Best Insta360 Cameras for Content Creators in 2023

This guide to the best Insta360 cameras of the year so far will help you choose the exact product for your needs.

360-degree cameras are so much fun, but they can be pretty expensive.

Thankfully, Insta360 have brought them to the masses with their (more) affordable pricing and wide product range.

Insta360 action cameras also make a great alternative to a GoPro for immersive POV video footage.

I own the first version of the Insta360 Go, which I wouldn’t recommend, and my son-in-law owns the Insta360 X3, which I’d definitely recommend.

You see, each of these cameras is slightly nuanced with its features, so it’s really important to understand the quirks before you buy.

Let’s jump into the guide.

What is the Best Insta360 Camera in 2023?

Image	Product	Features
	Insta360 X3OUR TOP PICK	2.29" LCD Touchscreen 360° Horizon Lock FlowState Stabilization 33' Waterproof without Housing	Check AMAZON Price → Check B&H Price →
	Insta360 1-Inch 360 EditionHIGHEST QUALITY VIDEO	Water Resistant 6-Axis FlowState Stabilization Webcam Mode 360° Horizon Lock	Check AMAZON Price → Check B&H Price →
	Insta360 One X2 BEST VALUE	360° Horizon Lock Live-View Touchscreen Invisible Selfie Stick Effect FlowState Stabilization	Check AMAZON Price → Check B&H Price →
	Insta360 One RSMOST VERSATILE	3-Prong Mounting Frame 3 Mics for Better Audio Instant Zoom Waterproof to 16'	Check AMAZON Price → Check B&H Price →
	Insta360 Go 2HANDS FREE	One-Tap Time-Lapse Auto-Edit Feature Waterproof to 13' Miniature 3K Action Camera	Check AMAZON Price → Check B&H Price →
	Insta360 EvoBEST FOR VR	Flow State Stabilization HD photo + video Headset Ready Cinematic Slow-mo	Check Amazon Price →

 

Insta360 X3 (Our Top Pick)

Insta360’s flagship consumer offering is an action camera and 360 camera in one. It’s small, so you can carry it around easily and/or clip it to your body, a car or motorbike, using one of their accessories.

It’s weather resistant and waterproof up to 33ft.

Boasting dual ½ inch 48-megapixel sensors, the Insta360 X3 can record 360-degree footage at a whopping 5.7K and still photos at a massive 72-megapixel resolution!

Using only a single lens to shoot wide-angle POV footage still gives you 4K capabilities too.

One of the coolest features is the Insta360 X3’s Invisible Selfie Stick. Each camera takes in 210 degrees of view. This creates an overlap, and a sweet spot where the camera, held away from the body, can’t be seen.

Combine this with the AI-drive ‘Me’ mode, and you’ll look as if you’re being filmed by a drone, from any angle. Third-person POV!

 

It also has a 360-degree horizon lock, so no worries about wonky worlds (unless you want them), and market-leading FlowState image stabilization.

With its 2.29-inch touchscreen, it’s a breeze to preview footage and navigate the menu. And once you transfer your footage from the camera to your phone, the Insta360 app has a plethora of features that will take it to the next level.

There’s AI Auto Framing, Auto Tracking (to keep a subject in the centre of the frame), a photo animator, and an AI Storyteller feature that lets you stitch your footage together using creative templates.

• Insta360 X3: 360° Action Camera Review

Insta360 1-Inch 360 Edition (Highest Quality Video)

This, for the serious consumer, is a mighty, mighty camera, as you’d expect from something co-engineered by Leica.

It’s the first Insta360 to have dual 1-inch sensors, and as such, it provides incredible image quality and dynamic range.

Due to the size of its sensors, the Insta360 1-Inch works extremely well in low light conditions, picking out all the details other cameras might miss.

Like others in the range it has 360-degree horizon lock, and Insta360s bespoke, AI-assisted FlowState Image Stabilization, so shaky footage is a thing of the past.

It also incorporates the brand’s Invisible Selfie Stick feature, meaning you can record fantastic third-person views, and anyone watching would think it was filmed by a drone.

 

It has a long-life battery, which should give you up to 60 minutes of recording time shooting 6K video at 30fps. Of course, if you’re not using the device at the top range of its capabilities you’ll get significantly more shooting time.

A unique feature of this camera, and one that separates it from the pack, is its Leica lenses and the fact that these are interchangeable.

This gives you the kind of flexibility of a modular device like the Insta360 One RS. No more being limited by a single type of lens.

• What is the best action camera?

Insta360 One X2 (Best Value)

This is a rugged, waterproof action camera for the user who doesn’t want to fork out a huge amount of cash.

It’s long-lasting when fully charged, and has over double the battery life of its immediate ancestor, the Insta360 One X.

The Insta360 X2 has great audio capabilities. With its four mics and a newly-designed smart wind-reduction algorithm, your voice, or anything else you want to be the aural focus of the recording, will come through consistently.

Take it out in extreme conditions and rest assured there won’t be any sudden drop-offs in sound quality.

The Insta360 One X2 is a solid choice for anyone who wants to travel light but still have a feature-packed action camera in their pocket.

• GoPro vs Insta360: Which is Better?

Insta360 One RS (Most Versatile)

The Insta360 One RS is a modular 4K point-and-shoot action camera and a 5.7K 360-degree camera all rolled into one.

Although many of the features of its predecessor, the Insta360 One R, remain the same, there have been some important upgrades.

The battery is larger and now gives you around 80 minutes of filming time. The 4K mod now has a 1/2 inch 48 megapixel sensor, that’s 4 times as many megapixels as the Insta360 One R.

 

The device has also had a much-longed-for upgrade in terms of its ease of use. The Insta One R could be difficult to release from its mounting bracket, and once released, it could be fiddly to switch mods around.

The new quick-release mechanism makes it quick and simple to get the device out and then swap mods on the fly.

Insta360 Go 2 (Hands-Free)

The Insta360 Go 2 is one of the smallest, if not the smallest, action cameras on the market today at just 53mm high and 24mm wide.

It comes in a case that is vital to its use. The case has the camera’s menu for controlling the little fellow and also has little foldable legs that turn it into a tiny tripod.

It’s also the charger, and if you use the charger with the camera you get 150 minutes of recording, compared to 60 minutes without.

On the backof the Insta360 Go 2 is a magnet, so you can stick it to a metal wall or a fridge, or to the magnetic pendant that comes with the camera, to fasten it to your chest for some creative first person shots.

As it’s such a small device, with limited storage, it’s maybe not the best option to take on your extreme sports adventure, but it’s perfect for vlogging and travelling, and you could even stick it to your dog or cat, see what they get up to when you’re not around.

It’s also a big improvement on the original Insta360 Go, which didn’t have the tripod case/charger and suffered from poor battery life.

Insta360 Evo (Best for VR)

This a pretty unique device. It’s a 360-degree camera that also doubles as a 180-degree 3D camera.

It shoots 18-megapixel photos and 5.7K video at 30fps, and 4K video at 30 or 50fps, so it’s going to give you the high-quality imagery and footage that the other cameras in this list will.

The truly special thing about the camera, though, is how it enables you to make 3D, VR footage.

The device is basically a folded box. Folded up it’s a 360 camera, and folded out flat, it’s a 180-degree camera, with the lenses spaced out the width of your eyes.

Insta360, with this device, found a way to make image stabilization, previously only possible with the 360-degree camera, available to the 180-degree camera. That’s a game-changer for making VR videos.

Eliminating camera shake means that when you watch the footage back using a VR headset, you really feel like it’s you who is doing whatever is happening in there.

And you don’t necessarily need an expensive VR headset to watch that footage. Get yourself a relatively inexpensive Holoframe (a special 3D viewing transparent phone cover), and watch that footage straight from your phone.

What Is a 360° Camera?

A 360-degree camera is simply a camera which has front-facing and rear-facing 180-degree cameras.

Together, they capture everything all around, all at once.

360-degree cameras are becoming extremely popular.

There’s no better way to fully immerse a viewer in action than by giving them a 360-degree point of view.

Not only that, with exponential increases in the power and capabilities of these cameras and their editing apps, the control users have over the framing and look of the final footage is pretty much endless.

360-degree cameras have been used for a while in professional settings, such as in the cinema, commercial videography, and the tech industry, for example, Google’s Street View.

More recently, as advances in technology have allowed the devices to shrink to the size of your average human’s pocket, Joe Public has been able to get in on the action.

How Does an Insta360 Camera Work?

Without getting too technical, it’s a stitch-up.

The two lenses, front and rear, record a full 180 degrees each, and when plopped together, like the two halves of an eggshell, they blend seamlessly to create an immersive, 360-degree image.

It’s a kind of magic.

But it’s not all about the camera. Insta360 is known for its in-app editing suite. This is where, using the dazzling variety of creative tools they give you, you can take your 360-degree video to the next level.

What Is a 360° Camera Used for?

These cameras are particularly good for video, and specifically, immersive experiences.

For extreme sports enthusiasts, one use is recording yourself skiing down a mountain, or climbing along a mountain ridge. Anyone who sees it will watch the experience from your POV.

They’re also used in the real estate business for shooting interiors. An easy way for people to get a good look at the property.

And Google Street View? Also made with 360-degree cameras.

Frequently Asked Questions about Insta360 Cameras

Which Insta360 camera is the best?

Of course, this depends on what you need it for.

If you specifically want to make 3D footage for VR, then the best one for you is the Evo.

If you’d like something with interchangeable, modular parts, then you can go for the One RS or the 1-Inch 360 Edition.

Not doing anything too extreme or for particularly long? Get the Go 2.

For everything else, the best thing to do would be to choose between the flagship X3, or the trust One X2.

Are 360 degree cameras any good?

They do what they do, and they do it well.

But I suppose the question really is ‘Are 360-degree cameras good for me?’ And that, only you know.

They’re best for shooting videos that immerse the viewer in the action or scene. They’re less useful for stills photography as that is more focused on points of interest rather than capturing everything everywhere all at once.

Which is the latest Insta 360 camera?

The latest model is the Insta360 X3, released in September 2022.

What is the most powerful Insta360 camera?

That’d be the beefy Insta360 One RS. Beefy as in powerful, not chunky.

This bad boy is co-engineered with Leica and has interchangeable lenses and two one-inch CMOS sensors, which give you incredible dynamic range.

With it, you can capture 6K video footage and 21 megapixel still photographs.

Also, using AI, you can turn on the HDR capabilities of those massive sensors and bring out crazy details even in low-light conditions.

Like I said: beefy.

Are the Insta360 cameras better than GoPro?

They’re different.

GoPro is a household name, so when people think of action cameras they tend to think of GoPro. But Insta360 has carved out a strong niche for itself in the action camera market.

Both brands make very high-quality products with a range of specifications to suit pretty much every kind of user.

GoPro does have its own 360-degree offering, the GoPro Max, but Insta360 specialise in 360-degree cameras across the range.

So I guess it’s not about which is better, more about which brand better suits your needs. And if you’re looking specifically for a 360-degree camera, it’s probably a good idea to go with the company that specialises in them.

Final Words

So there you have it. I hope after reading this article you can see that Insta360 have a pretty comprehensive range of action cameras for you to choose from.

There’s something for everyone. From consumers who want something small, light and for simple uses, to those who want to make cinema quality, immersive footage, or video specifically for VR headsets.

Insta360 have managed to corner this growing part of the market with devices that offer great image and audio quality, and at different price points that make the cameras available to anyone.

And 360-degree cameras aren’t all about the tiny planet effect anymore (although that’s still fun). Insta360 doesn’t only give you the camera, but also the powerful editing suite that will make your 360-degree experience second to none.