Insta 360 One X 2 put to the test
/Coming full circle with the Insta 360 One X 2 camera
I’ve been using 360 cameras for a few years now, and still find them to be amazingly capable and unique bundles of fully immersive tricks.
Recently I got hold of an Insta 360 One X 2 from the company to test. It’s, hardly a new camera, but is still the latest in the line of Insta 360’s fully immersive camera range.
For some time I’ve been using the original One X, and had heard good things about the newer model. As my lenses are scuffed (something you need to be very careful to avoid doing with any 360 camera) I decided to take a look at the newer version, and to see if it was much of an upgrade on my older and trusty One X.
Physically the cameras may look similar, and also have similar specs. However, the newer camera is fatter, far more-hefty, has a small live screen and is also waterproof.
In use it feels far more substantial, although that extra weight does also mean that you really need to tighten any GoPro mounts a few clicks more for on the bike or for rigorous use - if that’s the mounting system you’re using (chesty etc).
The new camera also has a 2-button layout (one being on the side), which takes a little getting used to after the 2 front button setup on the original One X, and there is a noticeable delay when shutting down the newer camera.
Insta 360 have gone with the same fiddly door cover to the charging point as they did with their One R. This is necessary for the waterproofing, but it’s very easy to lose that tiny little flap of plastic, and ir would be nice to have a spare in, so do be sure to get a spare if you buy the camera (and can find one).
Apart from the button layout the new screen and the micro SD card slot positioning, in use it’s all but the same as its predecessor. Personally I don’t find the small screen to be of much use (some will love it), as I always control the camera through the phone app, where I get a much bigger picture, although it can be useful to gauge exposure if needed – but small screens just don’t work for me, on any device.
I’ve used 360 cameras for all kinds of stuff over the past few years, and things have come a long way, both in technical terms and also in my own understanding of how to use them – which is an acquired art, but one well worth persisting with.
The original One X left, the One X 2 right
The quality of video coming out of the newer camera, and also the 360 still images is better than the older version – just how much is hard to say, but it is noticeable, although for small screen and social media it’s not a leap that will pop your senses.
Just as I got to using the camera Insta 360 also revamped and super-powered their mobile app. This, in truth, is where the magic of 360 cameras comes to life, and having tried other systems I can still shout out that they lead the way here, and by a long way too.
There is also a desktop app, from where you can attain slightly better output results, although for me it’s the mobile app all of the way. From here you can connect directly to the camera to control it. You can even live stream via the app, and most importantly you can download and edit those spherical full circle 360 images into reframed regular images and videos.
You can, of course also output the 360 images and video, although it’s definitely the overcapture feature in app that makes it so special. You can reframe those images and clips in almost any way you wish – but it does take a while to get used to what is, and also what is not possible to achieve.
When reframing many assume that because it says 5.7k resolution on the box that this is what you will get. However, you do need to realise that the reframing effectively means that you are cropping in to a tiny section of that full video, hence the resolution will actually come out somewhere between 720-1080p, depending in your crop.
It can take a while to get the best out of these cameras. I’m 3-4 years in and still learning, and you will not get the same quality as you would with a regular 4k action camera, but – that’s not the point.
You can capture things in ways “one directional” action cameras and phones can only dream of, which makes 360 cameras invaluable to me.
Is it a major step up from the One X? In my opinion not a huge leap, but it is one worth taking if, especially, like me, you have scuffed lenses.
Being as the original is now discontinued then there’s not even a question of comparison – this is a superb camera, and well worth the investment and the time it will take to master.
Above are reframed Instagram videos, while bestow are full 360 still images, which you can spin around
Low res video snapshot taken in an extremely difficult lighting situation