Insta360 tries its manus astatine a accepted enactment camera, but does it person what it takes to vie with the champion of them? We find out.
Insta360 started retired making 360 cameras, arsenic its sanction mightiness suggest, earlier branching retired into modular cameras similar the Insta360 One RS, micro cameras similar the Go 3, and adjacent a smartphone gimbal, the Insta360 Flow.
One country the marque had yet to delve into, though, was accepted GoPro-style enactment cameras. Sure, the Insta360 One RS is close, but its modularity comes astatine the outgo of durability and waterproofing. If you wanted an enactment camera that didn't transform, GoPro and DJI beauteous overmuch had the marketplace to themselves.
That each changes with the instauration of the Insta360 Ace Pro and its cheaper sibling, the Ace. On archetypal impressions, it looks compelling, with a ample sensor, a flip-up surface and a whopping 8K resolution. The question is, tin it vie with the apical dogs erstwhile it comes to representation quality? I was excited to find out, truthful I've been investigating the Ace Pro for the past fewer weeks. Here's what I learned.
Insta360/ Pocket-lint
Insta360 Ace Pro
The Insta360 Ace Pro is simply a superb archetypal effort astatine a accepted enactment camera. It provides superb low-light shooting a convenient flip-up surface and is paired with immoderate of the champion bundle around. My lone privation is that it didn't outgo rather truthful much.
Pros
- Excellent low-light capture
- Handy flip-up screen
- Convenient mounting system
- Best-in-class software
- Solid artillery beingness and speedy charging
Cons
- More costly than the competition
- Only records 8-bit colour
- Mics are susceptible to upwind noise
Specs, terms and availability
The Insta360 Ace Pro was announced connected November 21 2023, and made disposable connected the aforesaid day. It retails for $449.99 and tin beryllium purchased from Insta360 directly oregon via Amazon and selected retail partners.
In addition, Insta360 released a cheaper exemplary called the Insta360 Ace, which goes for $379.99. Outwardly, the much affordable exemplary looks rather similar, but it houses a smaller 1/2-inch sensor with a maximum video solution of 6K.
This pricing makes the Insta360 Ace Pro 1 of the astir costly enactment cameras connected the market. It's $50 much than the market-leading GoPro Hero 12 Black and the DJI Osmo Action 4, too. Let's anticipation that it delivers capable to marque it worthwhile.
Insta360 Ace Pro
Sensor Size 1/1.3-inch
Video Resolution 8K 24fps
Photo Resolution 48MP
Battery 1650 mAh
Size 71.9x52.15x38.5 mm
Weight 179.8g
Water Resistance Waterproof up to 10m
Lens Fixed lens protector
Design
A rugged chassis with vlogging aspirations
The Insta360 Ace Pro adopts the accepted GoPro-style signifier factor, with astir identical dimensions and fastener positioning to the Hero 12 Black. However, the Ace Pro is noticeably thicker and rather a spot heavier. I deliberation this is chiefly owed to the inclusion of a flip-up surface connected the rear of the camera.
The flip surface works likewise to the 1 we saw connected the Insta360 Go 3, but it's larger and has a higher resolution. It's the archetypal clip that we've seen a surface similar this connected a accepted enactment camera, and it's truly handy. It enables you to framework your shots easy erstwhile filming yourself and takes the guesswork retired of filming low-angle shots.
The crisp and wide surface and the hinge mechanics consciousness precise robust. Of course, moving parts are typically little durable than static ones, truthful clip volition archer however this surface holds up to the benignant of conditions that enactment cameras find themselves in, but I'm not excessively concerned. After all, determination haven't been galore reports of harm to the Go 3's flip screen, and it's fundamentally the aforesaid mechanism.
Elsewhere, the Ace Pro is waterproof up to 10 meters without a case, conscionable similar the Hero 12, and feels conscionable arsenic solid. It's worthy noting, though, that portion the lens protector looks replaceable, it is glued into place, truthful it mightiness not beryllium arsenic easy repairable if the screen gets scratched oregon cracked.
The Ace Pro features a latching magnetic mounting strategy connected its base, precise akin to the 1 connected the DJI Osmo Action 4. I'm a large instrumentality of this, arsenic if you put successful a mates of other baseplates; you tin power your camera betwixt your most-used mounts successful a flash. It's overmuch quicker than undoing a thumbscrew arsenic required by GoPro's system, and it feels conscionable arsenic sturdy erstwhile successful place.
The artillery is removable and has a 1650 mAh capacity. It's a interaction little than the capableness of the GoPro Enduro battery, but successful practice, it lasts conscionable arsenic long. It's rated for 100 minutes of continuous signaling astatine 4K30.
The camera has a USB-C larboard for information transfer, charging and audio accessories and a microSD paper slot for storage. It charges astatine up to 30W with the appropriate charger, and that'll get you from level to afloat successful conscionable 46 minutes. There's nary charger successful the box, conscionable a USB-C to C cable, a basal equine and the camera itself.
App and features
The champion bundle successful the business
Insta360's bundle has been among our favourites for immoderate clip now, and the bully quality is that the Ace Pro utilises the aforesaid fantabulous smartphone app and desktop bundle arsenic the different cameras successful the brand's lineup.
The main happening I emotion astir the Insta360 app is however rapidly and reliably it connects to the camera, and though the contention has improved, this is inactive a predominant symptom constituent with some GoPro and DJI cameras.
It's truly bully to beryllium capable to tweak and edit your clips connected a desktop, too. DJI offers nary specified utility, and portion GoPro has announced that Quik for desktop is successful the works, there's nary day acceptable successful stone, and you'll request an progressive GoPro subscription to usage it erstwhile it yet arrives.
Within the app, there's each the accustomed functionality that you'd expect, similar the quality to show your camera remotely, alteration settings and playback and edit your clips. Insta360 takes things a measurement further, though, offering immoderate unsocial templates and effects to spice up your footage.
One of the astir aggravated and unsocial effects is called AI Warp, and it uses generative AI to overgarment implicit your footage and make immoderate chaotic visuals. It's not thing that you'd usage precise often, but if you privation to marque a abbreviated clip truly basal out, it's definite to garner immoderate attention. In a akin vein, there's the quality to swap the entity of your clips, truthful if you privation your footage to diagnostic immoderate epic clouds oregon Van Gough's Starry Night floating supra you, you tin person it.
It's the much subtle effects that I find the astir useful, though. My idiosyncratic favourite is called Motion ND, and it simulates the look of a dilatory shutter speed, blurring fast-moving objects to springiness a greater consciousness of velocity - cleanable for timelapses connected sunny days, particularly if you don't person an ND filter handy.
Like the Hero 12 Black and Osmo Action 4, there's nary GPS built into the Ace Pro, but thankfully, it's casual to get GPS information into your videos if you privation it. So agelong arsenic the app is connected to the camera, you tin toggle GPS on, and the camera volition usage your phone's GPS signal, allowing you to adhd velocity and altitude accusation to your clips during editing. What's adjacent cooler than that, though, is that the Ace Pro tin link to Garmin fittingness trackers oregon an Apple Watch to get GPS data, too.
Unfortunately for me, I'm a Wear OS user, truthful that I couldn't brace it with my watch, but utilizing the app worked good - and presumably, Insta360's GPS remote volition beryllium updated to enactment with the Ace Pro, too, if you're a die-hard stats fan.
The Ace Pro tin besides brace with earbuds, conscionable similar the Hero 12 Black. The paper specifically says AirPods, but immoderate Bluetooth earbuds volition work; I adjacent got the camera to brace to a Bluetooth talker - which wasn't peculiarly utile but satisfied my curiosity, nonetheless. Unfortunately, the results lucifer what we saw with the Hero 12 Black; the audio prime from Bluetooth buds conscionable isn't bully capable for immoderate superior projects. There are a fewer niche usage cases, but for the astir part, you're amended disconnected with the built-in microphones.
Image prime
A ample sensor and the highest solution yet
Now, connected to the astir important question, does the footage really look immoderate good? The spec expanse shows plentifulness of promise: the framework rates are high, the solution is adjacent higher, and a ample sensor matches the size of the existent low-light champion, the DJI Osmo Action 4.
I spent a batch of clip comparing side-by-side footage from the Ace Pro and the Hero 12 Black, and successful daylight, the cameras are rather comparable. They grip colours similarly, connection stellar representation stabilisation and person a coagulated dynamic scope - particularly astatine 4K30 and below, wherever car HDR kicks successful connected the Ace Pro.
It truly is rather close, and mostly down to preference. Personally, I deliberation the GoPro handles tegument tones amended and has a somewhat much pleasing look overall, but the Insta360 often exposes the country better, arsenic it has the quality to prioritise faces with its metering.
At night, the Ace Pro is successful a antithetic league entirely. As you tin spot successful my trial clips, portion I was riding astir dimly lit streets, the Hero 12 Black could hardly seizure thing useful, and the effect was a dark, grainy mess. The Ace Pro captured truthful overmuch much detail, to the constituent wherever it astir looks similar it was filmed astatine a antithetic clip of day.
Obviously, the ample sensor is doing the dense lifting here, but it's besides aided by thing Insta360 calls PureVideo. This uses a dedicated 5nm spot to de-noise the footage, summation dynamic scope and amended stabilisation. The results are brilliant; if you sprout astatine nighttime a lot, this is 1 of the champion enactment cameras.
Another neat diagnostic offered by the Ace Pro is Clarity Zoom. This allows you to punch into a 2x zoom without a immense nonaccomplishment successful quality. It decidedly comes successful handy, but successful my testing, I recovered that the camera skipped a fewer frames portion zooming in, truthful it's champion utilized with static subjects alternatively than fast-paced action.
The Ace Pro tin sprout astatine 8K solution successful 24fps, but unfortunately, this diagnostic has yet to beryllium implemented successful my pre-release firmware. Insta360 has assured maine that it'll beryllium disposable by the clip customers person their cameras, but it gives maine the chiseled content that 8K signaling connected this camera isn't going to beryllium excessively impressive.
Is that realistically an issue, though? Probably not. I person nary involvement successful shooting successful 8K; the record sizes are acold excessively large, and 24fps is not perfect for enactment sports, so, for my needs, it's reasonably redundant. I'm much funny successful dilatory question than precocious resolution, and determination the Ace Pro matches the competition, shooting astatine up to 120fps successful 4K oregon 240fps successful 1080p.
What mightiness beryllium to beryllium much of a dealbreaker, though, is the colour depth. Both the Osmo Action 4 and Hero 12 Black tin seizure 10-bit colour and person reasonably robust Log profiles, too. The Ace Pro tin lone seizure successful 8-bit, and it has a Flat profile, but it's inactive reasonably contrasty. I can't ideate keen colourists being satisfied with this model.
I was impressed with the audio from the Ace Pro; the 3 microphones nutrient a lifelike dependable with plentifulness of directionality, and voices travel done cleanable and clear. Unfortunately, they're precise susceptible to upwind noise, arsenic I've recovered with Insta360's different cameras. There's a upwind sound simplification enactment successful the software, which does its champion to mitigate this, but it's beauteous unavoidable erstwhile you're retired and about. Some benignant of carnal upwind muff oregon an outer microphone is astir apt the lone existent solution.
Verdict
The Insta360 Ace Pro is an awesome debut arsenic the brand's archetypal accepted enactment camera. It's the archetypal of its benignant to connection a flip screen, which is highly convenient, particularly erstwhile filming yourself, and it provides representation prime that's comparable with the champion successful the business. The low-light show is incredible, and there's a bully anticipation it exceeds the capabilities of the DJI Osmo Action 4, though I wasn't capable to trial them broadside by broadside to corroborate this.
The occupation lies with the pricing; the Ace Pro costs astir $50 much than either of its closest competitors, and that makes it a pugnacious sell. There are things that it does better: the bundle is best-in-class, and nary different enactment camera offers a flip screen, for example, but whether that's worthy the outgo of admittance is up to you.
One thing's certain, though, and that's that we present person different large subordinate successful the enactment camera realm, and I'm precise excited to spot wherever the Ace lineup goes next.
English (US) ·