Hey guys, it’s Gaba VR, and this time I show you an in-depth comparison
between GoPro 11 and Insta360 X3, as action cams.
I feel important to emphasize this aspect,
because there are a lot of differences between the traditional GoPro type cameras and 360 cameras,
but in this video, I’d like to be as specific as I can, focusing exactly on these two models,
instead of talking about general differences between 360 and non-360 cameras.
Let’s start with a basic aspect.
If price really matters for you, looking at the price tags, you’ll see that GoPro 11 is 22% more expensive than X3.
Of course, the exact prices may be different depending on your country,
but in most of the cases you’ll find something like this.
But as I said, there are a lot of differences between these cameras,
so let’s take a closer look at what we get for these prices in both cases.
Starting with the camera body, we can see some obvious differences.
Insta360 X3 has two lenses, on both sides with dual sensors,
while GoPro 11 has only one lens and sensor.
In practice, the main difference between them, that X3 has wider field-of-view even in 4K single-lens mode,
and of course, if you shoot in 360, you can get even wider shots with X3.
In terms of video resolution and frame rates both cameras have a lot of options,
and we can fit our clips to any projects,
doesn’t matter if we use 25 or 30 or the cinematic 24 as a base frame rate.
The main difference is that in case of X3 the highest 5.7K frame size refers to the full 360 image,
so basically we always see a smaller part of it, doesn’t matter if we watch it in 360 or reframe it somehow.
While shooting with GoPro we get a full 5.3K video in different aspect ratios, even in traditional 16:9.
So after all Hero 11 offers higher resolution and frame rates, too.
But at the end of the day, what really matters
is the impression about what the we see; the action and the camera movements we can capture.
And sometimes we don’t really notice small differences in quality
if we see really spectacular and engaging sequences.
But first, on these basic outdoor shots, you can see the X3 and Hero11 clips side by side,
comparing the image, color science and dynamic range.
And talking about dynamic range X3 has a brand new so-called Active HDR function
which works perfectly not for such tripod shots,
but also during any action scenes, even with a perfect stabilization.
Both Hero11 and X3 has great stabilization and built-in horizon lock,
while X3 takes it to the next level by adding vertical horizon lock as well,
allowing you to rotate the camera in any direction and keeping the horizon fully leveled.
And while Hero11 keeps the horizon leveled with some crops, X3 does the job without crops.
Thanks to the 360 Horizon Leveling you can move the camera in any direction, which gives you full freedom in mounting.
And of course, it’s not only about creative mounting, but even simply holding the camera.
It’s quite a big difference.
It’s a basic difference between 360 and non-360 cameras, that with 360 cams we can shoot with an invisible selfie-stick,
getting a view like there was an invisible cameraman with us.
And we have the freedom to shoot first and frame later,
while focusing on the experience rather than looking at the recording screen
and bothering with pointing the camera and framing the action.
You can tell an entire story even with such a simple selfie video.
Just hold the camera, record your journey, and reframe later.
You can use the same footage for a POV shot and a selfie video
or create a unique 3rd person view video, also thanks to the invisible selfie stick.
And you can still have fun during shooting, and enjoy your trip.
Unfortunately, it’s not so easy with GoPro, as you need focus on the camera all the time,
and of course, your selfie stick will be on the frame in selfie mode
or if you play around with 3rd person view angles.
However, it’s much easier with X3, as you can shoot a full 360 video,
with all the visual information from the 360 space, and reframe later.
Even more, X3 has a new Me Mode,
which provides an automatic reframed footage if you wanna video yourself,
without having to do any further editing or manual reframing.
You can shoot in horizontal and vertical mode,
so you get 16:9 or 9:16 videos in camera, without having to crop the video later.
Or if you shoot in 360 mode, Insta360 app provides you further tools to reframe your videos
quickly and easily, or even totally automatically.
You can select between many creative camera tricks in Shot Lab for an instant success.
So it’s a great advantage that X3 is very easy to use.
We don’t need to point the camera on the action or hide behind the screen during shooting.
But talking about creative shots, it’s worth looking at Time Lapse modes with both cameras.
X3 can take stunning 8K 360 Time Lapse, which we can reframe later for a smooth movement,
while GoPro HERO11 only shoots 5.3K fixed angle timelapse.
Of course, the 8K video size of the X3 Time Lapse refers to the full 360 video, in this case, too,
so the final video will be lower resolution.
But we can put the camera in any position and check out whether it’s the best for us for a time lapse.
The real-time 360 preview allows us to use the camera even without having to connect it to our phone.
So when it’s about looking at the preview or setting up the camera,
the big touchscreen can be really helpful.
Doesn’t matter if we shoot in POV or selfie mode, we can take the advantage of the larger screen of the X3,
while Hero11 has a smaller touchscreen on the back, and a tiny selfie screen on the front.
In the meantime, using the Quick button on the side of the X3 camera,
we can switch between our presets really quickly.
While GoPro also has presets,
but we get access to them a little bit slower, with a couple of taps on the touchscreen.
And besides talking about the speed of controlling the camera, let’s take a look at post-production.
Hero11 shoots traditional mp4 files which work fine with any video editor,
just like any other clips from traditional cameras.
But be aware that you need to have the latest codecs, unless you won’t be able to play them,
especially if you have older computers.
While in single lens mode, X3 also shoots in mp4,
but in this case no additional plugins and codecs are required.
But in 360 mode, X3 creates insv files, which are the unstitched raw videos of each lenses.
On desktop we can stitch and edit them in the free Insta360 Studio app,
or if we install Premiere Pro plugin, we can simply open them in Premiere or After Effects, too.
So basically, the desktop workflow is very similar,
while if you prefer editing on smartphone, you will find X3 a little bit more convenient.
With Insta360 App we can watch and edit our videos on smartphone without having to transfer our files.
And it’s not only faster, but we also save storage on the phone.
And as I mentioned, we can select from tons of automatic settings and creative effects for free,
while we get regular software updates with fixing issues and adding new features on top of the existing ones.
Unfortunately GoPro app is not as up-to-date as Insta360’s, and it doesn’t provide us as many possibilities as the other one.
So after getting through the main aspects of buying and using both cameras,
I hope I could give you some reference points to make a decision, which camera is better for your needs.
As a summary I can tell you, that X3 could be a better choice for you,
if you are looking for creative or crazy shots quickly and easily
in impossible angles and camera placements, even in a higher dynamic range, for a little bit lower price.
While GoPro Hero 11 still has a little bit higher resolution and more possibilities in slow-motion.
If you have any further experiences with these cameras, leave a comment below,
and if you like this in-depth comparison, hit the like button.
And for further 360 contents and tutorials, subscribe to my channel, and see you next time!