yes, but I got this information after paying the order. I was worried because their site somehow did not work, only on mobile and then I received a mail about the changes. I think I couldn’t order with your bonus.

  • So wait and see your test. On the facebook page many requests and issues are posted about this camera awesome camera. I hope Xphase team will follow and offer futurs hardware and software changes.

    • i think the chances are pretty low. But you can use XPhase with 3d virtual tours like Cupix or Benaco or Metareal or Kuula (which has a flythrough transition effect).

      Best regards,
      Mic

  • Hello Mic ,
    I have contacted Danny a few times about buying the xphase pro s but not many avalible yet , is it a small company that makes them !! As I need to buy a good 360 camera that can shoot RAW with little workflow possible .What else can you sujest? As if my new business takes off I will need a few more in a short time ..

    Thanks

    Rob in FRANCE 😉

    • Hi Rob. The next batch of Xphase should be available in a week or so. Another alternative that can shoot raw is Theta z1.

  • Hi, Mic! Thank you for your reviews! Do you know any news about upgrade with RAW for XPhase? I bought an annual subscription in Koola for making virtual tours but found out that Insta360onex is not enough for good results. And now I’m looking for the best variant of the 360 camera under 1000$ for this purpose. What do you think is the XPhase will be the best choice, if we keep in mind the existing cameras and the nearest releases from the different companies? And is it better to wait for the update and than buy the XPhase (I’m not sure to 100%, that they will make an update with the options that you described because they didn’t do it yet) or buy a Theta Z1 for a while?
    Best regard,
    Evgenii