Insta360 X4 Review: A Gimmicky Camera That’s a Useful Tool
It’s a digital world full of video and almost everyone wants to capture it in crystal clarity. Although that’s a bit of an overreaching statement, thanks to YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, and more, recording high quality video and getting it online easily has become quite the industry.
To stand out, a company needs something different. Something that can do more than just capture good quality wide-screen videos. Something like the Insta360.
What’s an Insta360?
The Insta360 line of cameras are those strange rectangular units with a lens on both sides of the camera. There the ones a lot of people walk around with on a selfie stick or sometimes they're mounted high above the back end of a car. Those two lenses are wide angle and work together, using special software, to produce an almost seamless 360° image. The latest in the Insta360 family is the X4.
The Insta360 X4 camera can record in 8K, 5.7K, or 4K video. It features a ton of different shooting modes for different situations. These include Video, Active HDR, Timelapse, TimeShift, Bullet Time, Loop Recording, Pre-recording. The ISO range of the X4 is from 100 to 6,400. The 360degree dual screens record into massive INSV video formats that allows an editor application installed on a smart or computer to freely edit the video through the entire 360 degrees of capture.
The Insta360 X4 can also record in single lens and Me Mode at 4K, 2.7K, or 1080p. The single lens mode records as a regular mp4 format which are much smaller files. The camera can even capture still photos.
Long-Term, Real-World Test
To see how this camera works for myself, Insta360 gave me a brand new X4 long with some accessories for review. My hope is to be able to better shoot solo reviews of vehicles and products using the 360 technology.
After a few months of testing, I learned a lot and mt onion of the camera changed the more I learned how to use it. The most important lesson is using the right accessories. There are multiple selfie sticks that can be used, including one designed for triple suction car mount. That mount is a huge help when recording driving shots as the selfie stick becomes invisible (but the triple suction mount does not).
Rather than go into detail on how my shots turned out and what techniques, settings, as well as accessories are needed to achieve these results, you can watch the in-depth video review here.
Become an AutoGuide insider. Get the latest from the automotive world first by subscribing to our newsletter here.
Insta360 X4 Camera
A 20+ year industry veteran, Mike rejoins the AutoGuide team as the Managing Editor. He started his career at a young age working at dealerships, car rentals, and used car advertisers. He then found his true passion, automotive writing. After contributing to multiple websites for several years, he spent the next six years working at the head office of an automotive OEM, before returning back to the field he loves. He is a member of the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC), and Midwest Automotive Media Association (MAMA). He's the recipient of a feature writing of the year award and multiple video of the year awards.
More by Mike Schlee
Comments
Join the conversation