Insta360 announced the launch of its latest 360 camera. The Insta360 X4 is the latest addition to the “X” line (formerly “ONE X”), and the latest camera in the “X” lineup (formerly “ONE X”) (buy here). The Insta360X3 is substantially improved over the Buy Here, but the company insists it’s still not a replacement.
The 8K 360° video is available at 60fps, as well as 5.7K. The battery life is also improved by up to 135 mins. How does it perform? Here are my impressions after a few days of using the X4.
Insta360 X4 sample footage
Let’s start with some sample footage. This time, there isn’t much footage as the weather in Scotland has been terrible. I didn’t worry about the Insta360 X4 because it is waterproof up to 10 meters without a diving case. The weather was not pleasant and it looked bad.
Here is some of the footage we shot. This is flat footage that was reframed in Insta360 Studio and exported to give an idea of the comparisons between 8K h.265 and 5.7K. The majority of the footage is 8K at 30fps, with a few 4K shots at 100fps. There’s also a comparison between all three formats towards the end.
YouTube does not support 360-degree videos at resolutions above 4K. Uploading a video with a resolution of 8K and then having YouTube reduce it to 4K is a waste.
The reframing allows us to view more standard camera angles, and also a “normal” viewing field. We can now see the amount of detail that each angle used in vlogs or behind-the scenes footage captures.
Insta360 X4 In-box Accessories
The Insta360 X4 comes with the usual assortment. The Insta360 One X , One X2, and X3 are all equipped with a zip-up bag instead of the neoprene sleeves. I can see the reasoning behind it and will get to that in a moment, but if I take the zip-up pouch out of context, I prefer the neoprene sleeves.