This winter the UEN PD Team purchased an Insta360 Camera for use in our “Mixed Reality In Education” two day course. While it is possible to create 360 degree images with a smart phone using apps like Google Street View and “stitching technology”, the Insta360 makes it much easier to take not only 360 images but also video.
Connecting the camera to an iPhone is especially easy with the lightning connector. Pop out the connector, plug it into the device, and you’re ready to capture or film. Even easier to use is the blue tooth connection for remote shots and video recording. In the image below I used Blue Tooth to take a picture with the camera sitting on a rock at the Waianapanapa State Park in Maui, Hawaii. This is an interactive picture, click and drag the image after the fish eye intro. You can even look straight down to see the black and white flexi-tripod that held the camera for the picture.
https://s.insta360.com/p/926cafb0f5f203d5aea996cb966ac6b6?e=true&locale=en_us
Available from Amazon, Apple, and the Insta360 website this camera retails for approximately $300. It’s well worth the money, but more expensive will be the time you invest in learning all of the cool features and special effects. So far I’ve played with making movies, uploading animated shorts to Instagram, and taking images for both Google VR Expeditions and Google Street View posts.
For more tips and tricks for using the Insta360 check out the Insta360 Blog.
EdTecHakk 