Start with the original, not the uploaded scene
A flat equirectangular panorama commonly looks stretched at the top and bottom. That appearance in an ordinary image editor is expected: the file is a map that wraps around a sphere. Judge room geometry inside a spherical viewer, not from the stretched flat representation alone.
- Open the camera original Inspect the room in the camera app or a spherical photo viewer. Look at doorframes, furniture edges, and fine detail at a normal viewing angle.
- Inspect the exported file Check its pixel dimensions and open it in a 360 viewer. Confirm it is the full spherical still photo rather than a screenshot or reframed crop.
- Compare the published scene Open the same room in Houses360, use a similar field of view, and compare on the same screen.
- Change one thing at a time If the original is already blurred, recapture. If only the export is poor, change the export. If only the published view differs, inspect upload and processing before retaking the property.
Match the symptom to the likely cause
| What you see | Check first | What to try |
|---|---|---|
| The whole room looks soft | Original sharpness, lens cleanliness, and camera movement. | Clean lenses, stabilize the support, use a timer, and retake a test image. |
| Grain in dark areas | Room lighting and exposure settings. | Improve available light; use the camera's supported still-photo or HDR settings on a stable support. |
| Doubled edges at one seam | Nearby objects or movement between stitched views. | Move away from close furniture and keep the scene still; review camera-specific stitching settings. |
| The scene is warped or incomplete | Whether the export is a full spherical panorama. | Re-export the full 360 still image; do not upload a cropped view or Tiny Planet image as a panorama. |
| Original sharp, export soft | Export resolution and compression. | Use the full-resolution still-photo export and avoid sending it through a compressing messenger. |
| Only extreme zoom is blurry | How much of the panorama is being enlarged. | Compare at a normal field of view; a spherical image's pixels cover all directions, not just the visible window. |
| Photo looks tilted | Leveling or horizon correction in the camera workflow. | Level the support and check model-specific horizon correction before export. |
Fix capture problems at the property
Make a test image before shooting the entire house. Use a stable tripod or monopod, clean both lenses, let the camera settle, and step out of view. Look for small moving objects, people, or swinging doors that can appear differently in the views being combined.
Bright windows and dark interiors can exceed what one exposure shows clearly. If your camera supports a room or HDR mode, test it and review the result. RICOH describes an HDR Room preset for the THETA SC2 for Business and recommends a fixed support for that mode. Presets and controls vary by model; do not assume another camera has the same settings.
Reduce stitching and perspective problems
Very close furniture can dominate a room and make perspective confusing. RICOH explains that THETA's fisheye lenses exaggerate the appearance of nearby subjects and make distant subjects smaller. For a property tour, choose a position that gives useful space around the camera and lets the viewer understand the room.
If a chair leg or doorframe breaks at a stitch seam, try a second camera position before assuming the whole image is unusable. Keep important close objects away from the seam where possible and use the manufacturer's stitching workflow. A better capture position usually gives a cleaner source than trying to hide the problem later.
Keep a true 360 export all the way to upload
A common full spherical equirectangular file has a 2:1 width-to-height ratio, for example 6000 by 3000 pixels. The ratio is a useful check, not proof: stretching a regular photo to 2:1 does not create the missing views. Open the export in a spherical viewer to confirm that you can look around the whole room.
Insta360's ONE X2 Studio documentation distinguishes a direct JPG export of a 360 photo from a snapshot of a non-360 view such as Tiny Planet. Use the full 360 still export. On other models or app versions, follow the corresponding manual and verify the output instead of relying on a button name from a different product.
Transfer the file directly from the camera workflow to phone or computer storage. Avoid screenshots, social downloads, and repeated recompression. Keep the original and name the new export clearly so you can tell which file was uploaded.
When to replace the scene or ask for help
Replace a scene when the original is irrecoverably blurred, an essential doorway is badly stitched, or the shot hides important room context. Recheck any hotspots and floor plan connections after replacing it, then preview the published route.
If a sharp full-sphere export looks wrong only after processing, contact support with the camera model, app version, exported pixel dimensions, file format, and affected tour or scene. Describe what differs between the local spherical preview and public view. Do not send private property material through a public comment thread.
Common questions
Turn your 360 photos into a shareable property link.
Use Houses360 to upload scenes, organize rooms, preview the tour, and share it when the listing is ready.