I received the Insta360 Go3 to review, dubbed as the ‘world’s smallest action camera’. It is pocketable and easy to carry around. It’s best suited as a vlogging camera, or for action/adventures you want to capture.
While the camera is not aimed at someone like me, read my review to see if the Insta360 Go3 could be your next vlogging camera.
Insta360 Go 3 Quick Look:
- The Go3 is a 360° camera, weighs 35g
- Shoots in 2.7K, ultra-wide
- Supports voice commands; has 2 mics
- Has a magnetic pendant, clip and pivot stand
- Comes with an Action Pod with touch controls
- Go3 IPX8 waterproof; Action Pod IPX4 splash-proof
- 45 min battery life + 170 min with Action Pod
What’s inside the box
The Insta360 Go3 is a great starter vlogging camera because it comes with a bunch of accessories inside the box. Apart from the Go3, you get the Action Pod housing, a magnetic pendant to place it below your neck, which looks seamless and is cable-free, a clip on mount for like a cap etc, and a pivot stand for something like a skateboard, etc.
These accessories inside the box are useful if you plan to do other activities with the camera, not restricted to vlogging. If you’re into extreme or action sport or activities, or love documenting your travel adventures, it may be a drawcard, without forking out separately for them.
The Action Pod is also useful, with a touch screen interface where you can adjust settings. You can also shoot directly on it and use the flip out screen as a viewfinder. Oh, it includes a lens guard.
Setting it up
The Go3 pairs with Android and iOS devices, but there are minimum requirements. For iOS, you need an A11 chip and upwards, running iOS 11+ and for Android, it is based on chipsets. This includes minimum Snapdragon 845, Kirin 980, Exynos 9810, and Tensor chips (Google Pixel).
You need to download the Insta360 app, create an account, and pair the device to it. It uses both Bluetooth and WiFi. This can take some time, which I noticed on iPhone. Once it’s paired, you can access all the settings on the app and tweak it to your liking. It also saves all your content on the albums inside the app, which also save to your camera roll when you download it.
The app also has some editing features to it, depending on what Insta360 product you own. I found it easier to export to my phone and edit on my existing apps.
Using the Insta360 Go3
The magnetic mount that you wear around your neck under your shirt is genius. It’s a clever way to clip the Go3 onto your shirt to be handsfree, without any cables visible. It has an adjustment string to suit whatever height works for you.
The unit itself has a button that you can choose to make it take photos or record videos. Simply press it and off you go. You can also use the Action Pod, as mentioned earlier, to adjust settings. Here you can choose how wide an angle you want, quality, frame rate, etc.
I have to be honest here, as someone who is not a vlogger, I struggled walking around with it. I had anxiety about what if people around me are not comfortable with me recording and they appear in my footage? I used it while traveling abroad and it was difficult to continue making videos daily.
My husband is not on social media, and I had to be aware to not record him or get him in the shot, but for a wide angle camera that captures everything, it was a challenge while we were exploring together. It didn’t suit those moments.
If you are considering this camera, make sure you know why you want it, and if it will serve the purpose intended.
Who is aimed at?
The Insta360 Go3 is aimed vloggers, those who want to make videos beyond using a smartphone, anyone into anything adventurous that would need additional stability and durability, all hands-free. It is multi-functional; you can mount on your helmet, cap, shirt, skateboard, or even put it on your pet’s collar.
It has a built-in “FlowState” stabilisation to keep your footage shaky-free, plus a 360° Horizon Lock feature if you’re doing anything crazy with lots of movement, it will keep the horizon level, like putting it on your bike or doing something in the sky.
The fact that it is so tiny and portable means you can mount it anywhere. It really helps when packing for a trip if you don’t want to carry any bulky cameras that may also use up some precious carry-on space.
Why is it better than your smartphone?
To state the obvious, you don’t want to do anything extreme on your smartphone, so it’s best to get a camera that is equipped for that. You can also walk around with it and wear it like a pendant.
But you also get features like 360° Horizon Lock, built-in stability, AI editing tools, voice controls if already mounted on your head – you can say “Start recording” etc, all hands-free.
The 2.2-inch flip screen on the Action Pod is pretty useful to see what you’re recording when you’re not doing an extreme activity. While there are presets, you can also customise the settings, though the presets are pretty good. It supports FreeFrame Video, Timelapse, TimeShift, Slow Motion, Pre-recording and Loop Recording.
There are 2 microphones built-into the camera, which makes it vlog-ready to record from anywhere.
However, this is a tiny device so take note of the battery life. The Go3 itself is up to 45minutes of recording, and with the Action Pod, it becomes 170 minutes. Keep this in mind for traveling or individual activities.
This review is from here and written by – Nafisa Akabor.
Like this Article?
Share it on social media!
Or listen to the original podcast episode here.
