WANTED: Advice & Recommendations for 360 Virtual Tour Cameras

[Brian Lucier]

Marketing has always been important to us. 

It used to be we would check Craigslist on Saturday mornings shocked at the poor quality of some of the dark drab photos we have seen on there "showcasing" the rentals. We have always been keen on shooting with wide angle, then using editing software to crop, brighten, adjust and enhance the photos to make the rental look GREAT in our advertising efforts. 

If a picture is worth 1,000 words; then are 70 pictures of a great rental worth 70,000 words? Ok, I like to play on words and I like to play with pictures too. If we are shooting with a 360 camera for a Virtual Tour, is that worth 360,000 words. I couldn't help myself on that one. But I think you see the point here. 

I am looking for guidance from like-minded marketing and tech enthusiasts for the best recommendations on cameras and posible software subscriptions for 360 cameras used to create Virtual Tours for Real Estate. We already have a few great recommendations from some of our colleagues, but I wanted to open up the floor to see who might be using what to create great Virtual Tour content.

We have been looking around and see price points for cameras and subscriptions from $300 to $3,000. But are the difference in features really worth it? What are the "must haves" you look for in 360 camera bundles? Okay BP community, looking forward to seeing what you might recommend for 360 cameras and software.

Looking for opinions on:

• Wow Factor for the renting end-user experience
• Reasonably Priced Equipment
• Reasonably Priced Subscriptions
• IOS/Android Phone Compatible
• Whatever am I not thinking about 360 Cameras that I SHOULD be asking?

Thank you all in advance for your opinions and cooperation!!!

[Nate Boykin]

@Brian Lucier -

A little backstory about myself. I’m a real estate agent and investor. I also shoot

Professional photography/videography and use drones as well for Real Estate. I’ve been in business for 2 years and I can say from day 1 to today I’ve learned sooo much. With that being said I’ve researched and used some different models.

1. Matterport- by far takes the highest quality images. The cons to it are the high price tag for the equipment, the monthly cost to host the images, the amount of time it takes to shoot a home. The equipment is big and bulky. Does not connect with Zillow (at this time).

2. Richo Theta V

I am currently using this model with my listings and with the agents who pay me. The pros about this model: price! Super affordable, no monthly hosting cost, can upload directly to Zillow. Small and light weight! You will need to purchase a monopod with this.

The con is the overall quality. It’s good but not great.

3. Richo Theta Z1

I’m not to familiar with this camera. I’ve never used it but it is the step up in model from the Theta V. It’s more than double the price.

4. GoPro Fusion 360

Great cost point

Quality images

Easy to use

Has more of a fisheye look.

In my opinion if you are using it for tours of your rentals, go with the Richo Theta V. You won’t be disappointed.

It connects with the Zillow 3D home app so once you are done shooting it will publish directly to Zillow!

Hope this helps.