Verdict
The Insta360 X3 not only takes the competition to GoPro as an splendid unmarried - lens camera , but it also shines in 360 - mode for ethnic music who love to shoot VR - ready capacity . As an all - in - one equipment , the X3 is an substantive composition of kit for any vlogger .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
Insta360 is n’t soften on its crusade to dethrone GoPro just yet , releasing its third mainline action tv camera this twelvemonth with the Insta360 X3 .
And , no , that is n’t a literal error . drop the “ One ” from its all - in - one camera serial , Insta360 has work the heir to theInsta360 One X2into just the Insta360 X3 , which is probably for the best ; I ’m still pretty knife - tied after theInsta360 One RS 1 - column inch 360 Edition .
Jokes aside , the X3 stands as a more schematic action television camera against the modularInsta360 One r , and while the gap between the X and the One R serial has seemed minimum in the past , the X3 defend a real shift , delivering some serious acclivity that could make some One RS users green with enviousness .
Design
Aside from the obvious leap in screen size of it ( which we ’ll do to in a bit ) , the X3 looks strikingly similar to its predecessor . Just like the One X2 , the X3 uses a black / grey colour scheme that ’s more functional than fashionable , but the texturised material around the face offers a good amount of traction for handheld filming .
If you ’re an X2 user then you may have spotted that the X3 is just slightly thicker than the old camera , and a tad grave in the hand as a result . However , this does n’t diminish at all from how pocket-sized this equipment in reality is . After all , the X series has always been marketed as a more slimline action camera as oppose to the One R line , and that still remains true here .
However , the strong-arm inputs of the X3 have been redesign , so you may leap between various modes and presets more quickly . Instead of just the the power and record buttons of the X2 , the X3 now has a musical mode switch button that quickly cycles you through unmarried - lens of the eye outer / inner recordings and the 360 - mode , while a Q button on the side permit you jump into a listing of customisable presets .
I ’ll always choose strong-arm clit on cameras , so the upgrade here is much apprise , and it helped to avoid the sieve being flood with smudges in the way that touchscreens normally are .
As a minor bank note , Insta360 has also improved the cover of the USB - vitamin C port , so that it ’s more easily accessible . Speaking from experience , attempt to get into the charge port on the X2 was like break into Fort Knox . As such , it ’s great to see that exploiter feedback has been taken on board .
Screen and Performance
If there ’s one area in which Insta360 ’s tech has gravely fallen behind its rival , it ’s the exhibit . The One X2 was plague by a embrasure - yap showing that did n’t really attend to its design peculiarly well , and the straight display on the One roentgen is just a bit too belittled to be viewed well . The X3 tells a wholly different tale .
This clip around you have a with child 2.29 - inch vertical presentation that ’s just timid of the 2.3 - inch primary display notice on theGoPro Hero 10 , and it ’s a joy to use . The display itself is bright and easy to translate outdoors , and the size of it ensured that I never found myself squinting to trace up a nip right . This is exactly what ’s been missing from Insta360 ’s cameras , and it ’s enough to make me commend the X3 over the One radius if you ’re deciding between the two .
However , what ’s slightly odd is that the X3 does n’t have an auto - rotate feature in the same venous blood vessel as a forward-looking smartphone . So , if you want to turn the machine on its side and take a landscape shoot horizontally , you ’ll necessitate to change the aspect ratio to 9:16 before doing so . This means that the UI stays in place vertically , even though you ’re holding the X3 like a traditional tv camera . It ’s a slight faff ; but , fortuitously , the Insta360 app greet the footage as being shot in landscape , so there are no matter there . I just hope a fix is delivered some power point down the descent .
Speaking of the UI , that too has had a major face lift on the X3 to make use of the larger screen blank space . Menu icons are large and the on - photographic camera UI is comfortable to record , something that I could n’t really say about the One RS . It ’s speedy , too , with worldwide enjoyment reminding me of my experience of using the GoPro Hero 10 , which was in reception of a important stop number protuberance thanks to its GP2 CPU .
There is still a thin delay between what ’s materialise on the cover and what you ’re actually filming , so the GoPro still wins out in that regard , but the gap is certainly close between these two party .
Video and Image Quality
In the upgrades section , the X2 has taken a few cues from the One RS . For starters , instead of a massive resolution bump ( it ’s still 5.7 K 360 - filming and 4 K single - lens seizure ) Insta360 has added a large 1/2 - in sensor to the X3 – whose ability to lease in more low-cal , should in hypothesis appropriate for more vibrant and eye - catch shots than before .
as luck would have it , that promise mob true in tangible - humans use , with the X3 doing a tremendous job when I took it for a spin around London ’s South Bank . Granted , it did melt into a spot of trouble with cloudy sky , sometimes present them as a morsel pontifical ; but , otherwise it was able to conquer telling amount of money of colour from nearby buildings and landmarks .
antecedently , the One X2 work better as a 360 tv camera . However , Insta360 has made more of an sweat this time to bolster the individual - lens capabilities of the X3 , to the one point where it feels like an all important prick for any vlogger .
you may jump between standard capture at up to 4 chiliad 30fps , relieve picture taking and Loop Recording , which reserve the X3 to operate much like a dash cam . There ’s even a new feature called Me Mode , which sees the user place the X3 in front of them at a distance , and the twist will merge the epitome from both cameras together to give the printing that you ’re being followed around by your own personal camera bunch .
So long as you ’re courteous and do n’t go using Me Mode in a crowd , you’re able to get some incredible shots from it – I was able to make the touch of a drone on the TR rooftop , extending the camera over the construction ’s edge to get a truly cinematic feel . There were no sign of stitching , either , which might give away the illusion .
The 1/2 - inch sensor has also given allay picture taking a shot in the arm , with the X3 now capable of shoot 72 - megapixel 360 - photos – outperform the 21 - megapixel cap on the pricier One RS 1 - inch 360 Edition . The characterization I ’ve taken in this musical mode look fantastic , offering stack of particular so long as you do n’t zoom in too far . fortuitously , the X3 does n’t lose from the displume issues seen with the 360 Edition , so I can safely say that the X3 will be my go - to when it comes to 360 - picture taking .
From what I can narrate , the four mics from the One X2 remain unchanged on the X3 , but there ’s the addition of Stereo sound transcription on top of the Wind Reduction and Stereo Focus modes . The audio quality is n’t gamey enough to do aside with a motivation for an extraneous mic , but it still gets the job done – and Wind Reduction , in peculiar , has performed quite commendable in picking up my voice during one of London ’s more blustering day .
Stabilisation and Battery Life
In the space of just a few calendar month , I ’ve found myself becoming progressively move by Insta360 ’s FlowState Stabilisation software . On the One RS , the tech performed admirably but failed to live up to the high standards set by GoPro ’s HyperSmooth alternative . However , when returning to it for the 360 Edition , I find FlowState to perform better than ever – and it ’s a similar floor now with the X3 .
I ’m convinced that either one of two things has happened : either Insta360 has been restfully potter off at FlowState in the background ; or the troupe ’s hardware has just become better at using the technical school with each new release . In both 360 and single - lens cinematography , the X3 did an outstanding line of keeping everything stable and dispelling any sensation of wobble from my footage .
And FlowState was easy at its undecomposed when shooting HyperLapse segments , make an excellent , fast - paced journeying throughout south London that was gentle to follow for the watcher . This is the closest that Insta360 ’s ever amount to matching GoPro ’s stabilisation capabilities .
With all of the updated internals , the X3 has been commit a tenuous boost in battery capacity to keep up . There ’s now a 1800mAh building block included , trumping the 1630mAh battery packaged with the One X2 .
Insta360 claims that you could get about 81 min on a full charge filming at 5.7 K 360 , which I found to be exact in my own tests – although I will say that just like the other Insta360 cameras before it , the X3 can be prone to overheating if you shoot a continuous snapshot for too long , so that ’s worth bearing in mind when you take it for a whirl .
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Should you buy it?
The X3 is the closest that Insta360 has come to ping GoPro from its perch . It may not beat the Hero 10 for traditional single - lens filming , but it ’s no slouch , either . Factor in gamey - quality 360 - transcription and a bunch of unique mode that can recreate some tremendous drone - style shots , and it ’s hard to argue with what ’s on offer .
The only instance in which I ’d urge the GoPro Hero 10 over the X3 is for single - lens cinematography , so if 360 content does n’t have your stake , then it ’s upright to move along .
Final Thoughts
As the third activeness tv camera that Insta360 has released this year ( if you consider the 1 - inch 360 edition ) , the Insta360 X3 rekindles that former saw that the third sentence ’s a magical spell . I ’ve been altogether blow by by the X3 , and as an all - in - one gadget that let users stick out between high - quality 360 - stage and single - lens filming in an instant , it succeeds on almost every spirit level .
The unexampled display makes the camera far easier to use than theInsta360 One X2 , and even the more recentInsta360 One RS – so much so that I ’d urge the X3 over the r for most users . At present , GoPro still rules the roost in term of single - lens filming and audio lineament , but the gap has been cut so much elsewhere that it last feels like GoPro has a true contender to its mainline cameras .
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FAQs
The Insta360 X3 comes with a default assault and battery of 1800mAh .
The Insta360 X3 form with both iPhones and Android handset .
Yes , the Insta360 X3 can be used as webcam over a pumped-up association to your laptop or personal computer .
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