Choosing a 360 camera
Insta360, Ricoh Theta, GoPro Max, iPhone — what's actually worth buying for real-estate tours, and what to skip.
You don't need an expensive camera to make a great virtual tour, but you do need one that produces a clean, well-exposed 2:1 equirectangular JPG with no heavy lens distortion at the seams. Here's what's actually worth owning in 2026, and what to skip.
What Tourly needs from a camera
Tourly is camera-agnostic. We don't sell hardware, and we don't lock you in. The only thing we need from your camera is an equirectangular JPG — a single 2:1 ratio image (e.g. 5760×2880) that covers the full sphere. Every modern 360 camera produces this with one tap. If it does, it works with Tourly.
Recommendations by budget
| Camera | Price | Resolution | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Insta360 X4 | ~$500 | 8K (downsample to 5.7K) | Most agents, most listings. Best all-rounder. |
| Insta360 X3 | ~$350 (used) | 5.7K | Same workflow as X4 at lower cost. Still excellent. |
| Ricoh Theta Z1 | ~$900 | 6.7K | Larger sensor — best in low-light interiors. |
| Ricoh Theta X | ~$700 | 5.7K | Has an LCD on the back — useful in bright sun. |
| GoPro Max | ~$400 | 5.6K | If you already own one. Otherwise pass — better options exist. |
| iPhone Pano + 360 app | $0 | Variable | Try-before-you-buy only. Stitching artifacts are visible. |
If you're buying one camera today
Buy the Insta360 X4. It's not a nuanced answer because it doesn't need to be:
- One-tap shooting via the app or a tiny remote.
- Excellent in-camera stitching — no manual seam fixing in 99% of shots.
- Good enough in mixed lighting (which every interior is).
- Standard tripod thread, USB-C charging, no proprietary cables to lose.
- Massive used market — buy refurbished and save $150.
The Theta Z1 is technically sharper in dim rooms because of its larger 1″ sensor, but you pay almost double, the workflow is fussier, and the difference is invisible on a phone screen.
"Can I just use my iPhone?"
For exterior shots and a single test tour: yes, with caveats. There are apps (Panorama 360, Google Street View's app while it lasted, Insta360's free app paired with manual rotation) that produce equirectangular photos from a phone. They work.
But: the stitching is uneven, the seams are visible especially indoors with vertical lines like door frames, and you'll spend the time you saved on hardware re-shooting. The honest recommendation: try one tour with your phone to see if you like the format, then buy a real camera before sending anything to a client.
Accessories that actually matter
- Monopod (not tripod)
- A thin monopod disappears in the photo because you're standing directly under it. Tripod legs splay out and end up in every shot.
- Bluetooth shutter
- Lets you stand 10 feet away from the camera so you're not in the frame. The Insta360 GO/X-series remotes are tiny and cheap.
- Spare batteries
- A typical 4-bedroom house is 8–12 scenes. One battery handles it; two batteries handle three houses. Don't be the agent who shows up with 18% charge.
- MicroSD with decent write speed
- V30 or better. Slow cards bottleneck the camera and you'll see a 'processing' delay between shots that breaks your rhythm.
What to skip
- Matterport's Pro2/Pro3 cameras. Locked to Matterport's hosting, $3,000+, requires a subscription, slow capture cycle. If you're using Tourly you don't want their hardware tax.
- Cheap no-name 360 cameras off Amazon. The stitching software is where the value is, and the budget brands don't have it. You'll see seams.
- DSLR + nodal head + manual stitching. This is the Photoshop-era way. The image quality is genuinely better, but the time cost is 30× and clients can't tell the difference on a phone.
What's next
With a camera in hand, the next thing to learn is how to actually use it well. Lighting, tripod placement, exposure, and how to not be in your own photos — that's the next chapter.