Forum Discussion
360 photos
Hello!
I just watched the video regarding 360 photos, what a cool option!
I'm curious how/where are people getting their 360 photos?
It's clearly not a "panoramic" photo from something like an iPhone.
Thusfar I haven't really found anything good online about how to actually create a 2:1 360 degree photo.
Any help would be appreciated!
You can create free 360 images via this site I wrote about in the blog.
The challenge with those is that they're stock and generic. My guess is that in most cases a 360 image is only relevant in a specific context. And in those cases you'll need a camera.
I use the Richoh Theta 2 which is pretty decent. But I'd probably recommend the Insta360. A lot of people in the community say they use that one. They have a sale on them right now [10/7-12].
I also bought this cheap selfie-stick stand.
Many of the photo editing apps will open the file and let you make edits to the images. Some of the cameras come with apps.
A couple of years ago I bought a few cameras to test out and the ones above were a good balance of features and price. I am sure there are many more on the market now, but from my experience, I'd stay away from those unknown brands, especially on Amazon as many are not very good.
- ChristyTuckerCommunity Member
In addition to the sources Tom mentioned, you might see if AI generated options would work. That clearly isn't a good option if you're creating a tour of a real environment (you need a real 360 camera for that), but to just make up a generic office or something it might work.
I attended a webinar yesterday by Garima Gupta, and she shared the Blockade Labs Skybox as a tool for creating free AI generated 360 images. They have some AI weirdness, of course, but it might be worth experimenting with (especially up to your limit of free images).
- NickMorrisonCommunity Member
Awesome.
Thank you both for your replies.
I'm looking to create 360 walk-around/throughs for my work place's various work environments.
However, I'm not sure if can get the purchase of a 360 camera approved. But only one way to find out!
- JoshAstonCommunity Member
If you do get one approved, can my company borrow it after you?
I keep coming across blog posts that say things along the lines of:
"If your phone doesn’t include a built-in feature that allows you to take 360° equirectangular images, no need to worry! There are a growing number of 360° camera apps you can download to create your own."
Of all the apps I've found, none of them will produce the images in a 2:1 ratio. I'm amazed that all the apps I have come across are intelligent enough to orientate themselves horizontally but not vertically.
Guess I'll have to learn the art of brown-nosing before the work Christmas party, and hope someone gives me an intoxicated approval to make the purchase!