path: root/wired/published/insta360.txt

Ever since the GoPro Hero line worked out its kinks, defining the action camera genre in the process, not much has changed for action cameras. Worthy competitors have come on the scene, and GoPro releases incrementally better cameras as well, but until I played with the Insta360 One R [earlier this year at CES](https://www.wired.com/story/best-of-ces-2020/), I would have argued that this type of camera was pretty well baked.

Now I am not so sure. Insta360's One R challenges the basic assumptions about what an action camera can be, and uses a unique modular design to allow for more flexibility. 

The result is an action camera that's capable of handling a greater variety of shooting scenarios and generating unique footage you won't get from any other camera in this genre. It's a two-in-one combo that actually delivers.

###Mod Squad

The One R is not your standard action camera. It's not necessarily even an action camera. The One R is a modular camera system that can be used as an action camera, but it can also be used as a 360-degree camera similar to Insta360's One X camera. 

To make sure it's still water resistant and up to the challenging environments action cameras inhabit, the lenses and sensors are a single, watertight unit. 

The lens and sensor snaps into a controller module. It's a bit like putting together LEGO blocks. The controller has all the rest of the features—power button, record button, microSD slot, and a small touchscreen monitor. These two then sit on top of a battery plate that runs along the bottom. 

Fully assembled, the One R is roughly the shape of a GoPro Hero 8, and only slightly larger.

The heart of the system is the interchangeable lens/sensor combos, which Insta360 calls mods. Currently there are three mods. The 4K mod is the typical 4K action camera lens, with a 16.4 lens (35mm equivalent). The field of view is slightly narrower than what you'll get from a GoPro Hero 8, but otherwise similar. This mod serves as the base model for the One R as an action cam, and costs $300 (this option is not yet available).

The next mod is a dual-lens 360 camera that uses two fisheye lenses, capturing a 360-degree field of view. I've never found 360-degree lenses particularly helpful because they require post-production—the time-consuming process of stitching together your raw footage in software. Insta360 manages to simplify this process with some smart software editing options. 

The final and most interesting of the mods is known as the wide angle mod. This lens pairs a larger, one-inch sensor with a 14.4 lens (35mm equivalent) co-engineered with Leica. The resulting footage is hands down the best looking video and images I've seen come out of an action camera. 

The power of the One R system comes in combining these lenses to suit your needs. The Insta360 site has a all kinds of pairings. The two I recommend are the [One R twin edition ($480)](https://fave.co/3bCjvcb){: rel=nofollow}, which features the 4K lens and the 360-degree twin lens mod. 

If you have the extra money, the even nicer option is the "expert edition", which pairs the higher resolution one-inch, wide-angle mod with the dual-lens 360 mod. The [expert edition sells for $750](https://fave.co/3bCjvcb){: rel=nofollow}.

Whichever configuration you opt for, you'll also get the monitor piece, the battery base, and a mounting cage that's compatible with nearly any action cam accessory.

There are several other ways you can mix and match lenses and accessories for the One R, including designing your own custom combo. Another accessory worth mentioning is the boosted battery base, which doubles the battery capacity (though it also makes the camera considerably larger).

I should also note that there are also two drone-related aerial editions which allow you to mount the dual lens 360 camera on a Mavic Pro or Mavic 2. I have not used either of these yet, but the footage I have seen is impressive. They effectively make your drone invisible and deliver airborne 360 footage.

###Photo and Video Quality

Assembling the Insta360 One R and swapping lenses in and out is simple enough, but you do have to disconnect from the battery, so it's not technically hot swappable. Swapping lenses here is different than a traditional interchangable lens camera and it takes enough effort that you aren't going to manage it without stopping whatever you're doing. This is especially true with the one-inch mod, which requires removing the front cover before taking it out of the cage to swap lenses.

Also note that while the One R is water-resistant to 16 feet (use the case to hold everything together when you're going to get it wet), divers will want to spring for a fully [waterproof case ($60](https://fave.co/2w6L7Wk){: rel=nofollow} that's good to 197 feet (the one-inch mod requires [a different case ($80)](https://fave.co/2w6L7Wk){: rel=nofollow}).

I used the 4K mod alongside a GoPro Hero 8 ([8/10 WIRED Recommends](https://www.wired.com/review/go-pro-hero-8-black/)), using all auto exposure on both, recording H.265 4K video, and found the performance and video quality very similar. 

There are some situations in which the GoPro rendered better detail, particularly fine details like grass or leaves of trees, but to notice this I had to zoom in on both and look very closely. Suffice to say that Insta360's efforts are on par with the rest of the action camera market.

Where the One R really shines is the one-inch mod. The larger sensor means you get 5.3K video (versus 4K in others). What's immediately noticeable in the footage from the one-inch mod is how much better the contrast, dynamic range, shadow detail, color depth and rendering, and sharpness are. It blows every other action cam out of the water—including the One R with the 4K mod.

This shouldn't be terribly surprising given that the sensor is larger, capable of capturing more detail and the glass, with its Leica pedigree, really excels at rendering details and micro contrast.

I pitted the stabilization of the One R with the 4K mod against the GoPro Hero 8, and the One R with one-inch mod and what really jumped out at me was how good they all were. Again I had to really zoom in and watch background objects to even find problems. I am hard pressed to pick a favorite, but I think the GoPro comes out slightly ahead here. The Hero 8 just has a certainly silkiness to it that I have not seen anything else match.

Insta360 claims 65 minutes of battery life for the 360 mod, but I never managed to get it. With the screen always on I got about 45 minutes. Turning off the screen made the battery last longer, but to my mind it makes more sense to buy another battery ($29). Thankfully the One R is USB-C and can charge up in about an hour. There's also a dual battery fast charger available that cuts the charge time to 30 minutes. Also note that like other action cams, the One R will shoot 30 minutes of video and then start a new clip.

There is no dedicated 3.5mm microphone input, but you can get a USB Type C to 3.5mm microphone adapter for higher quality audio. You can also pair a Bluetooth headset and use that as a microphone.

###Software

Insta360's video editing app for Android and iOS is one of the best video editing apps I've used. It offers simple, but powerful automatic options for beginners, while also providing more complex, feature-rich options to satisfy more advanced users.

If you've used the app with the One X, note that there are some big improvements in the new version, especially the ability to edit over Wi-Fi. Using this you can edit your footage without waiting for it to download to your phone. It does use lower resolution footage in this mode though, so don't worry if your clips aren't razor sharp, they will be once the background downloading is done.

The biggest problem with 360-degree footage is, well, how do you focus and frame what you want out of the shot? It's the classic paradox of choice: when you captured everything, what do you actually want to show? 

Insta360's app solves this with its Auto Frame feature, which parses though your clips and uses AI-powered image recognition and tracking to frame shots for you. It's not perfect, but it picked out exactly the parts of the shot I wanted at least 80 percent of the time. All you need to do is pick which of these clips you want to use, sort them around the way you want, and export your video. 

The AI-tracking algorithm makes it possible to go back through your footage and track a subject after the fact. All you need to do is tap the subject and the app will automatically frame and track it. 

If you do want to set keyframes yourself and frame your own shots, that's possible as well. Insta360 has a number of nice tutorials available online that teach you how to shoot and edit different types of shots. The app can also work with any footage, if you want to combine your 360 footage with some video from your phone for instance.

Some in-camera software features worth noting include the Color Plus mode, which auto-applies a nice color grading to your footage. The Nightshot mode is great for low light stills. It captures a 9-image stack in both RAW and JPG, blending them in-camera to produce an HDR image. And, very welcome for 360 or action camera footage is the live histogram. The screen is pretty small and I found the histogram was often a better way to ensure I had the correct exposure.

### Future Proof?

Insta360's One R solves a several problems with action cameras that I did not know I had. First it expands your range of shooting possibilities without requiring you to buy another camera. It combines the related, but disconnected, worlds of 360 capture and action camera into a single unit and the result is—and I'll admit this surprised me—a camera that is very good at both. 

The modular design also introduces another possibility: the hardware can be incrementally upgraded. If you buy the one-inch mod now, to get higher resolution action camera footage and decided in two months that you want to try shooting 360 degree video (and trust me, you do want to try it) you can just buy the 360 mod without shelling out for a whole new camera.

Ideally, two years from now when the one-inch sensor mod supports, say, 8K video, you'll be able to buy a new one-inch mod, attach it to your existing One R, just like you would a new lens for your DSLR. It remains to be seen of course of Insta360 makes such things possible down the road, but I for one certainly hope so.