360 degree cameras. Gimmick or future of underwater videography?

I’ve recently bought a 360 degree camera (Insta360 One X2) for underwater videography. I do lots of work with small camera traps (action cameras on tripod) but the footage is always static and the direction is not always perfect, so some cropping is required. The idea was to freely choose the view point and have the opportunity to apply smooth camera movements (pan, tilt, zoom). I have ambivalent feeling but I would say it’s mainly positive. I uploaded some real 360 degree videos to my Youtube channel:

https://youtu.be/SX0EJRt70T8

https://youtu.be/Tuvz5qiEtt8

I haven’t tried to watch them with VR headset and I mainly use the camera for standard videos. I’m not sure that with a standard action camera I could have recorded these:

https://youtu.be/_RKtSIUnbFQ

https://youtu.be/3IZ2kq-epGs

I haven’t tried it in a coral sea but so far I’m happy. There are many limitations. The underwater housing is not the best, and the stich line is visible. Also the camera cannot look down. Maybe a bigger sphere housing would be better. It’s a 5.7 K camera but the normal view is just FHD (barely).

Few years ago 3D video was a big thing but today it’s completely gone. Maybe 360 degree video will have the same fate.

What do you think?

Hello,

360° has even moved on from just simple 360 video, and is now in the form of cinematic 360° films.

This is our latest production, a 15min film on the relationship between humpback whales and the people of the Kingdom of Tonga:

https://youtu.be/iL4yuIzQH9U

Of course even more impressive when watched with Headsets, here you can on Oculus TV: https://www.oculus.com/experiences/media/3628638773883440/496354198015903/?intern_source=blog&intern_content=gear-up-for-earth-day-in-vr

Hope you enjoy it !

Cheers

Christophe

32 minutes ago, Chakawa said:

Hello,

360° has even moved on from just simple 360 video, and is now in the form of cinematic 360° films.

This is our latest production, a 15min film on the relationship between humpback whales and the people of the Kingdom of Tonga:

https://youtu.be/iL4yuIzQH9U

Of course even more impressive when watched with Headsets, here you can on Oculus TV: https://www.oculus.com/experiences/media/3628638773883440/496354198015903/?intern_source=blog&intern_content=gear-up-for-earth-day-in-vr

Hope you enjoy it !

Cheers

Christophe

Very nice. It's time to invest into a VR headset. Which camera(s) have you used?

360 and AR have huge potential in education. When done right, it is a great tool to transform content into a real interactive and immersive experience. Can't say the same about 3D.

New to Wetpixel and saw this. I would agree with Christophe about 360 moving to more cinematic. I also think it will follow a similar market like Imax films and be used in Aquariums and Museums. Here is a link to some work I have been doing here: 

Nice work Freediver360

I'm very interested in this topic!

• Are there UW videographers who specialize in publishing 360° video?
• What do you use for lighting the scene? Are invisible LED selfie stick for underwater use available?
• Are the selfie sticks by Insta360 and Telesin et al. suitable for use in salt water?
• Is there a diving case for the Insta360 One R/RS 1-Inch 360° edition that is of good optical quality but less expensive than the one by Mantis ($1680)?

On 7/24/2023 at 12:45 PM, Sublux said:

I'm very interested in this topic!

• Are there UW videographers who specialize in publishing 360° video?
• What do you use for lighting the scene? Are invisible LED selfie stick for underwater use available?
• Are the selfie sticks by Insta360 and Telesin et al. suitable for use in salt water?
• Is there a diving case for the Insta360 One R/RS 1-Inch 360° edition that is of good optical quality but less expensive than the one by Mantis ($1680)?

I still use an Inst360 One X2 but I always recompose the footage as normal video. 

I'm not aware of any special lighting design in a same way as invisible stick. I usually use standard tray and place the lights below the underwater housing of the X2, because the camera shows the underwater housing, so you have to compose in a way that the subjects are above the camera.

I used the Insta360 selfie stick in the Red Sea without any problem, you have to rinse it properly.

This is another alternative for the 1 inch 360 edition:

https://360bubble.co/products/360bubble-insta-1-inch

It's strange that there is no Insta360 official housing for this camera.

That 360bubble housing looks pretty sweet!

I also have a Vuze 360° 3D camera, there used to be a underwater housing available for it (for 2650€, with a 41m depth rating) but i guess it is discontinued now.

@gobiodon what length is the selfie stick that you use? I have an older version, it's probably 1.2m or 1.5m long and i'm considering getting a 2.7-3.0m stick.

22 hours ago, Sublux said:

That 360bubble housing looks pretty sweet!

I also have a Vuze 360° 3D camera, there used to be a underwater housing available for it (for 2650€, with a 41m depth rating) but i guess it is discontinued now.

@gobiodon what length is the selfie stick that you use? I have an older version, it's probably 1.2m or 1.5m long and i'm considering getting a 2.7-3.0m stick.

Honestly, I don't really like those videos when a diver swimms around with a long stick with a 360 camera at the end. I prefer either the static shots (360 camera on a monopod, 1,2 m version is usually fine) or when I use my Insta360 one X2 on my standard camera (Sony A6400) I use only a small standard arm. That case it serves only as a very wide angle camera.

I think the third video in the OP looks awesome.  Maybe not technically in terms of dynamic range or detail, but the subject and angle of view is compelling.

I got the X3 to mount to my motorcycle, but I haven't got around to that yet.   I did get the dive housing but have never tried it yet.  I took it to Truk in March, but without testing first I didn't want to risk it on 100 foot dives.  I did walk around with it above water, and I think it has quite a few good possible uses.  I'm finding it much more compelling than my drone, which I haven't used in over a year.

I don't find the 360 degree view to be watchable, but I love the post-processing freedom to pick an angle of view to work with in standard video format.   I tried to make good use of it on the dive boat in Truk coming back from an afternoon dive:

I wish I'd had the camera with me inside some of the wrecks in Truk.  Not sure how I'd carry it, not sure how I'd light things, not sure what I'd do with my Z9 rig while trying to use the X3, but it could have been fun.