Help! Virtual Tour Lenses

[T roy]

Does anyone have any experience with virtual tour lenses? There are several available: RemoteReality's OneShot 360 and 0-360 Panoramic Optic for example. I'm curius about ease of use, quality, which seems to work better, etc.

Thanks,
Troy

[Liz]

What is a Virtual Tour lens?

Liz

[T roy]

A lens that attaches to a digital camera that enables you to take a 360 degree picture, of say, a room. It is then converted by software so that you can view the pic as though you were standing in the center of the room. Here is a link to one lens:

http://www.remotereality.com/vtprod/oneshot.html

[Liz]

I didn't know these existed. Looks great. What do you plan (if you get one) to use it for? Just curious. Thanks for your patience.

Liz

[T roy]

You can use it for a virtual tour of your business, a home that you are trying to sell, etc.

[Sean Dempsey]

I always just used a ratcheting head to take 12-16 shots of the sides, then you do 4 each for the ceiling and floor.

Might be cheaper, and any lense will work. Also, the software stitches them all together, so it's pretty easy. It worked well for me.

[T roy]

What software do you use?

[cpend]

Troy -
I bought one a year or most likely 2 ago. I ended up purchasing the 360 One VR at http://www.kaidan.com and use Photowarp 2.

When I purchased it I found it difficult to assertain from the (any) company exactly what lense and if my camera would work with the system (Nikon D100). I eventually was told that it would work with the 60mm lense. So I purchased the lense. I got the lense and then couldn't figure out how to attach it. I called the company back and they told me that I needed the SLR bracket. So I forked out another 100+ dollars for the bracket.

Since then I have used the lense many times - always in taking pictures of houses that I buy- fix up - sell and list on my internet site for buyers who drive by and want more information.

The software Photowarp 2 is easy to use, but lacks good documentation. It took a little experimentation with posting to my website to figure out exactly how to do it. If I took the time to read a little bit more I am sure I would learn a thing or two. But I use it and it performs how I need.

When I was looking at these lenses - I seem to remember that there were a couple of different ways that they attached to cameras. I really didn't like anything that attached to the lense itself. On the Kaiden lense the camera mounts via the tripod hole on the bottom of the camera then the camera is focused on the 360 mirror.

A couple of things with this system -

You are constantly taking a picture directly up towards the sky - so if you are using a SLR like I am it can be a little hard kneeling and looking up.

Aperature control is vital - one needs the depth of field about the size of a baseball focusing from about 12 to 20 inches or so.

Hope this gives you a little more info.

Chris

[r3dline]

that's one of the coolest things i've ever seen...

I want one. Right after I actually buy a camera.

[cpend]

Our website that has virtual tours is http://www.house-buyer.com/vr.htm. Ours are OK - last night my wife was looking at a Grand Canyon rafting virtual tour page that was farily awesome. It seems that there lense gave more vertical depth than my gives - but that could go back me not reading the instructions (a guy thing)