Insta360 and PADI have teamed up to launch a formal training programme that teaches scuba divers how to shoot, edit and share 360-degree underwater video. The Insta360 X-Series Diver PADI Distinctive Specialty Course was unveiled at the DEMA Show, the diving industry's big annual trade event, held 3-6 November at the Ernest N Morial Convention Center in New Orleans.
The idea is simple: 360 cameras change how you film underwater. Instead of pointing a lens and hoping the reef life swims into frame, a camera like the new Insta360 X6 records everything around you in one go. You concentrate on the dive, then pick your angles afterwards on a phone or laptop. The course formalises that workflow within PADI's certification system, so it becomes a recognised specialty rather than an ad-hoc YouTube tutorial.
The curriculum runs through four stages. Prepare covers camera functions, settings, dive housings and pre-dive equipment checks. Capture deals with safe underwater handling, 360 filming techniques and adapting to different lighting. Create teaches reframing, colour correction, subject tracking and editing in Insta360's software. Share walks students through turning raw footage into a finished short film. Training combines classroom knowledge development, open-water dives and post-production exercises, and graduates earn the official Insta360 X-Series Diver PADI Specialty certification.
Instructors who want to teach it will first need their own specialised training in camera setup, safe handling and editing workflows, and the course will roll out through PADI Dive Centers and Resorts worldwide once approved.
Alongside the announcement, Insta360 is showing off its X6 Dive Bundle, built around 8K 360 capture at 50fps and the new Invisible Dive Case Pro, rated to 60m and designed to fix the stitching problems that refraction causes underwater. Paired with the Invisible Selfie Stick, the setup deletes the pole from the frame, producing those floating third-person shots that look like a videographer is swimming alongside you. AI tools in the app handle tracking and reframing.
There were show-only prices too, including the X6 Dive Case Pro at $179.99, the previous-gen X5 at $469.99, and a Dive Buddy accessory at $40.99, all at booth #2437.
For anyone booking dive holidays, this is worth watching. A certification route means you could soon learn underwater video properly on a liveaboard or at a dive resort, rather than guessing your way through settings on a one-off trip. It also signals that 360 capture is becoming mainstream in the dive world, which should mean more rental options and more instructors who actually know the gear. Existing PADI divers can simply add the specialty to their logbook the way they would nitrox or deep diving.
