Who Still Offers DSLR/Mirrorless 360 Tours with Fisheye Lenses in 2026?21658
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 Owner,Managing Editor and Publisher of WGAN Forum and WGAN-TV Podcast Fairfield, California |
TomSparks private msg quote post Address this user | |
 Hi All, Before Matterport, iGUIDE, Realsee, Giraffe360 and dedicated 360 cameras like the Ricoh Theta and Insta360 became the norm, many real estate photographers and virtual tour pros shot 360 tours the traditional way: a DSLR or mirrorless camera, a fisheye lens, a panoramic head on a tripod, and stitching software. My question for the We Get Around Network Community: who is still offering DSLR/mirrorless-based 360 virtual tours in 2026? If that's you, I'd love to hear: 1. What camera body and fisheye lens are you shooting with? (Canon, Nikon, Sony, Sigma 8mm, Laowa, etc.) 2. What panoramic head and tripod setup do you use? (Nodal Ninja, Manfrotto, etc.) 3. What stitching and tour software is in your workflow? (PTGui, Pano2VR, 3DVista, Kuula, CloudPano, etc.) 4. How many brackets/exposures per pano, and are you shooting HDR? 5. What types of clients and spaces still ask for this approach? (Hotels, luxury listings, museums, commercial?) 6. Why do you prefer DSLR/mirrorless 360 capture over a dedicated 3D/360 camera system — image quality, control, deliverable flexibility, pricing? I'm curious whether high-resolution DSLR/mirrorless 360 photography remains a premium niche — or if all-in-one 3D capture systems have fully taken over. Looking forward to your setups and insights. (pictured above) I'm using a Sony A7rIII, a Samyang 2.8 12mm fisheye lens, and a pano head. I was shooting 6 shots around, 1 zenith and 2 nadirs. but have since switched to 4 shots around, 1 zenith and 1 nadir. 5 exposure brackets. Raw format. ISO 100 f8. Apature priority. In house editing team stitches and edits. Best, Tom |
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ron0987 private msg quote post Address this user | |
| @TomSparks My question to you is when was the last time someone made a request for a tour specifying the specs for a DSLR quality tour? Then they were persuaded to go with something else, or is this just a fading thing, kinda like the topic is hinting at? |
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Owner, Managing Editor and Publisher of WGAN Forum and WGAN-TV Podcast Fairfield, California |
TomSparks private msg quote post Address this user | |
| @ron0987 oh we do them on a regular basis. A lot of hotels, convention centers, venues like them. | ||
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 WGANStandard Member Osaka, Japan |
Meidansha private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Me too @TomSparks 1. Sony Alpha7R4, 7Artisans 10mm 2.8 2. 3 axis Neweer 3. Typically 9exp bracket (depends on situation) x+6 no nadir. 4. Hotels, convention centers, agencies, renovators |
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trueview360s private msg quote post Address this user | |
| It is our standard. I have found it is easier to spend a little more time shooting than the time it takes to process one shots. I have the Ricoh Theta Z1 that I used for quite a while, but I constantly struggled with white balance and color in processing. Nikon D850 Sigma 8 mm Nikon 15 mm Nodal Ninja |
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 WGAN FanClub Member Queensland, Australia |
Wingman private msg quote post Address this user | |
| I have Sony AriV, Samyang 7.5mm and Dual Axis Mecha automatic rotator. However with this config or a manual nodal head I have used it for paid jobs only 5 times over the whole time I am doing it. 2 jobs were from USA company that helps venue businesses to sell their spaces. That one was particularly for a luxury hotel. Most of it was a job with Matterport scanning their venue places but they needed the best quality 360 photos in some spots. I have been hired twice over period of 2 years to do the same. 2 jobs were from what seemed to be a 360 photographer posting a job for a tender because their clients had shops in my state and the photographer was in a different state. That was done for two shops selling mattress of the same brand in 2 locations. 1 job was for university which I actually voluntarily did by me using a professional setup. They originally was happy with Pilot Era, I decided to bump it up for them to my mirrorless setup. And to be honest I regretted changing from Pilot Era. It was harder to use with people walking around and they needed so many points that it took me almost two days to just process and post to Google Maps. I see no reason to offer this service unless it is what my client wants and ready to pay for it. Most of my potential clients have seen my google maps tours done with Matterport Pro3 and are more than happy with a quality vs my service fee for it. I have recently done a shop selling a fitness equipment. It is the second shop I have done for them and 3rd one is already being prepared for it. I was using PtGui and Pano2VR but only for those jobs that required me to stich and publish. Not all asking for it and sometimes you just send to the client all sides and they will stich and publish themselves. |
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