The Best 360 Cameras for 2025
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As the name implies, a 360-degree camera captures the entire world around it. They were a hot ticket item for a short time, with dozens of models available, including add-ons for trendy smartphones.
The height of the 360-degree phase has passed, but there are still quality options on the market. The use case has shifted, too—in the early days it was all about delivering spherical video for viewing on VR headsets , which have since found a niche for gaming, not media consumption.
Today, creators reach to 360-degree video cameras to gets shots they can't get with a single-lens model. Software pulls out, warps, and reframes dual-lens footage so it can cut right in with 16:9 footage.
Most action cameras use just one lens to record video, but 360-degree cameras use a matched pair to capture literally everything around them. These types of recordings can give viewers a sense of space when they view it in a VR headset , while creators can crop, zoom, and pan through footage in the editing room to get shots and camera moves that simply aren't possible with a regular video camera. We've been reviewing 360-degree cameras at PCMag since the first models hit stores in 2016 and find that the Insta360 X5 is the best option for creators and vloggers, while specialty models from Ricoh and Matterport make more sense for real estate photography and other commercial applications.
