Insta360 X3
This, is the most versatile camera that I’ve ever used, the Insta360 X3 360° action camera. It doesn’t mean that it’s for everyone, but I believe that when you’ve experienced it, you will definitely find your own fun in it. The greatest trick of this powerful action camera is the dual high-resolution cameras back to back. With these two lenses, users can have great possibilities to shoot all kinds of creative clips that the other cameras can’t do. I even doubt that the brand developed this product in a way that is able to fully predict how users would use it to create content.
Design
So let’s check out how it works. The two lenses each feature a half-inch SONY IMX586 sensor, which used to be popular on camera phones. Now the dual-lens setup brings a new life to the classic sensor.
They are each recording an extremely wide-angle video that stretches way back, actually with views of beyond 180 degrees. Then the algorithm combines the two feeds shot on them into an almost perfect shooting of 360 degrees, though there’s a bit of overlap at the seams. What makes it really amazing is that the camera knows where the mounting point is and what their mounting equipment like selfie sticks looks like, so it can remove that out of the video. So even mounted with a selfie stick, the Insta360 X3 feels like a viewpoint hovering in the air. You don’t need to worry about the shooting angle, as it does create a real-time spherical capture. And you will decide the camera angle and movement including panning, tilting, zooming, and rolling in post-editing.
In a very hurried shot, you just need to decide where it should be in the air. It can be placed or mounted in a fixed position, follow any object in motion with a mounting accessory, or even complete the traversal of the lens movement with a 33-foot-long selfie stick like a drone.
Compared to its predecessors, the very important upgrade is the 2.29-inch touchscreen, by far the largest of any insta360 camera allowing the user to easily control the camera settings. On the side of the camera, there’re doors holding the upgraded 1800mAh battery, microSD card slot, and USB port. Since there’s no built-in storage, it doesn’t support in-camera recording. As you can see, one detail that may be inconvenient is that you must first take out the battery before you install or remove the storage card. Or there’s a USB-C storage dock available, with which you can have off-camera recording, but also convenient to take it down and plug it directly into the phone for editing.
Capture
The Insta360 X3 has up to 5.7K resolution for 360° video shooting, allowing users to capture stunningly detailed images with vibrant colors. In addition to the Vivid and standard color modes, it also supports log colors. But here I still recommend using Vivid or standard colors to create content, as it looks really great in daylight and is much easier for post-coloring. A surprise I found from the clips is the decent dynamic range, which does offer a pretty natural brightness transition. By the way, in certain modes like time-lapse, the X3 can shoot at 8K resolution.
The cameras feature FlowState stabilization technology which helps reduce shake and blur in videos without sacrificing image quality or field of view (FOV). Additionally, both cameras also feature Horizon Lock mode which keeps your horizon level even if you move around during filming.
Actually, it’s pretty easy to shoot the whole spherical footage. Whether you can turn the footage into stunning creations depends on your spatial imagination and skills in using the software of Insta360 studio.
Software on Phones & PCs
The most convenient way to edit those spherical videos is using the phone app, where you can easily find a bunch of effects and shot patterns to follow, such as different sports or vlog patterns, sky swap, time-lapse, bullet time and so on. To post anything different on social media, it’s perfect and the render time is also surprisingly good, which is even faster than any video-editing tools I’ve ever used.
If you are a professional content creator who wants to edit the clips in detail with the best image quality and the best additional stabilization effects, the Insta360 Studio for PC will be a better and more powerful tool. There’re more options for desktops to upload to social media at higher resolutions than via phones. What’s even more convenient is that you can transfer the shots to Adobe Premiere Pro with the plug-in and edit in the adobe software.
Wide Accessories for Insta360 X3
The Insta360 X3 has great accessories that help secure mounting, such as tripods, standard selfie stick, extremely long selfie stick to shoot drone views, and all kinds of mounts. Unlike some action cameras requiring a waterproof case, the X3’s body is already waterproof to 10 meters without attaching a diving case. But if you still want more secure protection underwater, they also have optional waterproof housings for underwater use.
Verdict
In the actual shooting experience, the brand-new versatile camera is revolutionary. Especially when working with insta360’s software, no matter the phone app or the studio PC app, from the simplest to the most complicated work, it really feels sick. It’s so clever to present such a complex job to everyone’s phone. Once you export any video that’s edited under its guidance, you’ll probably be amazed at such a new perspective. It will even become a motivational tool to encourage you to try new sports with shots from different angles, and locations that most humans have never seen before.
We had never rated a product as an essential tool for shooting vlogs. But the X3 is, and at least for now, there is no 360° camera that works better than the Insta360 X3. So that’s almost all about the revolutionary camera.
