A GUIDE TO CHOOSING THE BEST 360° CAMERA FOR SHOOTING REAL ESTATE
360° virtual tours are the key to immersive property marketing. In a market flooded with options, choosing the right 360° camera is crucial for showcasing every angle and detail in a virtual tour.
We compared three 360° cameras, the Trisio Lite2, Insta360 One RS 1-Inch 360 Edition, and Ricoh Theta X, and used each one to shoot a virtual tour of the same property, breaking down the image quality, features and considerations in this guide.
Keep reading for the full picture, so you can select the optimal one for your real estate photography needs.
Quick Specs Overview
The Full Picture
Trisio Lite2: Our Top Pick
This camera does one thing and does it very well: capture stunning 360° images. It doesn’t shoot video, but if your one goal is to find a camera that captures true-to-life 360° images for virtual property tours, this is your best bet. The stitching is seamless, meaning that there are no visible lines indicating where the image starts and ends. Plus, it’s the most affordable option in this comparison.
The camera does take the longest time to shoot a single photo compared to the other cameras – around 20 seconds – but good things come to those who wait. During the lengthy capture time, the Trisio measures the amount of light in the shot and adjusts its capture settings accordingly. This ensures well-balanced photos in both bright outdoor light and dark indoor light, which is optimal for property photography.
Pros:
- Simple and easy to use
- The best photo quality compared to the other cameras in this blog
- Most affordable
- Invisible stitching lines
Cons:
- Doesn’t shoot 360° videos
- Takes the longest time to shoot a photo
- Doesn’t shoot RAW images
| The images in this virtual tour have been edited with our 360° Image Enhancement process and were converted into a tour using our 360° Virtual Tour service. |
Insta360 One RS 1-Inch 360 Edition: The All-Rounder
This camera is designed to be an action camera, for capturing sports and adventuring 360° videos; however, it does shoot real estate well. The photos are crisp, but it’s second to the Trisio Lite2, as they don’t depict the same high level of window detail and the unedited photos are somewhat grainy.
Unlike the other three cameras in this comparison, to insert and remove an external storage card, you must pull the lens, core, and battery apart and put them together again, making for a pretty fiddly set up.
Pros:
- Shoots 360° videos
- Wide range of camera settings and modes
- Shoots RAW images
- Invisible stitching lines
Cons:
- Fiddly and time-consuming to set up
- Windows are overexposed, showing less detail
| The images in this virtual tour are unedited and were converted into a tour using our 360° Virtual Tour service. |
| The images in this virtual tour have been edited with our 360° Image Enhancement process and were converted into a tour using our 360° Virtual Tour service. |
Ricoh Theta X: The Mixed Performer
Shooting at a very similar quality to the Insta360 One RS 1-inch 360 Edition, the photos captured by the Ricoh Theta X are quite sharp and accurate in color. However, in the unenhanced virtual tour in this blog, we found chromatic aberration in the exterior images, which is the undesirable color distortion you can see along the edges of some objects. However, the Theta X shines when it comes to accurately capture exterior views through windows and avoids any overexposed areas that obscure details.
Pros:
- Invisible stitching lines
- Captures clear exterior details through windows
Cons:
- Shoots JPEG not RAW
- Chromatic aberration in exterior photos
| The images in this virtual tour are unedited and were converted into a tour using our 360° Virtual Tour service. |
| The images in this virtual tour have been edited with our 360° Image Enhancement process and were converted into a tour using our 360° Virtual Tour service. |
Take Your Photography Further with BoxBrownie.com
Now that you’ve learned about the best 360° cameras on the market, why not try shooting a virtual tour?
We offer a range of 360° image editing services, including 360° Image Enhancement, 360° Virtual Staging and 360° Item Removal. Plus, with our Virtual Tour creation service, we’ll incorporate your photos into an immersive tour, and we'll host it for free for one year!
New to BoxBrownie.com? Sign up now and receive 4 edits free. No credit card is needed.
RELATED ARTICLES
Learn how colors drive perceptions in real estate marketing, shaping buyers' first impressions of a property. Dive into our blog for a room-by-room breakdown of color psychology's strategic role in maximizing a property’s appeal.
READ MORE
The list that keeps on giving. Our enormously popular Pre-Photography checklist is intended to be used with every new house a photographer must shoot. Here we’ll show you how it can save bundles of time and pave the way to much stronger marketing materials. Discover why the checklist has become our most downloaded document.
READ MORE
In this post, our resident photography expert Brad Filliponi cuts through the geek speak to determine which 360° camera shoots the best Virtual Tour - the Ricoh Theta Z1 or the newly released Ricoh Theta X.
READ MORE
Are you struggling to sell your listing? Has it been sitting on the market for far too long? We're having the exact same problem too! One of our staff members has a property that's been sitting on the market for 11 weeks. So to get it sold faster, we're utilizing an online advertising platform called Adwerx to generate more interest in the property.
READ MORE
Want personalized property marketing training for your team? The property market is evolving fast—stay ahead with our exclusive virtual training sessions tailored specifically for your team.
READ MORE
Don’t know where to start when it comes to creating your very own 360-degree Virtual House Tour for your latest real estate listing? In this blog, we will walk you through the entire process from choosing the right camera to taking the shots and building the tour itself. It doesn’t have to be a stressful process and can help your properties stand out from the crowd.
READ MORE