The Insta360 X4 was a major upgrade to the X3 version before it, bringing 8K 360 capture and boosting the regular video output to 2.7K instead of 1080 (or 2K). The X5 builds on this using the same video tech but with an increase in waterproofing capabilities to 49ft versus the 33ft of the X4.
That’s not all. The Insta360 X5 boasts new, larger 1/1.28-inch sensors and an extended 3-hour runtime.
For those not familiar with how 360 cameras work, they use a pair of fisheye lenses front and back which work in combination to produce a full 360-degree capture of the world, either as a still image or as a video.
You can share 360 content directly on platforms which support immersive VR playback so that users can look around the scene in any direction they like or, more commonly, you can save out your 360 footage as regular ‘flat’ video using Insta360’s AI mobile app to automatically frame your scenes and follow subjects. It’s like being able to point the camera where you like AFTER you’ve filmed the footage. That’s especially useful for solo filmmakers who don’t have the time or resources for multi-camera setups.
One particular strength of 360 video is that you can mount the camera on Insta360’s ‘invisible’ selfie-stick and hold it high in the air, at ground level or anywhere else you can’t reach, and it doesn’t matter that you can’t aim it or see the screen because it’s recording everything around it and you can choose the framing later.
360 capture also means you can swap to from regular horizontal video to vertical video for social channels without any cropping or loss of resolution. The other compelling feature of the X5 is that it can also be used in a ‘single lens’ mode where it works like a regular action camera capturing 4K video up to 60p, and with a choice of framing angles. You will have to remember to aim it at what you’re filming, though!
The thing to keep in mind is that when a 360 camera is advertised as having ‘8K’ video, that 8K of resolution is spread around the whole spherical scene you’re capturing – if you edit this into a conventional video you’re only using a section of this 360 scene, so the video you get is not 8K. In fact when it’s used in this way, you get 2.7K video, which is still enough for detailed, good quality video – 4K ‘flat’ video from a consumer level 360 camera does still seem a little way off.
Other key features of the Insta360 X6 include an ‘even longer runtime’ as well as Insta360’s clever post reframing, timelapse, bullet time, loop recording ‘me’ and more. It goes on sale at $549.99 in the US (B&H), and £519 (or £609 Essentials bundle (Wex)) in the UK.