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.

 

[stuartv]

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!

I am exporting the raw 360 video right now. Because of the limitation I described above, it's only of the first, roughly, 30 minutes - which sucks, as the first 15 minutes were swimming around outside, looking at the train locomotive, the prop, and the stern deck gun before finally penetrating. The iconic shot of the motorcycle that looks like it was posted on a pedestal is in the final 15 minutes.

Anyway, I intend to upload the unedited 360 video to YouTube to see how that looks/works. If you want, I'll send you a link to that.

 

[stuartv]

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!

Here is the unedited, exported 360 cam footage. It is the first 29 minutes of my dive on the Thistlegorm. I confirmed with Insta360 tech support that the only way to get a full length 360 degree movie from my 45 minutes of footage is to use some other tool than what they provide. E.g. Premier Pro, etc..

You can click-and-drag as you're watching, to pan the view around. I have Dropfoot (because I am a retired motorcycle roadracer), so if you pan around to watch my finning, that is why my feet look retarded. Zip it! LOL!

This was recorded using the highest quality the X3 supports - 5.7K, 30fps. YouTube will stream it to you in 4K. I exported it from Insta360 Studio in H.265 format. 29 minutes produced a 25 GB file!

Comparing this to the flat movie version, exported in H.264 and also tried it in ProRes 422, the image quality looks the same in all of them, to me.

It looks pretty bad, to me. But, I have realized it's not solely due to the dive housing optical quality. When I look closely at something that is close to the camera - like, for example, the label on my tanks - the clarity/sharpness is much better. So, the turbidity in the water is definitely playing a big part in how not-sharp the resolution appears to be.

 

[bpodbielski]

Here is the unedited, exported 360 cam footage. It is the first 29 minutes of my dive on the Thistlegorm. I confirmed with Insta360 tech support that the only way to get a full length 360 degree movie from my 45 minutes of footage is to use some other tool than what they provide. E.g. Premier Pro, etc..

You can click-and-drag as you're watching, to pan the view around. I have Dropfoot (because I am a retired motorcycle roadracer), so if you pan around to watch my finning, that is why my feet look retarded. Zip it! LOL!

This was recorded using the highest quality the X3 supports - 5.7K, 30fps. YouTube will stream it to you in 4K. I exported it from Insta360 Studio in H.265 format. 29 minutes produced a 25 GB file!

Comparing this to the flat movie version, exported in H.264 and also tried it in ProRes 422, the image quality looks the same in all of them, to me.

It looks pretty bad, to me. But, I have realized it's not solely due to the dive housing optical quality. When I look closely at something that is close to the camera - like, for example, the label on my tanks - the clarity/sharpness is much better. So, the turbidity in the water is definitely playing a big part in how not-sharp the resolution appears to be.

Thank you for sharing!!! This is exactly what I was hoping to see! Also this only further adds to my desire to dive the Thistlegorm now... So while I thank you and look at liveaboards, my wallet does not... lol

My initial take after watching was exactly the same, the turbidity is is playing a big part into the quality. So I'm wondering if there would be any significant difference with the X4.

 

[stuartv]

Thank you for sharing!!! This is exactly what I was hoping to see! Also this only further adds to my desire to dive the Thistlegorm now... So while I thank you and look at liveaboards, my wallet does not... lol

My initial take after watching was exactly the same, the turbidity is is playing a big part into the quality. So I'm wondering if there would be any significant difference with the X4.

I don't think the X4 would be any better.

I've been comparing my footage from my Sony camera to the X3 footage. Using both cameras during that dive, so identical conditions.

The footage from the Sony was shot in 4K/24. The X3 was 5.7K/30.

The Sony footage looks SO much better.

The dive case for the X3 is SO bad. The dive case for the X4 is not the exact same case. But, looking at the info on it, I expect it is the same for optical quality.

 

[bpodbielski]

I don't think the X4 would be any better.

I've been comparing my footage from my Sony camera to the X3 footage. Using both cameras during that dive, so identical conditions.

The footage from the Sony was shot in 4K/24. The X3 was 5.7K/30.

The Sony footage looks SO much better.

The dive case for the X3 is SO bad. The dive case for the X4 is not the exact same case. But, looking at the info on it, I expect it is the same for optical quality.

That's disappointing. Sounds like it's going to have to be a multi-camera setup.

What was your setup for being able to float it behind you? Did you just have a bolt-snap and tether attached to the dive case?

 

[broncobowsher]

I really like the idea of the 360 camera. Seen some pretty cool things on land. Getting one to work in the water to that level will be cool once they figure it out.

Lighting is going to be interesting as well. Just to get good video out of my new GoPro takes a lot of light in one direction. Don't see how to get light in 360. Which pretty much limits the use to water with strong ambient light.

 

[bpodbielski]

I really like the idea of the 360 camera. Seen some pretty cool things on land. Getting one to work in the water to that level will be cool once they figure it out.

Lighting is going to be interesting as well. Just to get good video out of my new GoPro takes a lot of light in one direction. Don't see how to get light in 360. Which pretty much limits the use to water with strong ambient light.

Regarding the lighting, I did some digging into underwater photogrammetry that might be relevant.

Found this article where the author mentions his lighting setup of 3 x Sola Video Pro 3800 lights with a picture of it: Photogrammetry: How to create a 3D model from 360 video in an hour or less — Mantis Sub underwater housings for Insta360 Pro / RS

 

[stuartv]

That's disappointing. Sounds like it's going to have to be a multi-camera setup.

What was your setup for being able to float it behind you? Did you just have a bolt-snap and tether attached to the dive case?

Yep. A long loop of bungee. Boltsnap clipped to my right chest D-ring. Once in the water, I turned the camera on and then threw it back under my right arm, so it floated up above my right arm pit.

The Thistlegorm was my first dive with it. For that one, I had it floating up in front of my right shoulder, instead of under my arm pit.

I think the bubbles were better with it under my arm pit, but I'm not sure I would stick with either arrangement if I were going to be diving it on OC in the future. The bubbles are really annoying.

I'm exporting a later video of a reef dive, where the X3 was back under my arm. I'll upload it and post a link so you can see for yourself. The bubbles ARE much better that way. I wish I had figured that out before I took it on the Thistlegorm.

 

[stuartv]

Regarding the lighting, I did some digging into underwater photogrammetry that might be relevant.

Found this article where the author mentions his lighting setup of 3 x Sola Video Pro 3800 lights with a picture of it: Photogrammetry: How to create a 3D model from 360 video in an hour or less — Mantis Sub underwater housings for Insta360 Pro / RS

That is COOL!

I can't think of how, but it would be even cooler if they were able to figure out a way to light up directly above, as well.

I had to laugh, though. The article says:

The computer used was an Intel i9–10850k with 64GB memory and RTX 2080 TI GPU, originally bought in 2000 for video editing and VR development.

That has to be a typo. I bet it was meant to say bought in 2020. I don't think the i9 or the RTX boards were even a glimmer in an engineer's eye in 2000. lol!

 

[bpodbielski]

That has to be a typo. I bet it was meant to say bought in 2020. I don't think the i9 or the RTX boards were even a glimmer in an engineer's eye in 2000. lol!

I totally missed that! Lol Yeah I think they meant 2020... I mean the i series wasn't even a thing until like 2009 / 2010...