With the increase in social media influencer culture and action photography on the rise, 360° cameras are highly in demand.
These cameras have incredibly wide-angle lenses, which place the subject and capture everything around it in a 360 degree/panoramic manner. To shoot action-filled adventures, large visual fields needed to be covered to capture the adventurer’s experience. That’s where this category of action cameras comes in handy.
Among these cameras, Insta360 One R has been one of the chart-topping cameras for quite a while. Is this camera worth buying, or is it only a good marketing campaign?
Here is our hands-on review covering its technical aspects and everything else you need to know about this unique action camera.
Insta360 One R Review
Despite costing almost half compared to the latest GoPro action cameras, this camera is packed with lots of incredible features. Among very few action cameras are considered direct rivals of GoPro.
Insta360 One R is designed for action enthusiasts looking for professional-level results from action cameras but does not want to spend as much money as they have to on mainstream action.
This modular action camera snaps together like lego bricks. It features impeccable built-in stabilization, 360° video shooting capabilities, super 5.7K resolution, Bullet Time 2.0, reversible screen, computer vision algorithm for focusing, and several brand new features.
The following section covers details of the prominent features of this substantial device.
Salient Features:
Video Performance
Accurate colors and very sharp footage!
Video performance is the best feature of this camera. It can perfectly handle both full-resolution 360-degree videos (5.7K at 30fps) and 4k videos (4K at 60fps) using the respective modules.
For 360º, Insta360 One R features a six-axis gyroscope-powered FlowState image stabilization software. We tried it under multiple different circumstances and got gimbal-like crystal clear footage every time.
Overall, video results are up to the mark, but in 360º, footages stitching is visible upon noticing.
Still images
Manufacturers’ focus is always on video quality and specs for action cameras. The same is the case with this camera, but we got some exceptional results during our experimentation.
It offers 12MP stills in RAW + JPEG format and several shooting modes that can work wonders if utilized.
While using this camera, both the 4k module and 360-degree module will provide you with different results. 360 one has a fish-eye view and works best for wide-angle shots. 4K one is best for general shoots. Image stabilization (FlowState) is excellent for both.
Results under sufficient light were outstanding. Low light results also turned out reasonable. Lifted shadows, bringing more detail out of the darker areas of the image, making images shot in dim light somewhat brighter.
Design
The physical dimensions for the 4k Wide Angle camera are 2.8 x 1.9 x 1.3 inches, and for Dual-Lens 360 camera, these are 2.8 x 1.9 x 1.7 inches.
Insta 360 One R has a unique modular design. It consists of the core module, the lens, and the battery, which come together like lego. The modular design opens a lot of windows of possibilities; you can use different suitable batteries and lenses with your camera as per your requirements. Not only that, if any of these modules are damaged, they can be easily replaced, and it won’t affect the remaining two.
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Another feature we liked was the 1.5 inches reversible screen on the core module. Results displayed on the screen are pretty vibrant and clear. It will allow you to preview everything while standing in front of the lens, just like a selfie camera.
Honestly, the camera is excellent in terms of results and performance, but this tiny size is a drawback. The buttons on the camera body are so small that unless the user is paying full attention, it sometimes becomes impossible to operate them.
Overall the build is solid and durable. You can take it out in your fun-filled activities outdoors without any worry about damaging it. It is also waterproof up to 5 meters only. But the manufacturer recommends using housing to keep the camera’s parts together underwater.
User Experience
In terms of user interference, the screen size and buttons weren’t very pleasing for us. Secondly, modular design has many benefits too, but it is impossible to use the device without a casing in some cases. Insta360 has a wide window for improvements when it comes to size.
There are a dozen features for users’ ease and enhance the still/video footage. Some of the worth mentioning features are: invisible selfie stick, Flash Cut (Impressive editing software), Timeshift, HDR, Night shot, Wi-Fi, point to track, 8x slow motion and 4x slow-motion 360, AI-powered finishing algorithm for footage detail preservation, bullet time, voice control, and Auto frame.
Battery life
Insta360 One R uses a standard 1150mAh battery. Its recharge takes just over an hour. And it can give almost 45-65 minutes of the continuous video shoot.
Insta360 One R App
Besides occasional lagging, this app compliments One R operations pretty fine.
To use all the device’s features, users must download the app because 360 video has to be processed inside the app. Once processed, it can be exported at 3K, 4K, 5.7K, or 960P.
Some of the app’s capabilities are allowing quick edits and reframing of 360 videos, AI editing, auto framing/reframing, advanced tracking, music, and color correction. It can also be used to remotely change the camera settings, i.e., resolution, shooting mode when filming.
It is compatible with both Android and iOs.
Insta360 One R Specifications:
- Dimensions: 4K Wide Angle 2.8 x 1.9 x 1.3″ , Dual-Lens 360 2.8 x 1.9 x 1.7″
- Weight :4K Wide Angle 121 g, Dual-Lens 130.5 g
- Aperture: 4K Wide Angle – F2.8, 360 degree – F2.0
- 35mm Equivalent Focal Length: 4K Wide Angle – 16.4mm, 360 Degree – 7.2mm
- Photo Resolution: 4K Wide Angle: 4000 x 3000 (4:3) 360 Degree – 4000 x 2250 (16:9)
- 6080 x 3040 (2:1)
- Video Resolution: 4K Wide Angle – 4000×3000@24/25/30fps, 3840×2160@24/25/30/60fps, 2720×1530@24/25/30/60/100fps, 1920×1080@24/25/30/60/120/200fps, 360 Degree – 5760×2880@30fps, 5760×2880@24fps, 5760×2880@25fps, 3840×1920@50fps, 3840×1920@30fps, 3008×1504@100fps
- Battery life: 5.3K @ 30fps = 65 minutes
- Max video resolution: 5.3K
- Max photo resolution: 5312 x 3552 (3:2) or 5312 x 2988 (16:9)
- Photo Format: 4K Wide Angle – JPEG, RAW, 360 Video – Insp, RAW
- Screen: Reversible touchscreen
- Still images format: Raw and JPEG photos
- Main Shooting Modes: HDR, Night Shot, and Time-lapse
- Video modes: H.264/H.265 video codecs (100 Mbps)
- Image Stabilization: FlowState image stabilization
- Waterproof: Yes. Up to 5 meters only (16.4ft)
- Wi-Fi: Yes
- Ports: USB-C for charging and connections
Pros:
- Gimbel like stabilization
- Awe-inspiring video quality
- Partial waterproofing
- Reversible touch screen
- Auto frame
- Hyperlapse
- Multiple lens options, including 360 lens
- Modular Design
Cons:
- Size is not very user-friendly
- It gets pretty warm after continuous use
- No mounting without using a frame
Conclusion
Insta360 One R complete modular design, great features, reliable performance, ensuring that the users enjoy the experience and get the total value of money they spend on it.
While using the camera, especially outdoors, the camera’s buttons required annoying close attention to operating them. That’s because of the camera’s tiny size, but honestly, that’s something bearable because of all the great features this device processes.
We expect manufacturers to address this issue in the next generations of the gadget, the same way GoPro did by simplifying the control panel, increasing button size, and keeping only the necessary buttons on their cameras’ bodies.
Generally, Insta360 One R is a super-fun camera to use. With plain 4K videos, it also allows users to capture their experiences in a 360º manner for virtual reality. For the price, you won’t get the same results as GoPro, but still, it is worth every penny spent on it.
Features we like the best are its innovative modular design, reversible touch-screen, gimbal-like stabilization, multiple lens options, and results of 360-degree videos.
Not perfect, but an excellent action camera <– Affiliate link 🙂 I highly recommend it!
