Forgotten Your 360 Camera? ThingLink has the Solution!

Kyla Ball June 18, 2024

If you’re heading out on an educational trip this end of term, don’t forget your 360 camera to ensure you can re-create the trip as a virtual tour. But if you do leave it behind, ThingLink has your back!

Virtual Field Trips

360-degree photos are one of the best ways to instantly create an engaging virtual tour or virtual field trip for students. Recently we’ve also shared some impressive examples of collaborative co-creation by students themselves, who have crafted original and creative immersive experiences from their local environment or an area of study by uploading their 360-degree photos to ThingLink to make them fully interactive. Check out the case studies at the bottom of the blog to see these in action.

With many students heading away on study trips and field trips this month, it’s a great time to start thinking about re-creating that trip in virtual form!

However if you and your students don’t have access to a 360-degree camera (or worse still, you leave it behind!) – we’ve got you covered!

Pano to 360 by ThingLink

Pano to 360 by ThingLink was built to fill the gap left behind by the deprecation of Google Street View. It’s designed to be very user-friendly, and to allow anyone to craft an immersive, high quality photosphere using nothing more than the panoramic image setting on their mobile device.

There isn’t even a camera app or plugin required, so anyone with a smartphone or tablet can snap away – then convert their panoramas to photospheres at a later stage. You don’t need to be a whizz with Photoshop or other image editing software – even complete beginners can jump right in.

Tutorial for creating 360 images

Our quick tutorial below shows how to shoot the perfect image for your virtual tours or field trips

Step 1: Choose your 360-degree view.

Step 2: Open the camera app on your device, and choose the panoramic photo setting.

Step 3: Follow the guidance on your device to take a fully panoramic photo. (All device camera settings are different so this may vary from one device to another.)

Step 4: Upload your jpeg image to Pano to 360 and Convert! Your photosphere is now ready to download or use in your ThingLink content!

FAQs

What sort of device do I need to use Pano to 360 by ThingLink?

Any device with a camera that has panoramic photo setting will do. All iphone/iOS/Apple and Android phones, ipads and other tablets all work equally well.

Is there any photo editing or image stitching required?

None at all! Pano to 360 does all the hard work for you, using AI to merge together the ends and top and bottom of the panoramic image to produce a fully spherical image.

What is the pricing for Pano to 360?

We made this tool completely free for everyone – even those who don’t have their own ThingLink account! We want everyone to be able to create immersive content without having to pay a premium for equipment or virtual tour software.

Can I use it to create 360-degree videos?

Not yet! However if you do have a 360 camera (see below), it’s possible to create interactive ThingLinks with 360 videos – this blog tells you more!

What else could I use my new 360 image for?

The list is endless! 360s are engaging for social media, informative for tourism, heritage, museums, galleries and real estate. Once you start creating 360 images, you won’t ever want to go back to just using flat photos!

Can I use my image in virtual reality?

Yes! Once you have uploaded the image to the ThingLink editor, be sure to toggle on the VR glasses icon in the Settings menu. Then, when sharing your ThingLink, choose “View in VR” from the share menu.

I’ve tried Pano to 360 and now I want to invest in a 360 camera. Which do you recommend for a beginner?

Two of the most popular manufacturers are Insta360 and Ricoh Theta. Both are user-friendly and budget-friendly, with their entry level models retailing at around $325 and $379 (prices correct at June 2024).

Further Reading

Here are some inspiring case studies where both teachers and students have created their own 360 images to create virtual tours, virtual field trips and more!

Schools in Hungary use ThingLink to create a Virtual Exhibition at Budapest Museum

How to Empower Students to Create Their Own Interactive 360 Content

Virtual field trips co-created with students at Salford University

Historic School Creates Their Own Virtual Tour with ThingLink and ClassVR