While I don’t do real estate photography, mainly because it doesn’t pay well in my area, it would be perfect for showcasing local amenities if you don’t have a drone. It’s also a very hard shot to get with a DSLR.
I hold a pro drone license and I love flying, but I would probly opt for a shot like this over an image shot at a higher altitude. While aerial photography is great for providing context, an image shot at a lower altitude often better conveys the atmosphere of a location.
My house is a block away from this spot. I’m lucky to live in such a beautiful area, and my lawn isn’t quite that green either lol
Thanks for sharing these tips. I put this out on Twitter with attribution to you.
Also, I purchased the same weight and monopod feet set for my own tests. It’s great.
I haven’t made a YouTube video of the base yet as I’ve been focused on more basic technology of the camera this past month. However, I will seen need to test the camera in the field again as the demonstration applications that @jcasman and I are building are close to a milestone freeze.
That’s great Craig glad I could help you and the community! Maybe mention my company Perspective Media if you mention me in the video. Every little plug helps and you have to shamelessly promote yourself any chance you get
I’ve been using the same setup as Grant McBride for several months and am super happy with the strength and stability of the Moman TR-1. At USD $35 without the weights, it is a great deal.
The design and build quality of the Moman make it strong and stable. The weights bring it to an even higher level of stability.
I thought I’d update my setup to include something I added for special use cases where I can’t afford to have a soft stitch line. I added the rotating base from my pano head to allow me to turn the camera exactly 90° for a second shot without lifting/moving the monopod and introducing parallax error. After stitching in PTGui, this effectively cancels out the soft stitch line. It also has the side benefit of being a very heavy part to add to the base of the monopod, increasing the stability.
I’m not sure how many people have used the 90° turn method, and to be clear, it’s not needed for every shot. I can usually find a spot in a room suitable for the stitch line, but for the times when I can’t this new addition to my setup really helps to create a tack-sharp image.
Hi Grant, I really like your setup here, I was wondering how the Insta360 extended stick holding up for you? with all the weights added to your base, when you pick up the rig to next point, does the selfie stick move up or down at all? since it doesn’t have a screw/lock on mechanism for the extension part.
Thanks that was a concern for me as well, but I simply extend the stick progressively from the bottom, or thickest parts. That way, the segments I’m using are always fully extended so the stick doesn’t lengthen when I lift to reposition. There is a decent amount of friction between the segments to hold the weight of the camera so I haven’t had any issues with a lack of locking mechanism. It’s also way lighter than most other sticks, which adds to the low center of gravity and stability.
The Insta360 stick looks good. Just to contribute to the knowledge pool, I’m share my setup and usage opinion of my own setup. I’m using the Leofoto Go-125 and the same Moman base and weights that Grant recommended.
My opinion of the Leofoto Go-125 for virtual tour types of shots:
it’s shorter at 1.25meter max length, but I do not miss the longer length of the other monopods
I have another longer monopod, put I end up using the Leofoto Go-125 more
It’s light at 200g
it has a 1/4" screw at the top and bottom, which works well with the THETA X and the Moman base
collapsed length is 32cm, which makes it slightly better to carry around in my bag
As I need to demo the camera at events from time to time, I also have this base:
Those look like great recommendations, and I would also be paranoid in high traffic situations like that. I’ve had a setup fall over only once, and luckily it landed in the grass mere inches from a cement curb. My stomach sank as I watched it fall in slow motion from my hiding spot, and it prompted me to purchase a second Z1 as a backup, along with the lawn spikes I show earlier in this thread.
I was wondering if you could share the links to your rotating base as well as the spikes that you added on, I haven’t had much luck finding the spikes on amazon.ca
I finally received my insta360 extended edition selfie stick. I was wondering if yours also wobbles at the base when just extended to 120cm or higher. I’m afraid I have received a somewhat defective item. I have never owned any other monopods so I am not sure what my expectations should be. Other than that I am impressed with the weight and ease of use of the stick.
Glad you found it. My selfie stick is quite stable and tight at the base but the segments have some play when extended. That’s pretty normal for friction type as opposed to latch.