Best 360 camera out there?

Q&A about the latest versions
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Transforman
Posts: 18
Joined: Fri Oct 07, 2016 9:26 am

Hi,

For upcoming project I need to able top crank out interior virtual tours quickly. Shooting them with my DSLR and my panorama tripod head isn't an option as turnaround time is mnuch more important than quality.
What's a good 360 panoramic still camera that I can use for interior virtual tours that is still acceptable in terms of quality and workflow.
Matterport isn't an option due to its lack of selfhosting-capability.
mbb
Posts: 276
Joined: Mon Oct 19, 2009 11:42 pm

The "leading" 360 all-in-one type camera right now would probably be the Xiaomi Mijia Mi Sphere. There are already many people using these for quick turn around real estate shots. The camera is very inexpensive (~$200) and you can do an all mobile (best to use Android OS) work flow with it- if quick turnaround means not even having to leave the location to get finished panoramas online you can do it with this camera.

You can find out all you would need to know about the Xiaomi Mijia Mi Sphere camera here-

http://360rumors.com/2018/02/ultimate-x ... -page.html

I shoot w/Sony A7RIII, but I also have one the little Mi Sphere's to do "rough drafts" and the like with. Very impressive little camera. Can shoot RAW, does bracketing, better resolution than others in it's class, good shadow headroom, stitching in camera or on mobile (for best quality) etc.
Transforman
Posts: 18
Joined: Fri Oct 07, 2016 9:26 am

Thank you for your reply. I have the A7R2 and if I shoot 5-bracketed HDR images, it takes way too much time.
I saw a comparison between the Mi Sphere and the Ricoh Theta V and the Ricoh came out on top in terms of image quality and dynamic range. Have you tried the Ricoh Theta as well?
kconklin
Posts: 32
Joined: Thu May 25, 2017 11:58 am

I use the Ricoh. Not bad.
Transforman
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Joined: Fri Oct 07, 2016 9:26 am

Which one do you have? Are they good enough for commercial use?
kconklin
Posts: 32
Joined: Thu May 25, 2017 11:58 am

The still image quality between the newer V and the S is unchanged from my understanding. "Commercial" use quality? I don't know I would go that far... but it depends on your use. You are trading quality for time. It is not "high quality", but then it is not horrible either. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder - I guess it depends on what you are used to.
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360Texas
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The Theta V also has an HDR feature (3 images -2,0,+2 ) and you can adjust the EV scale to your suiting on the WI-Fi connected to your smart phone. The final HDR equirectangle image is compiled using the on-camera firmware. The finished output is automatically sent to your smartphone.

This really is time saving. I know, I also do HDR with our Canon 5d and Sigma 8 (0,90,180,270°). The two HDR process (Theta V 3 images and Canon 5d and 12 image) are both affected by objects that move between individual shots which makes the stitching process awkward, not to mention the light balancing.

Be sure to try the Theta V out before you buy.
Dave
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mbb
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Joined: Mon Oct 19, 2009 11:42 pm

RE: "I saw a comparison between the Mi Sphere and the Ricoh Theta V and the Ricoh came out on top in terms of image quality and dynamic range. Have you tried the Ricoh Theta as well?"


What comparison? Ricoh V better in quality than the MiSphere? That would not be possible, even the specs of the MiSphere are superior in every way to the ThetaV, let alone the actual image quality that can be attained from it.

Yes, I have shot *thousands* of panoramas with Ricoh Theta S. I really really wanted to like the new ThetaV, but it was just not enough of a quality bump from the Theta S (same image sensor specs). I have since shot thousands of images with the MiSphere and can say it is a very noticeable improvement in every way over the Theta S I was using.
Transforman
Posts: 18
Joined: Fri Oct 07, 2016 9:26 am

I gues I'll have to agree with you. I shot a few few test shots with the Theta V and the results are horrible.
See attachments to see what I mean. This one is going back to amazon.
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kconklin
Posts: 32
Joined: Thu May 25, 2017 11:58 am

If you do end up trying the Mi Sphere, I'd love to know what you think of the still image quality as compared to the Theta. I read a lot of reviews and it doesn't seem stellar either.
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Hopki
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This was shot with the Mi Sphere: https://goo.gl/maps/t3bgXeV9DMm
No photoshop or any post apart from adding an image patch in Pano2VR.
Cheers,
Hopki
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kconklin
Posts: 32
Joined: Thu May 25, 2017 11:58 am

Do you think it is a better image than the Theta creates?
boasey
Posts: 22
Joined: Fri Jan 26, 2018 4:38 pm

Two great tools here to compare pic quality:
http://360rumors.com/360-camera-comparison-tool#photo

and video quality:
http://360rumors.com/360-camera-comparison-tool#video

for the most popular 360 cameras and it's regularly updated!
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