A mummy blogger’s Insta360 One review and tech guide

I could not be happier with my 360 camera. It’s easy to use and takes amazing images and videos, which is why I’ve written this insta360 One review.

Getting a 360 camera had been on my radar for a while. I work in Social Media and have been loving some of the 360 content that brands have been creating, plus my other half is a gadget guro. So it was with much excitement when on my birthday in July he surprised me with the Insta360 One. I knew it would be good, OH used to sell cameras, he knows his stuff and he does his research – but I was surprised just how good it is!

We got to try it out straight away as we were off to Legoland for a birthday outing – isn’t it funny that when you become a mum you somehow end up spending your birthday doing things for the kids – a relaxing day at the spa seems a distant memory!

For Fun

Legoland is over an hour’s drive away so I managed to get the camera charged in the car using the micro USB as well as experiment whilst we were stuck on the M25 – don’t worry I was a passenger not the driver! Once we were in Legoland, that’s where the real fun began. After all, there’s not many places more fun than Legoland! We headed for Miniland where we took both 360 photos and videos and with the miniature iconic landmarks from all over the world, it was the perfect setting. The camera was easy to set up and very user friendly.

For Work

It’s also absolutely fantastic accessory for me to use for work as well. I took it with me to the launch of Big Little Tent Festival, blog post here, and managed to get some 360 content of both photos and videos. It will also be ideal to take with me on visits across the UK to showcase some of our amazing locations on social media channels and Google. I took the below 360 photo at a work event. I was in a tent pitched on the kia oval cricket grounds for the launch of Big Little Tent Festival. Having the 360 image really captures the moment.

For my blog

I also know I’m going to love using the camera in my blog posts. One of the reasons why I wanted to write a blog was because I want to capture the memories and what better way than with 360 imagery? You can quite literally see the whole picture.

Useful Information

Key Features

• • Use as a stand alone camera – you don’t have to attach to your phone

• • Chargeable battery

• • Uses microSD cards for storage (so make sure you buy an adaptor). It comes with an 8GB micro-card already installed.

• • Amazing for social sharing as this can be done straight from your phone, ideal for bloggers!

• • The plastic sleeve can also double up as a stand for the camera.

• So easy to use, even I was able to work it out!
• Download the free app Insta360 One to use – user friendly app plus handy tutorials for special effects.
• Firmware is updated regularly for new features and improvements to image quality. It is very well supported by the manufacturer.

Why I love this camera

Mostly because of all the cool things you can do with it. For example, there’s the invisible selfie stick. If you attach it to a selfie stick you can use the camera via bluetooth from your phone. The stick disappears from your shot meaning you avoid ‘big hand syndrome’ and are also able to get fantastic aerial shots without using a drone.   Also did I mention the awesome bullet-time footage you can create? The Insta360 One comes with a fishing line accessory that attaches to the camera so you can swing the camera around the action, capturing amazing footage.

Things to be aware of:

The app insta360 one has been designed for apple devices. You can use it with android via the app and selfie stick but you can’t currently plug directly into an android phone.

The lightening port where you connect the camera to the iPhone is on the bottom of the phone so you have to flip your phone to use. I found this a little strange at first but actually it’s not a problem. Plus as already mentioned in key features, you can also use the camera as a stand-alone.

Where to buy

The Insta360 One is available on Amazon

(this is a newer version of Insta360 I reviewed)

How to use on WordPress

There are a number of plugins you can use and experiment with. The one I currently use is DImage 360

If you want to include a 360 photo or video with DImage 360 all you need to do is:

1: Add and activate the DImage 360 plugin

2: Upload the photo or video to your media library

3: Get the image ID number (to get this you need to go to the media library, select the uploaded 360 image and use the url to get the id). Please note, this is the url in your address bar, not the permalink url. It follows the text in the url ‘post=’.1708

4: Use the code in the graphic below, changing the image ID number to your image’s ID number.

5: Paste the code into your text html where you want the 360 photo or video to display.

Tada… all done in 5 easy steps and great visual content for your blog. 

Would I recommend the Insta360 One to fellow bloggers?

Yes, definitely! Even if you ‘re not a blogger I would still recommend it. It’s easy to use, easy to share content (You can add the 360 content straight to your Facebook feed) and it really does capture every aspect of the moment in a way that normal photos and videos don’t.

I would love to hear from you if you currently use 360 photography and how you use it. I also hope this insta360 One review has been helpful and if you’re planning on creating 360 content please leave a comment below.

* Affiliated links have been used in this Insta360 One review which if you were to click through on and purchase would earn me a small commission. Any money I earn from this is to help support the blog so I would be very grateful for any click throughs but please feel free to go directly to the store if you prefer.