How to capture a 360 scene
Everything that makes the difference between a good scene and a great one: the camera, its settings, how you walk, and what to upload.
Why a 360 camera
Faster, more complete, harder to get wrong
Fast
A 360 camera sees everything at once: capturing a space takes about a third of the time it takes with a phone.
Complete
Floor to ceiling in every direction, so scenes feel whole and immersive.
Forgiving
Seeing all around at once leaves far fewer holes and blind spots than pointing a phone.
Made for big spaces
Speed and full coverage make it ideal for squares, parks, marinas and large interiors.
Supported cameras
What to shoot with
Insta360 X6, X5 and X4
raw .insv
Upload the original .insv straight from the card: no stitching, no export. We work on the native fisheye and read the camera's motion sensors, so the scene comes out sharper, level and at real-world scale.
Every other 360 camera
stitched equirectangular .mp4
Export a stitched .mp4 with the camera's own software. Results depend on its resolution, stitching and gyroscope data.
Before you start
Camera settings
Based on the Insta360 X6 and X5; most 360 cameras have the same options under similar names.
Indoors
Shutter 1/500 and ISO on Auto: a fast shutter keeps frames sharp while you walk.
Outdoors
Shutter and ISO both on Auto: the camera adapts to the light.
Capture
How to walk and hold the camera
No rigid rules, just a few principles. They matter more than the camera you use.
Stick out
up outdoors, ~30° ahead indoors
Steady pace
about 3–4 km/h, never rushed
Diffused
light, no harsh sun
Slow down
the smaller the room, the slower you walk
Where the camera goes, and where it looks
Stick out, you out of frame
Keep Your Distance
Hold the camera on an extended selfie stick, away from you: above your head outdoors, or forward at about 30° indoors. The further you are from the lens, the less of you ends up in the frame — and the less has to be masked out of the reconstruction.
Sharpest at the centre
Aim the Lenses
With a raw .insv we work on the native fisheye, and the best detail comes from the centre of each lens; the sides, where the two lenses meet, are the weakest. Point the lenses at what matters — usually ahead and behind as you walk, or towards the object you are capturing — and keep the camera steady, without sudden tilts.
Nothing in the way
Clear the Lenses
Remove any lens covers before recording. Avoid wearing large hats or using objects that could block the camera's field of view.
Distance
About a metre from what matters, and never closer than 30 cm to any surface.
Mind the sides
Where the two lenses meet, detail is weakest: keep important things in front of a lens, not beside the camera.
Close the loop
Finish near where you started: coming back to a place already seen helps everything line up.
After the capture
Prepare your files
Insta360 X6, X5, X4
Nothing to do: copy the raw .insv files from the SD card and upload them as they are.
Every other camera
- 1
Trim
Cut what you do not need: smaller files, faster processing.
- 2
Turn on direction lock
Essential when exporting: without it the orientation drifts and the scene warps.
- 3
Export a stitched .mp4
Equirectangular, H.264 or H.265.
A 360 camera records two fisheye images, one per lens. Stitching merges them into one panorama; with the raw .insv we skip that step and work on the original images.
Troubleshooting
Frequently asked questions
My splat is blurry. What went wrong?
Almost always motion blur. Walk more slowly — even more slowly in small rooms, where the walls sweep past the lens faster — and indoors set the shutter to 1/500.
The scene drifts or looks warped.
If you uploaded an exported .mp4, check that direction lock was on when you exported it. Without it the orientation drifts during the video. Raw .insv files do not have this problem.
There are warps or holes around some objects.
They probably sat on the sides of the camera, where the two lenses meet, or very close to it. Keep what matters in front of a lens, about a metre away, and never closer than 30 cm.
Will people in the scene show up?
We mask people out, but each one leaves a hole, and someone standing still leaves a bigger hole than someone walking past. Capture when the place is quiet.
Can I use a 360 drone?
Yes. Footage from drones such as the Antigravity A1 or the DJI Avata 360 works: export it as a stitched .mp4 with direction lock on.
Do I need desktop software to prepare my files?
Not with an Insta360 X6, X5 or X4: upload the raw .insv straight from the card. With any other camera, use the manufacturer's desktop software to export a stitched .mp4 with direction lock on.
Will my scene be at real-world scale?
From a raw Insta360 .insv, yes: the camera's motion sensors give us the true scale, and the scene comes out level, with one unit equal to one metre. Exported .mp4 files usually lose that data.
Ready to capture?
Upload your video and get back a Gaussian splat, a textured mesh and more, for free.