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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Sdoughtie private msg quote post Address this user | |
| I have one in my office but have not used it in probably 10 years. I dont miss PTgui. | ||
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SvenExenberger private msg quote post Address this user | |
| My equipment/workflow - Nikon D750 - Samyang 8 and 12mm Fisheye - PT4Pano rotator and KISS SLANT (german patent, great stuff) - depending on conditions no bracketing up to 5 exposures bracketing - Camera RAW (photoshop) or Lightroom - PTGui for stitching - Pano2VR, Krpano and 3DVista for virtual tour Some clients ask for a "classic 360 tour" as I call it. In this rare case I try to have a video call with the client to show them the capabilities of classic 360 tours vs. Matterport. In the last years not a single client ordered the classic 360 variant, finally they all ordered a Matterport tour. The fact that I deliver the 16K panos alongside the project convinced most of them. The native image quality of matterport panos is so good, that it's pretty hard to make a visible difference with manually shooting 360s, even with decent DSLR equipment. Of course you can outperform the quality of a system like Matterport by far, but the question is: will the user really see the difference on an iPhone? In the last months AI made it possible to patch the pretty big zenit and nadir areas of Matterport panos very efficiently. My clients chose the Matterport solution mainly because they don't lose options. I could create a classic 360 tour in 16K quality if needed, using the Matterport material. But I cannot create a 3D tour later by using the DSLR material, because you shoot much less panos with a DSLR. The DSLR panorama photography is still in my portfolio. A five star superior hotel might be one of the last use cases where it really makes sense to use it, from my perspective. Most business scenarios benefit from the 3D technique because the viewer gets a better understanding of the building/site overall while offering a very good image quality out-of-the-box. Sven |
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 WGANStandard Member Los Angeles |
Home3D private msg quote post Address this user | |
| We do a lot of work with Matterport but also a lot using Sony full-frame A7iv with Samyang or Rokinon 12mm fisheye on Nodal Ninja head. I shoot HDR 5-brackets at 2 stops steps. Depending on the subject matter, I may assemble entirely on PTGui HDR/stitch or in severe lighting situations first balance in Lightroom and then PTGui. Image quality results are definitely superior to Matterport, not to mention full zenith and a smaller nadir cleanup. Many clients want this over Matterport for tours they expect to use for years. First reason in image quality, second is no MP hosting fees as we can self-host for far lower cost. We assemble in 3DVista which is a powerful tool requiring no coding, though the learning curve is for committed creators. Here are a couple examples. 5901Tour.com This office building has many suites seeking tenants. The marketing team did NOT want Matterport, as they wanted to only show 2-4 views of each suite so lessees would need to contact them for a full tour inspection. They pointedly did not want people to roam all through the building and suites fully online. ParklineTour.com This office park remodeled exterior ammenities and wanted them showcased for lessees. Cleanup was needed, hiding stray leaves and such. Quality was easier to deliver with 360s than Matterport. We do large-scale tours using both Z1 and full-frame hi-res panos such as for HillsideTour.com ...which has nearly 800 360 panos. Most are Z1 but featured areas are hi-res full-frame such as the Chapel and stained glass in Courts of the Book. These sites had extreme dynamic range challenges as well as prime importance to the client. Twilight panos - Hi-Res full-frame WAY BETTER than Matterport. Look at: HamptonTour.com When the 3D model opens, click on any of the BLUE SPHERE hotspots. These are Hi-res twilight panos. Can't get these results with Matterport, only HDR on a full-frame camera. The Zenith matters SequoiaTour.com If you've ever visited Sequoia National Park, you may have had a sore neck after a day standing at the foot of the General Sherman Tree and other Sequoia giants. Can't capture these with Matterport as the subject itself lives in the zenith as well as the horizontal 360. Say no more! Special effects are possible DruckerHouse.com This is a tour of an average home that is now a museum. Go from living room to the hallway, turn left to the bedroom. where you can 'open a drawer' in one position. This tour needs a couple tweaks to fix odd panning, but you can see this effect where something can "move" or change while staying in one registered position. Can't do this with Matterport, at least not as elegantly. Specific Lighting Style HWRtour.com This client, a day spa, has designed very specificly designed subdued lighting that they wanted accurately represented. Matterport tends to brighten everything to an even level and could not reproduce some of the unusual lighting here. Go down the hall to the individual treatment rooms. Many have intense blue-violet light glowing from under the spa tables. Only Hi-res bracketed HDR panos could reproduce the effect. No questions hi-res panos of this nature take more time and care, but they can also do things that a closed system like Matterport cannot. Every tool has its place. |
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WGAN Standard Member Osaka, Japan |
Meidansha private msg quote post Address this user | |
| @Home3D It would be good to hear your sales pitches for mirrorless 360 shots. I did this one of an abandoned farm rejuvenation project. https://virtualtour.productions/naposi-yell/minamiyamashironakantani/index.htm The client said that they wanted me to teach them how to do it with a Ricoh Theta so they could recapture it once each season. But they also wanted something a little bit more professional for the first shoot which they were going to use at a trade show. So I used exactly the same set up you mentioned: a Sony Alpha7R4 with a Samyang 12mm Fisheye. 7 exposure bracket. You have to go to the ground to see those shots the aerial 360s were with a Mavic 2 Pro single exposure. |
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