Why 360 Camera Footage Looks Worse Underwater — and 5 Ways to Improve It
360-degree cameras are one of the best imaging tools to capture what you experienced during a dive. But if you’ve been using one, you may have been disappointed by the level of detail in your underwater footage — often a far cry from the sample videos shot topside with the same cameras.
In this second article on 360 cameras, I’ll explain why their image quality degrades underwater, and then discuss a few practical ways to improve it so you can capture more engaging, higher-quality footage with your 360 camera.If you’re new to these types of cameras, you may want to start with the previous article: Why use a 360 camera underwater?
Why Image Quality drops underwater?
This comes down to two main factors: ambient light and optics.
Water absorbs light. The deeper you dive, the less ambient light is available for your camera. This becomes even more noticeable when sunlight is weak (on cloudy days or near sunrise/sunset) or when visibility drops and diffuses sunlight more than usual. With any video camera that has a fixed aperture lens (such as 360 cameras), you compensate for lower ambient light by increasing ISO (digitally amplifying the signal captured by the sensor). Unfortunately, the higher the ISO, the more image noise you introduce, which reduces the amount of details captured in the footage. This degradation of image quality is particularly visible on cameras with small sensors — such as smartphones, action cameras, some compact cameras, and… 360 cameras. For instance, the Insta360 X4 uses two 1/1.8” sensors, while the newer X5 uses a larger 1/1.28” sensors — which are still much smaller than the APS-C or full-frame sensors found in most DSLR and mirrorless cameras.
The second — and perhaps most significant — factor affecting underwater image quality is the housing, and more specifically its dome-shaped optics.
When light passes from water outside the housing to the air inside, it changes direction. This physical phenomenon is known as refraction. Refraction introduces optical defects which can be addressed with adequate dome port design. However, this tends to require more expensive, larger optics.
By using sensors more than twice the surface area of the X4’s, I found the X5’s underwater footage to be noticeably better, but still a far cry from what it can deliver on the surface. I came to that conclusion when using Insta360’s Invisible Dive Case for the X5, whose design clearly favoured compactness and affordability over delivering optimal image quality.
A few things to look for (ignore bubbles/particles—focus on sharpness above vs below the waterline):
0:06–0:07 – Notice how much sharper my mask and hood become the moment the camera breaks the surface.
0:28–0:54 – The vertical stitch line topside is normal here—I’m still in underwater stitching mode. It switches to above-water mode at 0:54.
1:09 – Topside detail is excellent: you can clearly see the fabric pattern on my drysuit, sharp text on the rebreather tanks, and crisp rocks and trees in the background. Underwater… not quite the same.
How to improve the image quality of your 360 videos underwater?
Here are five practical ways to work around the lower light levels and optical limitations of underwater 360 filming.
1. Shoot Close to the Surface
There’s a reason why many of the best-looking underwater 360 videos are filmed close to the surface, often within snorkelling depths.
This is where the most sunlight reaches your camera sensors, helping keep digital noise under control and preserving detail.
2. Use Your 360 Camera on Bright, Sunny Days
If image quality matters to you, try to film your 360 footage on sunny days with good visibility.
With everything else being equal, brighter sunlight and clearer water will produce noticeably sharper images and richer colours.
Personally, I usually skip bringing it along on dives with poor visibility or heavy cloud cover. Full disclosure: I always carry an underwater camera and strobes anyways, which can create excellent images in all sorts of conditions, but this is a much wider topic (learn more in our Underwater Photography equipment course).
3. Place Your Camera Between the Sun and Your Subject
Since sunlight is your main source of illumination, try positioning yourself so your camera sits between the sun and your subject.
As a rule of thumb, avoid placing your 360 camera below the subject, where it will be mostly in shadow. While this angle can sometimes produce dramatic shots, it usually results in darker footage with more noise and less detail.
4. “Zoom Out” When Reframing Your Footage
One of the biggest advantages of 360 cameras is the ability to capture everything around you first, and decide the framing later. However, the more you zoom into the image when reframing your footage, the fewer pixels you have available.
If you’re exporting footage for social media reels, the final video is typically only 1080p. That means you can actually improve perceived image quality by downsizing from the original 5.7K or 8K footage.
But if you zoom in too much during reframing (whether in Insta360 Studio or the mobile app), you quickly approach that 1080p resolution — and you lose the benefit of those extra megapixels.
5. Use a Housing With Better Optics
Fortunately, a few months after launching the X5 and its Invisible Dive Case, Insta360 introduced a second housing called the Invisible Dive Case Pro.
This version is certainly larger, but the bigger dome ports produce noticeably better-looking footage — even in less-than-ideal lighting conditions.
As a professional, I initially felt the X4’s footage was just sufficient for social media reels, while the X5 brought only modest improvements in lower light.
However, once I started using the same X5 with the larger Dive Case Pro, I began to see potential for a broader range of uses — which I’ll discuss in a forthcoming article.
More recently, in early 2026, Nauticam announced its own metal housing for the X5.
Besides offering a deeper depth rating (100 m / 330 ft), each dome port uses three optical elements designed not only to manage refraction but also to enhance image quality, accounting for the presence of water, within the optical design.
Nauticam is well known for developing sophisticated water-contact optics for professional camera systems, and I’m looking forward to testing their X5 housing to see how it compares with Insta360’s Dive Case Pro.
Conclusion
If your underwater 360 footage has looked grainy or lacking in detail, you now know the main reasons why — and five practical ways to improve your results.
In the next article in this series, I’ll share my favourite way to take advantage of the unique perspective that 360 cameras offer underwater — and how they can help you capture and share dive experiences in a completely different way.
About the reviewer
Nicolas Remy is an Australia-based pro shooter and founder of online underwater photography school and community, The Underwater Club, with members in 26 countries. He serves as an ambassador for Mares and Nauticam, and chairs the jury of the prestigious DPG Masters photo competition. Nicolas’ images have been widely published in print and digital media, and have won over 40 international photo awards. To see more of Nicolas’ work or browse his upcoming workshops, visit: www.nicolaslenaremy.com.
Affiliate disclosure
Some links in this article are affiliate links. If you choose to purchase Insta360 products after clicking them, The Underwater Club may earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you, which helps us produce in-depth content like this.
If you’d like, you can also use our affiliate code INR0W9E at checkout. In some cases, this may earn you a free accessories as part of Insta360 promotions.
Comments