Great question! This Lens is arguably by far the highest quality optic in its class. It has precision manufactured all-glass optics, while many competitors use poorer quality molded plastic components. It has the highest field of view of ANY one-shot system, FREE software, and comprehensive tech support. Yes, this lens is the quite simply the Best Unit, Best priced and by Far the Best Value For Money available!
Perhaps your question should actually be, "Why are the others priced so high?"

A completely seamless image around the entire 360 degree Horizontal field of view (hFOV). The Vertical field of view (vFOV) for this is an extraordinary 115 degrees. It captures an image from 52.5 degrees above the horizon to 62.5 degrees below the horizon. This simply means that you can capture the entire world around you, with the exception of an area straight above your head, and an area straight below your feet, which generally isn't worth looking at anyway. This is the largest field of view of any one-shot system in its class.

This is designed to fit the majority of digital cameras with threaded lens attachment capabilities. As there are many different lens threads on the market, some cameras will require a thread adapter, which is a very inexpensive option. We have listed many cameras that are compatible on our Camera page. If you can't find your specific camera model on the list, please contact us. You may also consider upgrading your camera to a newer, compatible model. This is certainly not essential but obviously the better the quality of pictures the camera is able to take the higher the impact your virtual tours will have.

All software necessary to create the panoramic virtual tours is available for FREE here on our site. We offer several software packages to suit your browser and platform and provide totally free hosting of your images. The coding needed to post the virtual tour on your web page is also available for free right here on our site. Once you create the panoramic photo, you can easily create the code needed for the virtual tour.

Almost all Web Users (95%+) already have Java installed on their machines, so your Tours are able to be viewed without downloading any plug-in. Our software uses this as standard but it also compatible with Quicktime if required. If you use Quicktime to display your tours, they will need to have Quicktime installed.

NO! Once you purchase the Optic, you can produce as many virtual tours as you wish. There are no other fees, plus we will continue to provide free updates to the UnWrapper software. We want to keep everything as simple, easy and cost effective as possible.

The Panoramic Optic was engineered specifically to be as rugged and durable as possible. The mirror and see-through window are precision manufactured from thick, strong glass. The hardware is rugged aluminum. Like all optical instruments, you do not want to drop it, and we recommend that you handle it with due care. But in normal day-to-day use, the Optic should last for years. Like any fine lens, the glass components can be scratched if handled improperly. We provide a dust blower to remove any dust from the glass, and soft lens cloth for cleaning if necessary.