# How to make a virtual tour with an Insta360 camera URL: https://www.panoramr.com/guides/how-to-make-a-virtual-tour-with-an-insta360-camera Published: 2026-10-19 Updated: 2026-11-02 To make a virtual tour with an Insta360 camera, put it on a tripod in each place a visitor would stand and take a 360° photo in Photo or HDR mode, pressing the shutter from the Insta360 app so you are out of the shot. Then export each photo as a 360° JPEG, from the app with the 360 option, from Insta360 Studio, or straight from the camera with in-camera stitching, and upload the JPEGs to a tour maker such as Panoramr to link the rooms and publish the tour. ## Which Insta360 cameras work Every current Insta360 X camera takes 360° photos that work in a virtual tour. What changes from one to the next is the size of the photo, which decides how sharp a room looks when a visitor zooms in. | Camera | Largest 360° photo | HDR in 360° photos | | --- | --- | --- | | Insta360 X6 | 15,520 × 7,760 pixels (120 MP) | Yes, and bracketing (AEB) | | Insta360 X5 | 11,904 × 5,952 pixels (72 MP) | Yes, and bracketing (AEB) | | Insta360 X4 | 11,904 × 5,952 pixels (72 MP) | Yes, and bracketing (AEB) at 18 MP | | Insta360 X4 Air | 7,680 × 3,840 pixels (29 MP) | Yes, and bracketing (AEB) | | Insta360 X3 | 11,968 × 5,984 pixels (72 MP) | Yes | | Insta360 ONE X2 | 6,080 × 3,040 pixels | Yes | | Insta360 ONE RS 1-Inch 360 | 6,528 × 3,264 pixels | Yes | The sizes are from Insta360's own specification pages, such as the [X6 specs](https://www.insta360.com/specs/x6) and the [X5 specs](https://www.insta360.com/specs/x5). Every one of them is twice as wide as it is tall, and all of them fit in a Panoramr tour, which takes 360° photos up to 16,384 pixels wide, and up to 23,000 from a computer with 8 GB of memory or more. ## Set up the camera - **Put it on a tripod** or a monopod, or on Insta360's Invisible Selfie Stick standing on a small tripod. The stick does not show in the photo: the camera stitches it out. - **Keep it upright.** Insta360's manual warns that a tilted camera bends the stitch line, the seam where the pictures from the two lenses meet. - **Use the same height in every room**, about eye height, so a visitor's view does not jump up or down as they walk through the tour. - **Turn the lens to the room.** Point one lens, not the side of the camera, at what matters most in the room, and keep everything at least a metre from the camera: close to the camera, the stitch line shows. - **Tell the camera about lens guards.** If you fitted guards, set the camera's Lens Guards mode to match. The X4 Air, X5 and X6 notice them by themselves; in the Insta360 app the setting is under Settings > Accessories. ## Take the photos 1. **Choose Photo mode, or HDR Photo** where a bright window and a dark room meet in one shot. Insta360 recommends HDR for scenes with large differences in light. The X4, X4 Air, X5 and X6 can also take bracketed exposures (AEB), for photographers who merge the brackets themselves. 2. **Turn on the lights and open the blinds**, then look under and round the tripod for anything you do not want in the picture. 3. **Press the shutter from the Insta360 app**, or set a timer, and step out of sight. A 360° camera sees everything round it, so the only place to hide is another room or behind a door. 4. **Take one photo for each place a visitor would stand**: the entrance, each room, and the halls and stairs between them. [How to take 360° photos for a virtual tour](https://www.panoramr.com/guides/how-to-take-360-photos-for-a-virtual-tour) has more on where to stand. ## Export each photo as a 360° JPEG An Insta360 camera saves its photos as INSP files. A tour maker needs a JPEG instead: a flat 2:1 picture with the 360° information inside it (equirectangular). Insta360's manual says an exported JPEG carries that information and an INSP does not, so export every photo first. There are three ways: - **In the camera.** On the X4, X4 Air, X5 and X6, swipe down for the shortcut menu, go to Settings > Image Settings and turn on In-camera stitching. The camera then saves a JPEG as well, ready to upload ([Insta360's manual](https://onlinemanual.insta360.com/x6/en-us/operating-tutorials/stitching/in-camera-stitching)). - **In the Insta360 app.** Open the Album, tap and hold a photo, and choose Export to Phone, or open the photo and tap the export button at the top right. Choose to export it as **360** media, not flat: a flat export is a framed picture, not a 360° photo ([Insta360's manual](https://onlinemanual.insta360.com/app/en-us/operation-tutorial/file-management/export-photos-and-videos-to-the-local-photo-album-on-your-phone)). On an iPhone the Photos app shows the exported 360° photo as a long, flat picture; that is what it should look like. - **In Insta360 Studio** on a computer. Right-click the photo and choose Start Export, or use the export button at the top right, and export it as a JPG ([Insta360's manual](https://onlinemanual.insta360.com/studio/en-us/operation-guide/file-management/file-export-instructions)). Studio is also where PureShot photos from some earlier cameras are edited. Export at the camera's full size. To check a file before you build the tour, drop it into Panoramr's free [360° photo checker](https://www.panoramr.com/tools/360-photo-checker): it says whether the photo is the right shape and size, and lets you look round it. ## Build the tour 1. Create a free Panoramr account and click Create Tour. 2. Choose your exported JPEGs. A free account holds 250 panoramas. 3. Link the rooms with hotspots, so a visitor can walk from one to the next, and add notes, a floor plan and a design. 4. Publish the tour, and share its link or embed it on your website. [How to create a 360° virtual tour, step by step](https://www.panoramr.com/guides/how-to-make-a-360-virtual-tour) goes through each of these in more detail, and [Create your first tour in Panoramr](https://www.panoramr.com/help/how-to-create-your-first-360-virtual-tour) shows each screen. ## Questions ### Which Insta360 camera is best for a virtual tour? Any current X camera works. The X6 takes the largest photos (15,520 pixels wide); the X3, X4 and X5 take 72 MP photos, which is plenty for most rooms. A larger photo stays sharp when a visitor zooms in on a detail such as a picture on the wall. ### Can I upload Insta360 INSP files to a virtual tour? No. Export each photo as a 360° JPEG first, from the Insta360 app (with the 360 option), from Insta360 Studio, or with in-camera stitching on an X4, X4 Air, X5 or X6. Insta360's manual says the exported JPEG carries the 360° information that an INSP file does not. ### Should I use HDR on an Insta360 indoors? Yes, when a room has bright windows. Insta360 recommends HDR for scenes with large differences in light, and an interior with daylight outside is the usual one. In an evenly lit room, Photo mode is enough. ### Does Insta360 have its own virtual tour software? Insta360 sells a Virtual Tour Bundle, a camera with the Invisible Selfie Stick and a tripod, from £369 in the UK, with an offer on partner tour software such as Floorfy or Realsee ([Insta360 store](https://store.insta360.com/product/virtual_tour_kit)). It has no tour hosting of its own, so the photos go into a tour maker such as Panoramr.