lsupremo Loc: Palm Desert, CA

I’m thinking of getting a 360 degree camera for real estate work, I would like any purchase advice I can get to find one without spending big bucks

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Big bucks? Make sure you can return it. : )

As always, I recommend looking for reviews and comparisons. The most expensive isn't always the best.

PixelStan77 Loc: Vermont/Chicago

Why not get a tripod and a rotating head with the camera you have and stitch them together?
Or use Asterzoom

https://www.asteroom.com/en?gclid=Cj0KCQiAzsz-BRCCARIsANotFgMzUxe9r2h7LQxHV-nKMeUM6L263lHA4H9-o-rJ-Cp7s1q4w85TdYwaAkrVEALw_wcB

BebuLamar

Actually most cell phones can do it.

williejoha

An expensive option to a simple solution.
WJH

twosummers Loc: Melbourne Australia or Lincolnshire England

I use the Xiomi Mi Sphere for "virtual tours" for Real Estate. An inexpensive camera that has worked flawlessly. It also comes under another model name but it is the same spec.

User ID

A dedicated 360 camera is very different from stitching a flat panorama. On a web page a 360 “tour” acts like google street view. The viewer can explore a scene in every direction. You could say a stitched pano is “only” 360 degrees, while the output of a 360 camera is 360x360x360 (semi-3D effect similar to VR).

ELNikkor

Get one that automatically erases the view of the stick that holds it. My friend has one. He takes 360's of every public establishment he enters, then puts it up on "Google Locations". They use it for their GPS views. As of last week, Google informed my friend that his 360's have been viewed 50,000,000 times. (Yes, that's Million!)

billt1970 Loc: Gambrills, Maryland

Good and valuable idea, IMHO.

I've been a Google Certified Street/Business View Trusted Independent Photographer since 2016, and so have some experience and maybe expertise in this area. I'm going to quickly share my experience(s) with you. I shoot 360 photospheres (360x360x360) two different ways for two different applications.

Businesses order 360 shoots to show off their business coming in from the Street View. This is almost exclusively shot with a DSLR or Mirrorless camera with an 8mm fisheye lens. It is shot HDR3 on a tripod with images taken in all four directions. This produces 12 images per "spin" location. They are first processed in HDR triplets to produce 4 directional images; then they are stitched together to produce the 360 photosphere for that spin location.

For Real Estate, 360 tours are becoming more and more common in the Covid era as they allow the buyer to really "see inside" the home. These can be shot with exotic (and expensive) equipment such as Matterport, a DSLR/Mirrorless, or much more commonly with a single shot 360 camera. Since the beginning I have been using the Ricoh Theta products, initially the Theta S and more recently the Theta V. They also have the higher resolution, but more than twice as expensive (list $999, and rarely discounted) Theta Z1. Personally, I haven't seen the ROI in upgrading to a Z1, as most home buyers are viewing the photospheres on their phone or tablet where the difference in viewability is minimal, IMHO.

I can shoot a 2500 sq ft house with the Theta V in about 15-20 minutes. For post processing there are several good alternatives. Zillow has a 3D Home app (IOS only at the moment I believe) where you create the tour on the fly and by the time you get home from the shoot it is ready for publishing and review. There are several other options for post processing, such as Panoskin and Tourmake.

The bottom line is that the Theta V is relatively inexpensive as compared to the incremental revenue that it can generate for you (either as a real estate photographer working for an agency or agent, or as an agent doing it yourself). It is widely available; for example just now:

Amazon:

Ricoh Theta V 4k 360 Spherical Camera
4.4 out of 5 stars
$376.95
Today 1PM - 6PM
FREE delivery today

Best Buy:

Ricoh - Theta V 360-Degree Digital Camera - Metallic Gray
User rating, 4.4 out of 5 stars with 80 reviews.
Price Match Guarantee
Your price for this item is $379.99

You also need a monopod to mount the 360 camera on. I've tried MANY over the years and have settled on the iFootage Monopod which costs $169 and is perfect for the job. So, FWIW, if I were to go out today the investment would be less than $600 for a complete 360 rig based on the Ricoh Theta V. Such a rig has generated a few $1,000s of revenue for me over the years. Not a bad ROI IMHO.

I don't know if this qualifies as "big bucks" for you, but it's a place to start looking and evaluating. You are on the right track; stick with it and I wish you success.

Best Regards,

BT

lsupremo Loc: Palm Desert, CA

lsupremo Loc: Palm Desert, CA

Thanks for all the help from y’all

aellman Loc: Boston MA

Or steal one of the top of one of the Google cars that shoot all the street views.