Insta360 OneX2: The Most Fun Camera Ever Made

The neverending list of features and smart editing software makes the Insta360 One X2 simply magical.

While Insta360 continues to dominate any list of "best 360 cameras", it realized long ago that interest in 360-degree video was waning and came up with a compelling use-case for it instead: reframing a shot. That magical ability, combined industry-leading stabilization, and smart software make the latest Insta360 camera both truly unique and ludicrously good fun.

Meet the Insta360 One X2, possibly the most fun camera ever made.

Insta360 One X2 Design

Almost identical to its predecessor, the One X2 has a distinctive oblong shape with two protruding fish-eye lenses. The images from these stitched together seamlessly on-camera, without requiring additional processing, into a 5.7K 30FPS video. The whole package is about as thick as two smartphones stacked together but slimmer—easily pocket-sized.

A small round touch-screen sits on one side, giving a preview of the video and allowing easy navigation of the options. This is a marked improvement on the monochrome LCD of the original OneX, and it's easily visible on a bright day. Admittedly, a video preview is of questionable utility in a 360-camera, given that you're literally recording everything most of the time, but it's useful in some of the other video modes.

Other than the touchscreen, there are two buttons for operation. A power button sits on one side, with which a long press will power on or off the device. Another button sits underneath the touchscreen, and this can be used to quickly begin recording in a single press. Within a second or two, the camera will wake from a complete power off, begin recording in the standard mode, then power down again with another quick press. It's particularly convenient if you need to capture the moment quickly.

On the other side, you'll find two latching covers. One protects the USB-C port, while the other is a removable battery. The battery lasts for around 80 minutes of continuous shooting, and should it need replacing or you want spares, they can be purchased readily for around $40. In my experience, 80 minutes is enough to get you through a day of occasional use without requiring a supplemental charge.

With the battery is removed, you can also insert a microSD storage card.

The ports and internals are fully sealed when these latches are correctly closed (if you see any orange, they haven't been locked correctly). This results in an IPX8 waterproof rating to 10 meters without any additional hardware.

However, the lenses are still vulnerable to scratches, so don't mistake the waterproof rating for overall ruggedness. I'd recommend grabbing some of the lens protectors if you're playing on using this for action shots.

On the audio side, the One X2 features not one but four microphones, which means it should pick on the subject regardless of where they're standing. It's certainly an improvement, but you'll want to grab the external input adaptor for the best quality audio.

So, The Insta360 One X2 Doesn't Shoot 360-Degree Video?!

Technically, the One X2 shoots in 360-degrees at 5.7K resolution, using the two super-wide angle lenses. If you really wanted to use the raw footage as is, for viewing on a VR capable headset or other 360 application, you could. You can even stream to Facebook in 360. It's certainly good 360-degree footage if you're into that sort of thing.

But that would be ignoring the real Insta360 magic: shoot now, point later. The innovative Insta360 editing apps (for smartphones or desktops) allow you to reframe your shots, stabilize them, change the field of view, deep track a subject, and even use AI to locate and frame interesting parts of the footage automatically.

The final output isn't 360-degrees at all. It's a slick action cam shot or a seemingly impossible floating drone shot. It's like having your own camera crew in your pocket. In reality, all you did was hold the Insta360 OneX2 out on the (invisible) selfie stick and hit record.

For instance, in the screengrab below (taken from the review video), I extended the selfie stick to about a foot in front of the scooter... and stood on it. The selfie stick is automatically stitched out of the sequence, giving the illusion there's a stabilized drone flying just in front of the wheel. It's effortless to get magical videos like this.

Even More Video and Photo Modes

While the One X2's real magic comes into play when you shoot in 360 and use the innovative editing features, that's certainly not all it's capable of. Here are just some of the other incredible video and photo modes you can find on the One X2

"Steadycam" mode, which shoots using only a single lens and produces 2560x1140px resolution stabilized wide-angle video in mp4 format. It's a great option to skip the editing effort and get a standard format video out quickly.

Webcam mode connects to your computer over USB-C and turns the OneX into a webcam, simultaneously showing the view from both the front and back lenses in a split-screen format, perfect for conference calls.

InstaPano photo mode delivers flat panoramic images without any additional processing.

Bullet-Time. If you've seen The Matrix, you should know what a bullet-time video is. And if you haven't seen The Matrix, then you know what you're doing tonight. Using the optional new bullet-time cord accessory, you can spin the One X2 around yourself, keeping you in the center of the frame, while it shoots in a higher frame rate to give the illusion of slowing down time.

The Shot Lab

I admit: I'm not the most creative type of person. I know how to use a camera, but that doesn't mean I can shoot anything even remotely interesting to post on Instagram. It's here that Insta360 has nailed it with the Shot Lab.

Only available on the mobile app, the Stories button at the bottom is where you'll find the Shot Lab. Scroll through the list to find one you like, then click through to be given clear instructions on how to film the sequence, as well as tips for the best results. The Themes tab contains templates that are less strict with their shot requirements (and hence don't have instructions) but still make it simple to create a quick montage set to music.

Once you've filmed as many shots as the app instructs, go back to the Shot Lab, select your template, and point the app toward the relevant videos. The app then processes your videos, identifies the parts it needs, deep tracks the subject if required, adds the transitions, and comes up with a preview of the final output. The process is largely automated, though you can tweak things later if needed. You can save the output to your camera roll, or post it straight to social media. Boom.

In total, the demo below (also featured in the review video) took maybe 20 minutes of filming around the house, then another ten to download and export using the "Flip My Day" template.

This Shot Lab means anyone can come up with a fun little video, and more templates are constantly being added. The app highlights the best user submissions, too, so you should never run out of ideas.

360 Streaming

One of the great selling points of the original One X was the ability to easily stream the raw 360-degree footage directly to several video sites, including Facebook, YouTube, and anywhere that supports RTSP.

Unfortunately, at the time of writing, this feature is only supported on the One X2 via a wireless connection from your smartphone to the camera, rather than the cabled option of the One X. Though otherwise identical in functionality, the move to wireless means that you're now restricted to using the data plan of your smartphone, rather than the typically faster and more reliable Wi-Fi connection you may have at home. For me, this renders it unusable. I'm lucky to get a good 3G signal, let alone 4G or 5G, so my upload speed results in about one frame every three seconds.

It's not clear why this isn't possible yet, given it has a USB-C port. I reached out to Insta360 support, who said the engineers were still working on the right cable (presumably for iOS), but even using USB-C to USB-C on Android should, in theory, be possible. Hopefully, this will be fixed soon with a software update, but still, this is a downgrade given that the One X shipped with this feature from the start (and the requisite cable included in the box).

Video Quality

Results on the One X2 will vary, but as with any camera with a small sensor, low-light performance is significantly noisier than that shot in the daytime.

Best video performance with any action camera will always be outdoors on a bright, sunny day.

However, it's worth noting that you can get some good low-light photos thanks to the PureShot mode, enhancing colors and reducing noise in low-light photography without requiring bracketing.

The One X2 also includes a built-in low-light TimeLapse mode, called StarLapse. It's incredible, and I wish I had a good demo video to show you, but it hasn't stopped raining here in weeks.

Should You Upgrade from the One X2 or One R?

If you already own the original One X or the dual-lens mod with the One R, there's no single hugely compelling reason to upgrade. The technical specifications and quality of footage haven't changed: it still shoots a maximum of 5.7K at 30FPS. However, it benefits from the new Vivid color profile, which isn't present on the One X, and a higher bitrate. But those that were hoping for a bump to 8K, or even 5.7K 60FPS, will be disappointed.

While the circular touchscreen is nice, it alone isn't worth upgrading for. Twenty minutes extra battery life is also nice, but not a huge change. The only really compelling hardware upgrade is the IPX8 waterproofing out of the box, with no additional dive case needed.

So if you don't plan on filming underwater, and you're otherwise happy with the battery performance you get from the One R or One X, you can probably skip this generation. It's an iterative refresh rather than a revolution.

What's The Difference with the One R?

The Insta360 One R is also a favorite of ours, with a modular design that means you can swap out the 4K action camera lens for a dual-lens 360 mod.

From a software perspective, nearly all the features while shooting with the 360-mod are identical that the One X2: same app, same Shot Lab, same editing process. The video quality is also similar, though the One X2 benefits from a Vivid color mode that is otherwise only available when uses the 4K mod on the One R. The lenses are slightly further apart on the One R 360-mod, so stitching errors are more frequent, but not hugely so.

From a hardware perspective, the One R is a little more awkward to use as it needs to be put inside a special case before it can be mounted to the invisible selfie stick. The One X2 has better audio with four microphones, though both cameras can benefit from external microphones with an adaptor.

Faced with a choice of whether to buy the One R or One X2, I'd say it comes down to two factors:

• How experienced are you with standard action cams? If you're familiar with how to mount an action camera, angle it correctly, and want to experiment with the 360-mod, then the One R might be better for you.
• How likely are you to use this as your main camera? At some point, you might want to upgrade the lens: the 1-inch mod for the One R ups the resolution to 5.3K (the highest resolution action cam on the market), and the 1-inch sensor gives much improved low-light performance.

Should You Buy The Insta360 One X2?

If you don't already own an Insta360 camera, it's definitely a worthwhile purchase. The One X2 packs in so many innovative features that it's impossible to cover them all in this review. It's wonderful to discover these features for yourself, and the Insta360 One X2 is constantly evolving. Just scroll through the featured videos on the app, and I guarantee you'll find something that makes you think, "oooh, I'll have a go at that!"

When I thought I was done recording some sample videos for this review, Insta360 added a new mode called "Fly Through," which, of course, I had to try. It lets you pretend the camera is a fly or mini drone, and you can go through small gaps seamlessly with a clever editing trick. I bet you'll make little drone noises while trying it out; I did.

Whether you're a travel blogger looking to document your travels uniquely, addicted to extreme sports, or have the most adorable puppy that obviously needs its own Instagram profile, you're absolutely going to get some fun videos out of the One X2, and with minimal effort. That's the highest praise I can give any action camera.

At just over $400, the Insta360 One X2 isn't a budget option, but it is comparable to rival offerings. The difference is a neverending list of features and smart editing software that you won't find elsewhere. The Insta360 One X2 is likely the most fun camera you'll ever own.

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