The Insta360 X3 is a rad little action camera capable of 360-degree filming and easy editing. Photo: Joe Carberry//The Inertia
Action cameras have come a long ways. The resolution. The editing capabilities. Even the photos one can capture have taken a pleasant leap, almost making the handheld camera relevant again in the age of smartphones for capturing life – be it family, shredding, or both. I was lucky enough to test out an Insta360 action camera this year for The Inertia, one of the newest, and boldest, entries into the action cam genre.
The Insta360 is just that, a superbly packaged camera that allows for 360-degree views of your adventures. It’s easy to use, the editing software is simple and allows for change of view or angle in post production (it is a 360 degree camera), and it’s super easy to carry. Dive in and I’ll drop a few more details.
First Impressions of the Insta360 X3
The camera I checked out is Insta360 X3. When I got this baby in my paws, a certain immediately stood out: it felt remarkably sturdy. With a $500 price tag for what Insta360 calls “The Ultimate Kit,” you can definitely feel a difference in quality with a tough, rubbery material for the camera’s body, wrapped in a hardy, construction-duty plastic. It also features tempered glass – which further ups the camera’s durable feel and makes for a wide touchscreen to control your image-capturing.
The X3 shines in its versatility: you can use it in single-lens mode and capture traditional action-cam view points (and great photos), or again, go 360 and get the whole shebang from powder days to barreling waves (I’ll get to the sport accessories in a minute).
Keep in mind, the viewpoints you can capture are still action-cam views. With the Insta360 Invisible Selfie Stick, you can hold the camera in front, or give it more of a drone feel by raising the Selfie Stick and holding it overhead and behind you. This is where action cameras are still limited. You can capture “selfie” footage but it’s tough to get solid footy of your friends unless they’re right there next to you. Or you let them hold your stick.
Notable Features
Accessories
About that selfie stick, Insta360 has done a great job with its accessories. The Invisible Selfie Stick (now available in the Extended Version as well), is a really solid metal stick that easily extends to an impressive length for all-around views. The Insta360 stick is also usable with other action cameras, so keep that in mind. By itself, the camera is super packable, fitting perfectly in your pocket for when you need to focus on just shredding.
The camera itself is submersible up to 33 feet. For surfing, kiting, foiling, or any and all of the above, Insta360 makes a chest strap where you can rig the camera extended off your back for the ultimate in-water follow cam. They also make a floating hand grip that would be great for sitting on the shoulder, capturing shots of your friends getting pitted. It might be hard to hold though, as you pop up on a surfboard.
In short, Insta360 has cleverly created a whole separate business out of camera accessories with gimbals for iPhones, selfie sticks, tripods and other nifty gadgets that work with a variety of cameras and devices.
Software
The imagery and footage (which comes out beautifully with built-in stabilization and great image quality ranging from 4-8k) is easy to download through the Insta360 app where you can cut down your footage, edit photos, create Instagram stories, TikToks, YouTube shorts, etc., all right there on the phone. You can also instantly improve the quality of your vids with auto HD (which I’m still learning about, as you can see in my pow cut, below), and the audio with the X3 is a step up in the action cam world with four separate mics that allow for quick interviews that won’t sound hollow.
Drawbacks
Action cameras still don’t capture footage from farther than 10 feet away all that well. You can’t sit on top of a line and film your buddy stomping it from more than a few feet as he or she will get too small, too quick. This is more of an industry wide thing, not a gripe with Insta360. The water system on the Insta360 could be improved slightly to allow for better grip while surfing, instead of mounting on a backpack, which makes it a bit more cumbersome to deal with. A floating device or add-on that one could hold in their mouths as they pop up, then transfer to their hands, might help? But this is small potatoes in the overall stew.
Final Thoughts
The Insta360 X3 is easily one of the go-to action cameras on the market. Simple to pack, easy to shoot, quality footage – it’s all there in a hardy little package. The editing suite is rad: shoot first, compose later for the correct view. Insta360 now has a plethora of options in the action cam realm if you seek a different version: the Go3, a tiny, hand-held cam for city life; the Ace Pro, which is more of a sports camera with a new flippable viewfinder; the Insta360 OneX2, a smaller, simpler version of the X3; and the One RS, a super simplified AcePro. Insta360 makes quality gear that works, and is a helluva lot of fun to take on any adventure.
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