Insta360 x3 or x4 or GoPro Max 360?

[Itsabeachthing]

Just got back from a liveaboard in the Exumas where one of the guys had a Insta360 x3 with dive housing and invisible selfie stick. All I can say is WOW! We were all amazed by the quality and 360 views we saw of the dives we just were on, often seeing the shark, turtle, corals etc that we may have missed looking the opposite direction, but the Insta360 recorded. Not a huge camera person but I do like to record dives here and there, especially when collecting research data for scientists, Reef Check, documenting Coral health, fish counts, etc. I loved the way you can just do your dives without stopping and taking pictures while it records everything for you, giving a bigger picture view of general dive site health. Software/video uploads for the Insta360 also seemed easy to use/do.

So my question is do I buy the Insta360 x3 which has a lot of non brand accessories available or do i splurge on the newly released x4 with longer battery and 8k or is the GoPro Max 360 the way to go? Appreciate the feedback.

 

[Manatee Diver]

The GoPro Max is almost five years old at this point, while the Insta 360 X4 is only a few months old and the X3 is going on 18 months. The X4 is a no brainer, with the X3 if you get a good deal.

Per their last earnings call GoPro is releasing an updated Max sometime this year. So if you are willing to wait you can see the reviews and pick which one works best for you.

 

[the_jaguar]

Isn't the Insta360 Ace Pro supposed to be ideal for underwater photo/videography, especially with it bigger sensor, AI based color correction, etc

 

[Itsabeachthing]

Isn't the Insta360 Ace Pro supposed to be ideal for underwater photo/videography, especially with it bigger sensor, AI based color correction, etc

My coworker got one but its not a 360 view - its a great camera for sure but only i believe its only forward shooting/wide angle, can flip but doesnt shoot 360 (has the insta 360 brand name but not 360 shooting-fits other needs like better stability go pro). Im looking for a camera that records a 360 view without thinking about it while diving as thats better for science data capture (seeing things as you dive even when even the diver doesn't see it).

Thank you though for the recs - always good to hear different perspectives.

 

[bpodbielski]

Just got back from a liveaboard in the Exumas where one of the guys had a Insta360 x3 with dive housing and invisible selfie stick. All I can say is WOW! We were all amazed by the quality and 360 views we saw of the dives we just were on, often seeing the shark, turtle, corals etc that we may have missed looking the opposite direction, but the Insta360 recorded. Not a huge camera person but I do like to record dives here and there, especially when collecting research data for scientists, Reef Check, documenting Coral health, fish counts, etc. I loved the way you can just do your dives without stopping and taking pictures while it records everything for you, giving a bigger picture view of general dive site health. Software/video uploads for the Insta360 also seemed easy to use/do.

So my question is do I buy the Insta360 x3 which has a lot of non brand accessories available or do i splurge on the newly released x4 with longer battery and 8k or is the GoPro Max 360 the way to go? Appreciate the feedback.

I am planning on picking up the X4 before my next dive trip. All of my research was pointing to the X3 over the GP Max, so the X4 is a no brainer.

I am thinking about setting it up as seen in this video though:

 

[stuartv]

I got an X3 in November. I used it on a dive for the first time at the beginning of March, diving the Thistlegorm. I just finished doing a first cut edit of the dive into a flat movie, using Insta360 Studio. Meaning, all I did was go through and set key frames, to get the framing I wanted, then exported it. My plan is to load the result into Resolve and make a "real" movie, cutting in footage from my Sony a7r4 where I have it. I let the X3 run the whole dive. I only filmed shorter segments with my real camera.

But I digress...

After spending this time using the X3 on a 1 week liveaboard and now editing, I have some thoughts:

Pros:

- It is awesome to put the X3 on a leash, start it recording, and clip it to me so it just floats up behind my head, recording a POV of my whole dive and everything around me. Editing afterwards to frame the shots I want is awesome!
- It records for at least a whole 45 minute dive without running out of battery, at 5.7K/30. Though it does end the file after somewhere around 25 minutes or so and start a new one (automatically).

Cons:

- The dive case sucks.
- The dive case is only rated for 50m.
- You can scratch it just by staring daggers at it.
- The optical quality of the dive case lens is total crap.
- They don't offer any kind of protective cover for the dive case - not even for storage when you're not in the water.
- The dive case doesn't even fit in the accessory X3 storage box.
- The dive case for the X4 is not compatible with the X3.
- The battery charger for the X3 and X4 batteries is different.
- When diving OC, letting it just float up and behind sucks for all the bubbles that end up blocking the view a lot of the time. I am really looking forward to diving with it when on my CCR.

My video from the Thistlegorm was shot in 5.7K/30.

Right from the start, you can "see" the dive case itself by virtue of it moving and you see the visual distortions that results in whatever is being shown on camera.

As it was my first dive with it, the case starts off with no scratches. After bumping an overhead beam 2 or 3 times during the dive, because it was on a leash floating up above/behind my head, you can see the scratches that it picked up just from the one dive. And that's just from bumping a coral-encrusted overhead beam as I swam underneath and it literally just bumped it.

It's not like I actually pressed it against anything to scratch it, or was going fast when it hit something. I was just frog kicking along at a slowish pace.

After seeing how it fared, I was planning to order a new dive case. For some reason, I was thinking it was $49.99 when I bought the first one. Well, they are $99.99!

Then I thought, "well, I guess that's okay if I really baby it and then eventually get an X4 to put in it." Except that the X4 won't work in a case for the X3.

So now, do I invest another $100 in an X3 case when the X3 is already outdated? I probably would, except now the X3 dive case is out of stock. But, they have dive cases for the X4 in stock!

So then I thought, "well, maybe I should buy an X4 and dive case and sell the X3." But, not only can I not use the extra X3 batteries I bought, I can't even use the X3 battery charger. So, it's basically, either, wait for the X3 dive case to come back in stock, or buy a complete new kit and try to sell the whole X3 kit with a scratched up dive case.

In the end, the whole thing has put a bad taste in my mouth for Insta360 and if GoPro made something comparable, that wasn't years old, I would give a really hard look at that.

I did find some company that is making a better (allegedly) dive case for the X3. But, it's $1000! And, presumably, won't even work with an X4.

*sigh*

I do think a 360 camera is FOR SURE the way to go for u/w video. And I do also have a GoPro 12. But, using it for diving is clearly a very, very low priority for Insta360. The whole market for u/w 360 cameras just seems to be in its infancy. When it matures, it should be great. But, right now...

When my X3 tour of the Thistlegorm eventually finishes uploading, I'll post a YouTube link, so you can see how "good" the X3 5.7K footage looks when using it underwater.

 

[Manatee Diver]

The whole market for u/w 360 cameras just seems to be in its infancy. When it matures, it should be great. But, right now...

The whole 360 camera industry is in its infancy. Right now it is like when RAW photos became new, you have to do certain things in a manufacturer app before moving to your actual editing application. And somehow I doubt that either Insta360's or GoPro's app outputs in ProRes to reduce the quality loss.

I want to give one of the 360 cameras a try, but I am hesitant to spend $800 on an infant technology.

 

[cfberry]

Just got back from a liveaboard in the Exumas where one of the guys had a Insta360 x3 with dive housing and invisible selfie stick. All I can say is WOW! We were all amazed by the quality and 360 views we saw of the dives we just were on, often seeing the shark, turtle, corals etc that we may have missed looking the opposite direction, but the Insta360 recorded. Not a huge camera person but I do like to record dives here and there, especially when collecting research data for scientists, Reef Check, documenting Coral health, fish counts, etc. I loved the way you can just do your dives without stopping and taking pictures while it records everything for you, giving a bigger picture view of general dive site health. Software/video uploads for the Insta360 also seemed easy to use/do.

So my question is do I buy the Insta360 x3 which has a lot of non brand accessories available or do i splurge on the newly released x4 with longer battery and 8k or is the GoPro Max 360 the way to go? Appreciate the feedback.

X3

 

[bpodbielski]

I got an X3 in November. I used it on a dive for the first time at the beginning of March, diving the Thistlegorm. I just finished doing a first cut edit of the dive into a flat movie, using Insta360 Studio. Meaning, all I did was go through and set key frames, to get the framing I wanted, then exported it. My plan is to load the result into Resolve and make a "real" movie, cutting in footage from my Sony a7r4 where I have it. I let the X3 run the whole dive. I only filmed shorter segments with my real camera.

But I digress...

After spending this time using the X3 on a 1 week liveaboard and now editing, I have some thoughts:

Pros:

- It is awesome to put the X3 on a leash, start it recording, and clip it to me so it just floats up behind my head, recording a POV of my whole dive and everything around me. Editing afterwards to frame the shots I want is awesome!
- It records for at least a whole 45 minute dive without running out of battery, at 5.7K/30. Though it does end the file after somewhere around 25 minutes or so and start a new one (automatically).

Cons:

- The dive case sucks.
- The dive case is only rated for 50m.
- You can scratch it just by staring daggers at it.
- The optical quality of the dive case lens is total crap.
- They don't offer any kind of protective cover for the dive case - not even for storage when you're not in the water.
- The dive case doesn't even fit in the accessory X3 storage box.
- The dive case for the X4 is not compatible with the X3.
- The battery charger for the X3 and X4 batteries is different.
- When diving OC, letting it just float up and behind sucks for all the bubbles that end up blocking the view a lot of the time. I am really looking forward to diving with it when on my CCR.

My video from the Thistlegorm was shot in 5.7K/30.

Right from the start, you can "see" the dive case itself by virtue of it moving and you see the visual distortions that results in whatever is being shown on camera.

As it was my first dive with it, the case starts off with no scratches. After bumping an overhead beam 2 or 3 times during the dive, because it was on a leash floating up above/behind my head, you can see the scratches that it picked up just from the one dive. And that's just from bumping a coral-encrusted overhead beam as I swam underneath and it literally just bumped it.

It's not like I actually pressed it against anything to scratch it, or was going fast when it hit something. I was just frog kicking along at a slowish pace.

After seeing how it fared, I was planning to order a new dive case. For some reason, I was thinking it was $49.99 when I bought the first one. Well, they are $99.99!

Then I thought, "well, I guess that's okay if I really baby it and then eventually get an X4 to put in it." Except that the X4 won't work in a case for the X3.

So now, do I invest another $100 in an X3 case when the X3 is already outdated? I probably would, except now the X3 dive case is out of stock. But, they have dive cases for the X4 in stock!

So then I thought, "well, maybe I should buy an X4 and dive case and sell the X3." But, not only can I not use the extra X3 batteries I bought, I can't even use the X3 battery charger. So, it's basically, either, wait for the X3 dive case to come back in stock, or buy a complete new kit and try to sell the whole X3 kit with a scratched up dive case.

In the end, the whole thing has put a bad taste in my mouth for Insta360 and if GoPro made something comparable, that wasn't years old, I would give a really hard look at that.

I did find some company that is making a better (allegedly) dive case for the X3. But, it's $1000! And, presumably, won't even work with an X4.

*sigh*

I do think a 360 camera is FOR SURE the way to go for u/w video. And I do also have a GoPro 12. But, using it for diving is clearly a very, very low priority for Insta360. The whole market for u/w 360 cameras just seems to be in its infancy. When it matures, it should be great. But, right now...

When my X3 tour of the Thistlegorm eventually finishes uploading, I'll post a YouTube link, so you can see how "good" the X3 5.7K footage looks when using it underwater.

Really interested in seeing your video of the Thistlegorm! And if you ever happy to upload the 360 raw video somewhere, would be interested in seeing how that looks prior to turning it into a flat movie!

 

[stuartv]

First, I left off one Con. I forgot to mention that diving with it on a leash floating up behind/above me meant that my bubbles from my exhale (diving OC) are annoying as heck in the video.

I am looking forward to recording more or less the same way, but when diving CCR.

The whole 360 camera industry is in its infancy. Right now it is like when RAW photos became new, you have to do certain things in a manufacturer app before moving to your actual editing application. And somehow I doubt that either Insta360's or GoPro's app outputs in ProRes to reduce the quality loss.

I want to give one of the 360 cameras a try, but I am hesitant to spend $800 on an infant technology.

It's a LOT better in that regard than I was expecting. You definitely can export the video from the Insta360 Studio software in ProRes 422 format, if you want.

OTOH, there are some things about the software support that are just maddening.

Mainly, if you want to export 360 degree video (so the watcher can actually pan the cam around while watching), you can only do that from one video file at a time.

The X3 automatically ended one file and started a new one somewhere a bit before 30 minutes into my 45 minute dive on the Thistlegorm. The Insta360 Studio software does not provide any way to export those two files combined into one 360 video file.

Insta360 DOES provide plug-ins for both Adobe Premier Pro and Final Cut to allow you to edit the native X3 files in those software applications. I believe you can export 360 video from combined sources, in those, if you want.

And if you are into "free" for video editing - as I am - then you can use Resolve and there is a free, open source plug-in for it called KartaVR that will supposedly allow you to pull native X3 video in and edit it in Resolve.

I am taking baby steps. I started by editing my Thistlegorm video in Insta360 Studio (for Windows). I just went through and put in keyframes, to make the shot framing what I want and then exported the whole dive as one flat movie.

Next step is to use Resolve to make that a baseline of the video for the dive and then cut in the footage from my Sony a7r4 for the clips that I shot with that, so they show in the right part of the timeline, in place of the X3 footage.

I'm very novice at video editing in general, much less combining footage from 2 cameras and using footage from a 360 cam, so it's going slowly. Plus, my laptop is a 12-core i9 with 64GB of RAM and a pretty fast SSD for storage and it still is taking hours to export the video from Insta360.

Anyway, when I have a movie done, I'll post a link.