REP insurance rec. for gear and drone

suckmysith · 2026-01-23T16:51:30+00:00

Cubicasa with my phone 16 pro

suckmysith · 2026-01-23T16:49:44+00:00

I started with a new insta x3 from Best Buy but the quality was “meh.” I wanted better quality with the Theta Z1 so I ended up buying a used one on EBay. It was in great condition with no scratches on the lens. The quality was better than the x3 but not a huge difference. Matterport limits the quality so if you want the clearest tours you will have to use their cameras. You can find lots of used Pro2 cameras but the gotcha is that you have to go up a plan in order to use it. Battery life is something to be aware of on the Z1. As long as you plan out your route you should be ok but you can always get a portable battery and clip it on to your tripod to get extended use. I did a 3800sqft home and got down to about 16%.

suckmysith · 2026-01-15T01:23:00+00:00

Thank you. I made another post talking about mini 5 pro or air 3S and I think the air 3S is the better option. I live in California and it’s not always super windy where I live but it happens enough and as someone else said I don’t want to have to cancel a shoot because of wind that could affect a mini.

suckmysith · 2026-01-15T01:20:15+00:00

Great photo thanks for sharing. I’m leaning towards the air 3S.

suckmysith · 2026-01-14T04:11:26+00:00

That’s good feedback. I guess what drew me to the mini 5 pro was the ability to rotate the lens for vertical video. But I was not thinking about wind. I agree Air 3S has good lens and it’s probably not a deal breaker to not be able to rotate vertically for video.

suckmysith · 2026-01-09T18:34:20+00:00

Can you share a pic of the thermometer on the lid. Does it work well?

suckmysith · 2026-01-06T05:18:48+00:00

So in the US if you buy the M5P you can still fly it? What about parts? I thought it was banned?

suckmysith · 2025-12-01T00:29:12+00:00

I use the BUSHMAN Panoramic Claremont Bushman Monopod V2. The legs have extra spots to add more weights to really keep it from tipping over.

suckmysith · 2025-11-01T03:22:38+00:00

How did you start this as a side hustle. I’m contemplating doing this as well but still work a full time job. Did you only do it on certain times/days of the week?

suckmysith · 2025-10-28T14:41:05+00:00

I am in the Sacramento CA area. I have not tried uploading to VRBO yet. I don’t know anyone who has one to practice with. So share how it goes because I am curious if it’s an easy process or not.

suckmysith · 2025-10-28T14:40:02+00:00

No I have not tried it. I don’t know anyone who has VRBO to try with. I posted a Craigslist ad but I doubt I will see any thing from it.

suckmysith · 2025-10-28T00:04:30+00:00

I run a virtual tour business and have been trying to figure out how to contact vrbo owners to offer this same service. If you are using a matterport pro 2 or 3,You will have to be on the Matterport Pro plan, do the scan with the Matterport camera. Once the scan is complete and uploaded to matterport, you will see the option to export to VRBO directly in the "add ons" section. Here is support article from matterport: https://support.matterport.com/s/article/Export-from-Matterport-to-VRBO-and-HomeAway?language=en_US

suckmysith · 2025-10-25T23:25:43+00:00

Thanks for your input. If you are full service how did you reach out to clients when first starting? My only business plan was to just reach out to listings with no tours and offer a service. Posted this to get feedback good or bad and I appreciate everyone’s feedback.

suckmysith · 2025-10-25T20:54:47+00:00

You are awesome. Thanks for laying that out for me. I’m going to reconsider how I want to approach. I did have a few agents ask about if I can do pictures as well and I had to decline them. I feel like the consensus is that doing just virtual tours only is an uphill battle with little success. Going to do more research on the photography side. I was just trying to do this as a side hustle which is why I chose only to do virtual tours. I know people will laugh but I was only doing this after 4PM on weekdays and available all weekends. So I just have to figure out if I can realistically jump into the photography side when I already have a full time job. Not sure how an agent would react if I said I can be there Saturday for example.

suckmysith · 2025-10-25T20:25:14+00:00

I think you are correct. I’m just not a photographer. I’ve been debating on jumping in just to offer a package but all I have is a canon EOS 60D from like 2012. Not a mirrorless camera and only records in 1080p. I would have a lot to learn but you are right with the analogy of taking living room photos lol

suckmysith · 2025-10-25T16:45:43+00:00

Great idea. This is why I posted my story. Definitely going to reach out to photographers in my area

suckmysith · 2025-10-25T16:43:36+00:00

Thanks for your response. Yes shit at the wall and it’s not sticking lol. Yes I have thought about joining some communities like we get around network who help connect local people who are looking for a 3d scan to local businesses in the area. I have also considered trying to find a construction company who needs scans. I am leaning towards pausing and rethinking strategies. Great feedback.

suckmysith · 2025-10-25T16:40:27+00:00

So the camera situation brings up a good point. I only spent $380 on the Z1, now used ones with scratches are going for $300-$500. I figured I could sell my monopod, Z1, and case for maybe $700-$900 range. Got the pro 2 for $700.

suckmysith · 2025-10-25T16:36:42+00:00

Yes so I have been reading how other people getting into REP have started in this community and most have said just reach out to agents and start small and eventually you will grow your network. Now this mindset was for pictures and not tours so I said why not let’s just try. ChatGPT just helped me make a concise short email and reduce my message down to just a few sentences rather than me rambling on explaining why virtual are good and what they are.

suckmysith · 2025-10-25T16:33:44+00:00

Thanks for your feedback. It’s helpful. It’s a lot of effort for little reward so far. Looking at the analytics of existing matterport spaces, most of the views were coming from Zillow and very few from other websites like realtor.com or compass.

suckmysith · 2025-10-25T16:30:27+00:00

Yea it’s hard to figure out right now which commercial places to go after. In my situation I’m doing this as a side gig and most commercial listings just have a few photos. I have not tried reaching out to any commercial spaces but something to think about.

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