Insta360 sent us their $399 USD (for stand alone camera) ‘ONE X’ Camera to try out this Summer and document our rides. After plenty of travel and time with the Camera, we are here to share our thoughts.
The camera comes as a stand-alone item, or as a ‘Get-Set’ kit including a selfie stick and 32gb memory card for $ 415. Five other configurations are available based on what you are using the camera for. Both an ‘adventure case’ and ‘dive case’ are sold as well, to protect the camera from light dirt and moisture, or serious 30m of waterproofing.
The One X uses a tripod threaded mount, which serves as the interface for selfie sticks, ‘gopro’ style mounts, and various other accessories. We liked the threaded style, due to the fact that plastic mounts often break, or wear out, but you can always count on the camera body itself staying durable. The camera seems physically an odd shape at first, especially for mounting on top of a helmet, or using a chest mount, but the shape didn’t prove to be an issue for us. The cool thing about having 360° worth of footage is that camera angle is essentially not a concern, due to being able to choose the perspective later on in the editing process.
The soft case with lanyard we received was a welcome addition to our kit, always protecting the camera, and providing an easy mode of transportation. The kit we tested did not feature an adventure case, so we were careful about avoiding moisture, and scratching the lenses.
The camera’s 5.7k resolution is impressive, though the camera’s auto exposure was a bit of an issue for us when passing from brightly lit sunny sections of trail, back into the shade. The transition was distinct, and compensating for one lighting scenario, threw off the other.
We enjoyed using the Insta 360 iPhone app, and found it to be very self explanatory and easy to use. To import content, the camera can be connected via Wifi or cable, we found both to work equally well. The app filters, photos from videos, and allows trimming of each video clip prior to importing for further editing. Once the desired clip is imported, finalizing the perspective can be done through an auto track feature, setting individual focus points, or our favorite feature, which allows you to ‘record’ the desired perspective by physically moving and tilting your phone. The ability for any choice of perspective, combined with the FlowState stabilization make for engaging clips that can be viewed and used more than once due to the multiple points of view.
After experience with various 360° cameras on the market, we would say that for action sports like mountain biking, the Insta360 One X is an incredible choice. The unparalleled in-camera stabilization, ease of use, fantastic app, and extensive accessory list leads us to conclude the One X is at the top of our list for POV action cameras.
More info at: Insta360
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