Image specifications

Cameras & software

Kuula supports panoramas created using:

Any 360 camera
DSLRs, stitched in software such as PtGUI or Hugin
Drone (ex. DJI)
Rendered created using 3D and architectural software

As long as the output image is in the correct format, as detailed below, you can upload it to Kuula and it will be supported.

On top of that, you can also upload regular (non-360) images.

Formats & sizes

Kuula supports full, partial & stereo/3D spherical panoramas as well as regular, flat images.

When you upload an image to Kuula, the system will recognize what type it is based on the EXIF and XMP meta data found in the file. Photos shot with popular 360 cameras, like Ricoh Theta, Insta360, GoPRO Max and others all contain this information. Aerial panoramic shots made with drones typically have it as well. Most 360 renders do not.

If the image doesn't have spherical meda data, the following rules apply:

width over 3840px & aspect ratio 2:1 → full panorama
width over 3840px & aspect ratio larger than 2 → partial panorama
width over 3840px & aspect ratio 1:1 → stereo/3D panorama

Any image that doesn't meet the above criteria is considered to be a regular (flat) image.

Panoramic image specifications

Before you upload a panoramic image, please make sure it has the right size and file format. For best results, here are the requirements:

Equirectangular projection
360° wide
JPG, PNG, WEBP, static GIF, SVG, BMP
Max dimensions 16384 x 8192 px

Maximum supported image dimensions are 16384 x 8192 pixels (16K). Please note that on some older PCs or mobile devices the maximum supported dimensions can be smaller.

Kuula supports the JPG and PNG files. There is no limit on the file size (in KB). The file can be as large as you want.

For reference here's what a typical equirectangular projection 360x180 panorama looks like when viewed as a flat image:

Image resolution in popular 360 cameras

Below is a list of popular camera models along with the resolution of images they produce, from highest to lowest. You can use this list to check if the images you are uploading to Kuula are at a full resolution, otherwise the quality of the images will be degraded.

Ricoh Theta X 11008 x 5504
Labpano Pilot One 8192 x 4096
Trisio Lite 2 8000 x 4000
Insta360 ONE Pro2 7680 x 3840
Mi Sphere 6912 x 3456
Ricoh Theta Z1 6720 x 3360
Insta360 ONE R Twin Edition 6080 x 3040
Insta360 ONE X 6080 x 3040
GoPro MAX 6000 x 3000
Ricoh Theta V 5376 x 2688
Ricoh Theta SC 5376 x 2688

Fisheye format and INSP files

Dual fisheye format and INSP files (internal format used in Insta360 cameras) are not supported and need to be converted to JPGs before upload.

For more information about converting fisheye images from popular 360 cameras, see this article.

If you have an Insta360 camera and come across photos in INSP format, see this blog post.

Compression and upload quality

Kuula encodes all uploaded images as JPGs regardless of the original format. The images are encoded in several different sizes, optimized for different types of devices, such as desktop or mobile.

On desktop computers and laptops, Kuula uses the full size image or 8192 x 4096 pixels, whichever is smallest. On mobile devices, 4096 x 2048 pixel images are used.

Setting the default compression level

You can choose between 3 levels of compression for all new uploads in the Preferences section:

Fast load applies more JPG compression resulting in smaller files and faster load times. This setting is recommended, if you expect your audience to be on a slow network. We also recommend this setting to everyone using a realtively low resolution 360 camera.
Balanced is the default and recommended setting. It balances the amount of compression and quality for optimal user experience.
High quality pro applies very little compression but the resulting load times can be longer. We recommend this setting for 360 renders, especially those that have elements such as large smooth gradients or flat color areas. We also recommend it, if your 360 render or panoramic photo contains a lot of text, especially in small font or using thin typeface. Any time the Balanced option results in artifacts or color banding effect, try this setting instead.

Changing this settings does not modify existing posts. It is applied to new uploads only. If you wish to change the compression level of an existing post, please change the preference settings first and use the replace the photo in the post.