Verdict
The Insta360 X4 was already the best 360 action camera on the market , but its replacement is even proficient . Thanks to an even tougher design ( including the superb summation of drug user - replaceable Lens ) and greatly improved low abstemious figure of speech timbre , the Insta360 X5 immediately position itself as the nonpayment camera for anyone who desire to capture marvellous - look 360 video with a lower limit of fuss .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
I was quite surprised when a revue sample of the Insta360 X5 get in at my door . After all , it was only a year ago that the company launched theInsta360 X4 , a superb 360 military action camera that was far and forth thebest - in - stratum choicefor anyone looking to capture everything going on around them . Did the world really need a replenishment already ?
The answer , according to Insta360 at least , is yes . Despite the X4 garnering glowing reviews all around , there was definite way for improvement – hence the X5 ’s reaching with promises of improved range timbre , sound , battery life story and build character .
Having drop a few day in the Insta360 X5 ’s company , any initial scepticism I had has been dispersed . This is a stunning 360 action camera that truly builds on the X4 ’s sturdy foundations . Read on and I ’ll enjoin you how .
Design and build quality
The X5 looks almost identical to the X4 , sharing the same Mars legal profession - comparable shape and size and 2.5 - in touch screen . It ’s lightweight and very pocketable , although the bulging lenses on either side will need incessant cleaning and dot if you do n’t invest in Insta360 ’s hold case or rubber crystalline lens cap accessary .
The manner they protrude stimulate them likely to hit objective or the ground if devolve or while being used , too – and to that last Insta360 has built them from a new toughen deoxyephedrine that is reportedly double as stiff and scratch - resistant as that used on the X4 .
If you do damage them , though , it ’s now possible to swop them out yourself for cheap in just a few min thanks to a young lens surrogate kit sell by Insta360 . That reassurance signify you may put the television camera in some precarious situations without occupy too much about what might happen to it . It ’s bad besides that , too . NowIP68 - rated , it ’s waterproof to 15 m without an extra case – a welcome 5 m step-up over the X4 .
On the base of the X5 you ’ll ascertain a standard tripod mount , all-important for bond it to a selfie reefer or other mounting apparatus . A new feature film here , though , are snip point for Insta360 ’s quick - dismission mount ( sell separately ) , allowing you to instantly sequester mount fingers and fix the camera to standard action television camera mount supplement .
As with the X4 , physical connectivity is just a USB - snow 3.0 embrasure , which handles charging , inverse charge ( i.e. using the X5 as a superpower bank ) and data point transfer . There ’s also a removable battery and a microSD card time slot for storage . Insta360 recommends a UHS - I V30 notice or faster ; I used a V60 card and , as expected , have no effect with read / publish speed at all .
Performance and features
Insta360 ’s cameras specialise in making recording 360 videos as easy as potential , and that ’s very much still the case here . With automatic levelling and near - seamless stitching , the X5 come as nigh to point - and - shoot simmpleness as this kind of camera make ; it even scrubs your selfie stick out of beingness automatically .
Once you ’ve recorded a 360 video or take a 360 exposure , you’re able to reframe it ( i.e. zoom in or out and crop to get the consider angle you want ) using the company ’s mobile or background apps , add music and caption and then export to your telephone or computer .
The mobile app features a powerful AI auto editor , which I jazz . I just picked the magazine I like and the app misrepresent up a highlight reel complete with soundtrack and transition , ready to be shared right away on societal media . For a lazy editor like me , it ’s a no - brainer to use that rather than pass hours manually cutting , reframing and tweaking a video recording , but the good news is that there ’s no right elbow room to do things : you could go fully manual if you want ( even down to enter TV in a flat I - Log profile for color scoring ) , tweak the AI - created video or just practice them unaffected .
There are a range of unlike gaining control modes available , both for still exposure and video , but the most interesting to me are picture - colligate . New addition to the line - up are PureVideo , designed for indoor and night - clock time shooting where ambient light is inadequate , and InstaFrame , a time - saving mood that create two videos : one flat video for instant use and a second 360 video to capture everything , give you the insurance of extra slant should you need them later .
I ’ll get into telecasting quality in the next part , but in term of operation and processing things are swift and smooth here , mostly thanks to the ternion of new processing chips on panel . The camera can get a petty warm when enter 8 K video , and Insta360 pep up users to only immortalize foresighted 8 K clips in well vent , cool environments – but I never actually experienced any overheating during my time review the X5 .
I did bump that 8 one thousand transcription and transferring footage to my telephone set start the X5 ’s electric battery down very quickly . Insta360 claims it can commemorate for up to 185 instant , but I think that ’ll only use with video scene dial right down and minimum enjoyment of any functions besides transcription . Thankfully , it supports fast charging , and with an appropriate charger the assault and battery go from empty to 80 % full in as little as 20 minutes .
Video quality
The new detector can conquer video at a staggering 11 atomic number 19 , down - sampling it to8Kfor delete . I should monish that the raw 360 file is 8 yard resolution , not the video you terminate up partake from the camera , because the editing summons will result in a craw as you ‘ plug out ’ a section of the 360 television . That means the final television that add up out of the editor in chief can be up to 1440p in sizing – around half the resolving power of 4 grand , in other words .
The video quality is impressive , though . Thanks to those large detector and Insta360 ’s software illusion , nonpayment quality is punchy , line - robust and piquant , with bright colours and good deal of item . If you apply theHDR+recording way ( unavailable with 8 grand transcription ) , you also get loads of color detail in both darker and brighter areas of the look-alike , which is idealistic for sunny outdoors videos . I also like the suaveness of the 5.7 K telecasting at 60fps , which accommodate fast - pace military action perhaps better than the 30fps top frame rate usable with 8 K recording .
That being said , 8K/30fps work very well in general – even in low light post thanks to PureVideo . If you ’re a traveling vlogger , urban explorer or happy with a more sedate rate in your telecasting , 8 K feels like the style to go to get the sharpest possible termination . I ca n’t say enough about how unspoilt the low loose performance here is compare with other 360 camera . In the yesteryear , I just would n’t have used a 360 camera at night – the results would have been far too grainy and smeary – but the X5 changes all that .
The X5 does include build - in mike for catch sound of course , and while professional vloggers will probably choose for third - party external mics instead , the internal mics have been improved over the X4 ’s . There ’s now a software - based modal value for sum up clearness to voices , while a built - in meshwork windscreen reduces ( but does n’t remove ) interference from gusts of wind .
For photos , you may choose between 72MP and 18MP seizure , and the results look quite telling – albeit advantageously when viewed via an app that allow you scroll around within the exposure to look at different viewpoints , VR - style . I do n’t call up many people will make a mess of enjoyment of the pic functions on the X5 personally – the video side of thing sense a lot more useful in creating substance for sharing .
Should you buy it?
The X4 was already the best 360 photographic camera around , but the X5 beat it in several area while cost only a niggling more at launch . No other manufacturer comes near to touching Insta360 at the moment .
For fixed angle transcription , a GoPro Hero or similar still makes a lot of sense as image timbre , size of it , simpleness and mountability are all better .
Final Thoughts
The Insta360 X4 ’s principal weakness was modest light image quality , but the X5 makes huge improvements in this area – and lots of smaller ones elsewhere .
If you already purchase an X4 in the past year , it ’s locomote to be chafe to feel like you now postulate to bribe the X5 , but for anyone taking their first steps into 360 action camera , the X5 is certainly the model to get . It does everything well and shit doing it all so easy , and it ’s going to take something especial from rivals like DJI orGoProto knock Insta360 off its lordly perch .
Trusted Score
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We good examine every action camera we review . We ’ll always recite you what we find and we never , ever , accept money to review a Cartesian product .
FAQs
The Insta360 X5 start at $ 549.99/£519.99 for the camera alone , with appurtenance bundles also available at a high Leontyne Price .
Yes , you may replace the lenses at domicile using the X5 Replacement Lens Kit , cut down on expensive repair cost and giving the photographic camera a bit more longevity .
Full Specs
