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CamerasNewbiesReal Estate PhotographyRicoh Theta XRicoh Theta Z1VersusVirtual Tours

Ricoh Theta Z1 vs Theta X for virtual tour business?16337

linas2569 private msg quote post Address this user
Hello everyone.

I am starting a virtual tour business, and looking for the best camera option to get professional looking photos on a ~1200$ budget.

I was going to buy the Ricoh Theta Z1 until the news about the new Theta X release.

Theta X seems like a good deal for the price and especially the wide spectrum of its usage (good quality photos and 5.7K video).

But after futher research more questions occured: the smaller sensor size on Theta X seems to affect the photo quality in lower lighting conditions, and the sensor size becomes a deal-breaker when shooting real estate virtual tours. Another huge disadvantage is that it's not possible to take photos in RAW (DNG)on Theta X, which will take away a lot of professional editing opportunities.

On the other side, Theta X has more megapixels, 5.7K 30fps video recording, a touchscreen, more internal storage and supports external storage.

What are your thoughts?

Is the Theta X worth waiting for a virtual tour business? Or should I go with Theta Z1? Will I be lagging behind my competitors if I choose the old Theta Z1?
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lilnitsch private msg quote post Address this user
The Theta X isn't available until March ~ this camera could plausibly get RAW in a firmware update

I currently own 3 Z1's personally which is a great camera but, I am also interested in picking up this camera once it becomes available even if the camera doesn't get the RAW that will not effect how I use these point and shoot 360 cameras my Z1's are primarily used for Zillow 3D home tours which uses auto HDR jpg's anyways
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pixelray private msg quote post Address this user
Are you really going to use a 360 camera for normal photos? Or are you talking about using it for virtual tours only? Personally, I would never use a 360 camera for normal photography. But I know some people do. I just don't like the results as much as a professional mirrorless or DSLR
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lilnitsch private msg quote post Address this user
@pixelray

Agreed. For stills I knock stills on a little Sony A6400 with a 10-18mm but even a cheaper used a6000 would produce good images with a proper wide angle
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Queensland, Australia
Wingman private msg quote post Address this user
I may be selling my Sony a6000 with fisheye Meike 6.5mm lens and even a Mecha single row motorised rotator as an extra. I can also add Sony 16-50mm and 55-200mm lenses with it as they are designed for a APC-S sensor. I have just bought back a Sony a7s. I regretted selling mine a year ago under my "boss" pressure. So I do not need my a6000 anymore unless the A7s I have bought and it is now on a way to me is damaged.

As for a Theta X there is a guy who is testing it and he is also a Matterport photographer. I asked him to check if a Theta X model works with the Capture app. He has said the app can see the camera and it seems you can trigger it with the capture app but it returns a photo that just black.

So Matterport should add implementation for this camera before we can use it with a Matterport. If they see any point in doing it it can be fast but they may as well never connect it with the capture app processing its 360s.
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lilnitsch private msg quote post Address this user
@Wingman this was kinda similar with the SC2 prior to official Matterport support. The support for this camera will come it just may take a month or two after the camera officially hits the streets
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Wingman private msg quote post Address this user
Quote:
Originally Posted by linas2569
Theta X seems like a good deal for the price and especially the wide spectrum of its usage (good quality photos and 5.7K video).


5.7K video is not that great. We are talking about 360 videos with 2 to 1 proportion that has a field of view of 360 x 180 degree so you need to compare it with a normal video and it is half of its resolution. Probably even more than half as it is just one side with 180 FOV both vertically and horizontally. So I would say 5.7K in 360 is equivalent of 1440P for a flat video with something like 25-50mm focal length.
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