One Of The Most Versatile Cameras I've Used Is Not From Sony Or Canon And It's On Sale

3 days ago

At Best Buy, nan Insta360 X4 Action Camera is $150 disconnected correct now.

ZDNET's cardinal takeaways

The Insta360 X4, usually priced astatine $500, tin seizure up to 8K 360-degree video for nan astir elastic editing.
Its accommodating accessories, including nan Invisible Selfie Stick and Utility Frame, make it a awesome camera for astir environments.
Just beryllium alert of scratching nan lens arsenic some sides protrude out.

Most talk successful tech coming revolves astir AI successful immoderate style aliases form, but not excessively agelong ago, VR and 360-degree video were the basking topic. When it comes to 360-degree video, nan squad astatine Insta360 has been nan modular -- astatine slightest successful my opinion. As antecedently mentioned connected ZDNET, I was capable to get my hands connected a demo portion of nan latest offering from nan company, nan Insta360 X4, and present are my biggest takeaways aft weeks of testing.

The X4 is an awesome portion of hardware. Its assemblage is astir 5 inches agelong and an inch and a half wide, truthful it's rather easy to battalion successful nan pouch of your backpack aliases moreover jeans and shorts. The assemblage has a lens connected each broadside that uses a half-inch sensor to seizure images and video. Thanks to nan taller shape factor, Insta360 was capable to fresh a two-inch touch surface to assistance pinch navigation and changeable framing.

Also: I'm a full-time Canon photographer, but this Nikon camera made maine wonderment if I'm missing out

The camera assemblage besides includes a fewer beingness buttons that assistance successful navigating nan OS. I'm peculiarly fond of nan fastener placement (and really weather-resistant nan worldly is), which feels earthy and easy to use. For an added bonus, connect nan X4 to nan "invisible" selfie instrumentality to seizure higher aliases further distances without nan accessory getting into nan last footage.

Back to nan image sensor. The half-inch sensor is tin of capturing 8K solution successful 360-degree video and up to 72 megapixels for still images successful 360 degrees aliases flattened. I'll put an asterisk adjacent to these immense megapixel specs because not each megapixels are created equal. Still images connected a full-frame (35mm) image sensor astatine 20 megapixels will look acold amended than images connected a half-inch 72MP image sensor. The photosites are different. Fortunately, nan X4 still captures immoderate awesome footage for what it is, a 360-degree action camera.

I'm rather satisfied pinch nan Insta360's on-device package too, arsenic it ran smoothly nary matter which shooting mode I was in. Keep successful mind that that was nan lawsuit moreover erstwhile I was shooting successful 8K, a solution tier that taxes nan camera's processor heavily. Heck, moreover my beloved Canon initially (prior to firmware updates) had a difficult clip uncovering a equilibrium successful OS capacity and signaling successful 8K. With nan X4, it's difficult to announcement a dip successful performance, sloppy of nan solution I changeable in.

Flattened 360-degree Photo from nan halfway of a shot field.

The mobile app is conscionable arsenic easy to navigate and tin beryllium connected to your X4 via a backstage Wi-Fi connection. Once connected, you tin power nan camera's shooting modes and download and edit your footage to suit your needs.

Using nan X4 is elemental and straightforward. There's nary artillery worry pinch nan X4, arsenic its complete 2,000mAh capacity allows you to sprout for good complete an hour, up to 135 minutes of grounds time, depending connected nan mode used. For nan aspiring (or professional) contented creator, nan X4 besides allows you to link a amended outer microphone pinch its 3.5mm jack adapter.

Also: I urge this Canon camera to astir beginner photographers - and it won't break nan bank

What impressed maine nan astir was what Insta360 calls nan "Utility Frame," which is akin to a accepted camera cage utilized to protect nan instrumentality wrong and let for accessory attachments. The camera besides comes pinch a silicone lens protector.

The further protector is very overmuch a necessity because nan Insta360's lenses are truthful vulnerable that I someway sewage micro scratches connected them aft conscionable 3 days of usage. With immoderate camera gear, you really person to dream that scratches are ne'er heavy capable to impact nan captured footage. That hasn't been nan lawsuit pinch nan X4, but I've knowledgeable nan rumor earlier pinch different devices.

Another area for betterment is nan Utility Frame. I know; I mentioned that I emotion nan thought of it, and putting nan X4 into nan protective cage is overmuch easier than thing I've worked pinch from SmallRig aliases Tilta to protect camera bodies. Unfortunately, erstwhile nan X4 is successful nan cage, nan artillery larboard isn't easy accessible. So if your artillery is debased and you'd for illustration to quickly switch it retired during a shoot, you must detach everything earlier that happens. Is this a non-starter? No. Is this inconvenient? Yes.

Also: The astir underrated iPhone camera characteristic you should ne'er move disconnected (and really I usage it)

As acold arsenic nan package goes, I didn't person nan champion clip editing wrong nan Insta360 app. With 360-degree cameras, nan "easy" portion of nan editing acquisition is nan shooting portion. So erstwhile you're shooting video, you aren't required to move aliases constituent nan camera toward your taxable because you're moving pinch truthful overmuch existent property successful your 360-degree frame.

But erstwhile you're successful nan video editor, you person to activity done mounting nan position of nan video framework to activity champion for your last position -- panning here, zooming there, and truthful distant by utilizing nan keyframes feature. I find this to beryllium overmuch easier successful a non-linear video editor specified arsenic Premiere Pro. But past again, I'm a master video editor. Your mileage whitethorn vary. Fortunately, location is an AI action successful nan app that's conscionable bully capable to thief portion together a first edit.

ZDNET's buying proposal

At $499, nan Insta360 X4 is simply a handy, well-built camera, but I judge location are immoderate things to see earlier purchasing. First, what type of creator are you? If you're a creator who is utilized to moving pinch mirrorless cameras connected a tripod for your A-roll and B-roll, past nan X4 is simply a awesome solution arsenic it allows you to person each of that footage wrong 1 frame. Just propulsion nan footage into an editor and commencement cutting and blending nan footage to activity for you.

And if you're a creator looking for a 2nd camera, nan X4 is simply a awesome action because of really imaginative you tin person 360-degree footage, including POV and drone-like shots. And it doesn't require a Part 107 certification.

On nan different hand, if you're personification for illustration maine who doesn't do overmuch vlogging, nan older X3 model whitethorn beryllium nan amended option, and it costs $100 less.