In terms of action cameras, the first brand that comes to mind is likely to be GoPro. They make small, cube-shaped wide-angle cameras for people who do extreme sports. In the last few years, GoPro has had a lot of competition from Insta360, a Chinese company that makes 360-degree cameras that are very popular.
Insta360 has a new camera called the One RS that can be changed from a standard action camera to a 360-degree camera by being modular. The One RS isn’t the only Insta360 camera that’s fun to use. The One RS has a lot of great software features, but the One RS isn’t the only Insta360 camera that’s fun to use.
Insta360 One RS: Pricing and Availability
Modular: The parts of the Insta360 One RS can be sold separately or together in different ways. There will be a lot of people who buy the $549 “Twin Edition,” which comes with both 4K action lenses and a mounting bracket. This includes the core, battery base, and both lenses. For $299, you get the core, the battery base, and a Leica-branded action lens that has a 1-inch sensor. For $549, you get the core, the battery base, and a 1-inch Leica-branded action lens that has a 1-inch sensor.
Design and Hardware
The Insta360 One RS is made up of three parts:
- A core with an unknown processor, a 1.5-inch screen, a microphone, a MicroSD card slot, and a USB-C port.
- A 1,445 mAh battery is used as the base.
When the camera takes a picture, the lens looks through it (there are three options)
In addition to the wide-angle action lens, there is a 360 lens (two 5.7K fisheye lenses with 180-degree field of view), as well as a wide-angle 1-inch sensor lens from Leica (this is essentially a superior version of the 4K Boost Lens with a larger sensor that takes in more light).
You can buy each of these parts on its own, but you can also buy a package with one or more lenses. I tried the “Twin Edition,” which comes with both the 4K Boost lens and the 360 lens, as well as a mounting bracket, and I liked it.
Almost all of these parts connect to each other through pin slots, which are similar to those found in Nintendo games from the 1980s and 1990s. They all snap into place with ease. Once the parts are connected, the whole thing feels strong, as if it’s made of one piece. When the One RS is properly connected, it is rated IPX8 for water resistance up to 16 feet under the water.
When the Insta360 One RS is connected, it weighs 121g (4.3oz) and is 70.1 x 49.1 x 32.6mm in size. GoPro Hero 10 Black and DJI Action are both action cameras that aren’t attached to a phone. This one is bigger and heavier.
Physical buttons for power and shutter are on the core. There are slots for USB-C and MicroSD cards (both covered by a water-resistant flap), a microphone, a 1.5-inch LCD screen that can be used to navigate through the camera’s UI, and a water-resistant cover. When people use their phones, they can use the Insta360 app to control the camera. During the software class, I will talk more about the app and show you how to use it Besides being a viewfinder, the screen is also used to take pictures and videos. Because it is modular, it can be put on either side of the lens, which is good for taking selfies and vlogs (for capturing footage in front of the user).
Take 48MP still photos or record video up to 4K/60fps in normal mode, or six-second ultra wide-screen video in anamorphic mode. The 4K Boost lens can also take 4K/60fps photos. The 360 lens, on the other hand, can record 360-degree video up to 5.7K at 30 frames per second, or a lower resolution at up to 100 frames per second.
Using the Insta360 One RS
The Insta360 One RS comes with a built-in microphone and a touchscreen that makes it easy to switch between different shooting modes. It only needs a MicroSD card, which you’ll need to buy on its own. Once that is done, the Insta360 One RS can work on its own without ever needing a smartphone. You can look at the scene on the built-in screen, record with the press of a button, review the footage on the screen and move files to a computer with the MicroSD card.
When you connect the Insta360 One RS to your phone through the Insta360 companion app (available for iOS and Android), the process is much easier. You get a bigger screen to look at and review footage, for example. If you want to change things like exposure and white balance, you can use the app to control the Insta360 One RS from your phone. You don’t have to touch the camera itself to change shooting modes or start recording. You can use your phone or tablet instead. Right after this one, I’ll talk about the Insta360 app more in the software part.
With the 4K Boost lens, the One RS is a typical action camera. It has a wide field of view and everything is in focus. Even though the lens has optical stabilization built into it, software stabilization is also very good. Even when I’m walking, riding a bicycle or running at full speed, the footage comes out mostly stable and smooth, even if I’m moving quickly. To make vlogs, I can hold the One RS with both hands and my arm outstretched. I can get my whole head and shoulder in the shot. Add a selfie stick and you’ll get a picture that shows more than just you and your background. When I speak, the built-in microphone does a good job of picking up my voice. Insta360’s software will automatically apply a de-noising algorithm to remove background noises, but this makes my voice sound a little digital.
Insta360 One RS: Software
There is, of course, a lot more to it than that. Insta360 has both a mobile app for iOS and Android and a desktop app for Windows and Mac, both of which can be used to record videos. A lot of the time, the mobile app is easier and more intuitive to use, but the desktop software is needed to make 6K wide-screen videos. Since I’ve been using Insta360 products for a long time, I’ve mostly used the app on my phone. Read more; X-Sense Wi-Fi Smoke Detector – Receive Instant Smoke Alarm On Your Phone
When you open the app on your phone, a few taps connect you to the One RS wirelessly. This process takes a lot less time on the iOS app than on the Android app (around 10 seconds vs up to a minute). As soon as you connect the two apps, both of them have the same look and feel.
Within the app, we can see the camera’s viewfinder on our mobile screen, control the camera right in the app, and make changes to footage that we’ve already shot, all from the same place. For a free app, the editing tools are pretty impressive. You can cut the length, change the aspect ratio (16:9, 9:16, 1:1), and save the video to your phone’s storage. You can also apply beauty filters that make your eyes bigger or your skin brighter (ugh). All of these things can be changed as well. There’s also a “Color Plus” button that uses AI to make changes automatically. I think it mostly works. Read also; Sony SRS-NB10 Review: A Perfect Companion
For 4K Boost lens footage, the editing is easy, almost like fixing up any normal smartphone footage that needs to be cleaned up. We can do a lot of things with 360 footage, though, like turn a 360 video into an ordinary video. To frame the video, we can move our fingers around the screen so that they pinch and swipe the footage, or we can write down all of the pivot points where the camera moves.
Who should buy the Insta360 One RS?
The Twin Edition costs $549, which seems like a lot at first, but when you think about how much you’re getting for your money, it makes sense. If you buy just one of these cameras from GoPro, you’ll pay $500. A GoPro Hero 10 alone costs $400.
If you like to go outside and want a camera that can take pictures of everything, the Insta360 One RS is one of the best out there. Packages that don’t come with either the 360 lenses or the action lens can cut about $100 off the price.
