The Insta360 One X2 Camera

The Insta360 One X2 Camera.

Action cameras have long since changed their status from something exclusively related to extreme sports to a device with which you can record any kind of physical activity. Whether it’s hiking in the mountains or doing yoga at home, you can use the small and handy action camera to capture quality videos of yourself and share them online.

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However, with a regular camera, you still have to fiddle with the settings and position the camera to make sure you’re shooting at the right angle, the subject is in focus, and so on. The Insta360 One X2 is a great example of a new generation of action cameras that take care of all this for you.

If you want to enjoy your activities without worry and still get the perfect footage, read our Insta360 One X2 review and consider making it your next action camera.

Insta360 One X2: First Impressions 

Insta360 One X2 is a 360-degree camera with two spherical lenses that allow you to capture everything around and turn them into a single spherical image. Here is a list of the main pros and cons of this camera.

Pros

5.7K 360-degree shooting easy-to-use LCD touch screen tablet camera modeVoice control excellent image stabilizationIPX8 waterproof ( up to 10 meters)Large 1630mAh battery Long battery life of up to 80 minutes (when shooting 5.7K at 30fps) on a single charge Compatible with iOS devices and AndroidGreat value for money (starting at $389 on Amazon)

Cons

Spherical lenses are susceptible to scratches The size and shape are not ideal for a pocket cameraInsta360 applications can sometimes have errors in Long editing process.

The first thing you’ll notice about this action camera is its solid construction. With its rectangular shape and convex lenses, the One X2 is very different from a GoPro or any conventional action camera. However, it is still compact enough to fit in a jacket pocket.

The One X2 comes with a neoprene sleeve to help protect your camera lenses. While the camera itself looks pretty solid, the fisheye lenses are the part you need to be careful with. Every little scratch will result in a tiny black dot on your footage. The only way to get rid of this is to change the frame so that it is not visible. It is not possible to replace one lens, so you will have to purchase a brand new camera if you want to fix it.

As for other goodies, the One X2 is waterproof up to 10 meters, has a great battery life ,and has plenty of shooting modes. Compared to its predecessor Insta360 One X, One X2 has improved a lot. However, there is still the issue of the overly complex editing process, which is likely to confuse you if you have no previous experience with vlogging software and apps.

Setup Process

Even if you haven’t used an action camera before, you won’t have any problems running the Insta360 One X2. All you need to do is charge your One X2 via USB-C and insert a microSD card. The last thing you need to do before you can start recording is to install the Insta360 app on your smartphone to activate the camera. This process is quite simple and you shouldn’t have any problems at this stage.

Once this is done, you can start shooting. You can use the One X2 as is and record handheld video, use a standard action camera mount to attach it to your helmet for hands-free recording, or use one of Insta360’s invisible selfie stick accessories. The last option is the best option if you want drone-like footage. Fix the camera on the selfie stick and shoot a video, then watch the stick disappear as you start editing the footage.

Video Quality

Overall, the video quality you get with the One X2 is excellent, especially given the wide range of features on this camera. Whatever you decide to record, Insta360 One X2 has you covered.

Superb FlowState ensures any handheld shots are smooth and in focus, while Horizon Lock helps you keep your horizon level even as you pan your camera. So if you’re planning on filming yourself while walking, running, or even snowboarding, you don’t have to worry about the camera’s stability.

5.7K video in 360-degree mode looks crisp and colorful. However, the quality drops a bit in low light conditions. If you plan to shoot on cloudy days, we recommend using the HDR mode. When shooting in HDR, the One X2 delivers photos and videos with improved dynamic range, natural light and more detail.

You can also use the Insta360 One X2 as a regular action camera. Here it is called the Steady Cam mode. While the Steady Cam’s video quality is still decent, you can only get 2.7K-equivalent video with a wide-angle lens. This means your One X2 cannot compete with the latest GoPro Hero or GoPro Max models. The One X2 makes up for this by giving you the ability to record everything around you at the same time into one video and reframe it later during editing.

Another video shooting mode is MultiView, which includes AI face tracking. It splits your screen in two and allows you to simultaneously capture the narrator of the video and the scene around you, resulting in a finished picture-in-picture video. If you are a vlogger, this will allow you to cut down on the time and effort you spend on post-production.

Image Quality

The One X2 is capable of producing great images, especially if you use one of the dedicated photo modes. One of them is PureShot, which helps to create colorful and detailed images in low light conditions by increasing ISO up to 3200.

Another photo mode is InstaPano, which allows you to take 360-degree panoramic shots without the need to stitch multiple images. Both modes are great for posting perfect shots on social media.

Audio Quality

The Insta360 One X2 has a four-way microphone that captures surround sound to match your 360-degree videos. This is ideal if you don’t want to use external microphones and just use the audio from the camera along with the video. You can also use your Apple Airpods to record audio separately and use voice control.

We tested the One X2’s audio recording capabilities in a variety of environments, including strong wind, rain, and snow. We were able to get clear sound on our recordings even while skiing on a windy day. The only thing that significantly affected the sound was placing the camera under water. Then after a couple of minutes everything was back to normal once the One X2 was dry.

With the decent sound quality that the One X2 delivers, you can also use it as a webcam to stream live to various platforms without the need for a separate audio recording.

The Editing Software 

The Insta360 editing software is both the best and worst thing about this camera. You will probably have mixed feelings about this, as we do. The smartphone app is called Shot Lab and the PC software is called Insta360 Studio. Let’s start with the mobile app.

On the one hand, Shot Lab is just great. From time-lapses and hyperlapses to freeze-frames and AI-powered smart tracking, this smartphone app provides more editing options than you could ever imagine.

On the other hand, the application may seem too complicated for those who open it for the first time. In addition, there are still some bugs waiting to be fixed. For example, it sometimes takes several attempts before you can connect One X2 to your smartphone via Bluetooth and Wi-Fi to transfer files, etc. It is worth noting that you need to have one of the latest smartphones to avoid annoying delays when using the app. Anything above an iPhone 8 or an Android phone with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 chip or equivalent will do.

For those users who don’t want to spend time learning cool editing tricks, Insta360 has come up with a solution. In the application, you will find many guides that detail the editing steps for each video track. Just choose a template and follow the instructions. Some of our favorite Insta360 creative edits include Stop Motion Mix, Clone Trail, and Flash Dash.

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If you’re feeling uncomfortable with the many different editing options and features on the mobile app, we’ve got some bad news for Insta360 Studio. The PC app is about 5 times harder to navigate, let alone finish editing. For some reason, it bears little resemblance to Shot Lab and doesn’t even have some of the editing features that Shot Lab offers. The process of importing and exporting your videos is more complicated than it should be. On top of that, if you don’t have enough free storage space on your computer, it will be difficult for you to store 5.7K videos due to their significant size.

On the other hand, Insta360 seems to be constantly working on updating both of their apps. So the new version of Insta360 Studio V4 has the auto-crop and time-shift features that users have been asking for on forums like Reddit for a long time.

Accessories

Insta360 has tons of cool accessories for the One X2 camera. Some of them are more useful than others.

For example, there’s a diving case that makes your One X2 camera completely waterproof down to 45m (or 147ft) and ensures seamless footage stitching when shooting underwater. However, if you don’t plan on diving with the One X2, but still want to shoot something water-related like swimming or white water rafting, you’ll be fine without this accessory as the One X2 is already water resistant to 10m.

You can buy the Insta360 One X2 as a standalone camera, but there are some accessories that will surely improve your user experience. First, we already mentioned that the One X2’s lenses are susceptible to scratches. If you are planning to record any sports activities, it is recommended to purchase lens caps to protect the camera lenses.

The second must-have accessory is an invisible selfie stick. This gives you many different angles and shooting points and will surely impress your friends and family when they see the stick disappear during the editing phase.

There is also a tripod handle that allows you to rotate the One X2 around your head while shooting and can be used as a tabletop tripod. You can find the rest of the Insta360 accessories on the official website and see if you want to include them with your purchase.

Should You Buy the Insta360 One X2 Camera? 

The Insta360 One X2 is not an all purpose camera and should not be. If you’re looking for the best picture and sound quality, you might be better off checking out the latest GoPro. However, if you’re tired of standard action cameras and ready to have some fun with the new 360-degree format, the One X2 is a great camera choice.

The Insta360 One X2 Camera

The Insta360 One X2 Camera