What is up my friends, it's Ray back here and if you've been following along here on
the channel for maybe the past year of so, you know that I've become a huge fan of 360
cameras.
Compared to other cameras out there, action cameras included, 360 cameras offer so much
versatility and flexibility to capture the moments that matter most.
Quick disclaimer before we continue on.
I said this before and I'll say it again…I wrote 360 cameras off for a long time because
the ones that I used in their early days were always a hassle to work with, you know, stitching
footage and all that.
Now, they've become so good.
They're a big part of my travels and the work that I do mainly for two reasons - one, they're
super easy to work with and two, they give you a unique perspective on normal everyday
things that you just can’t get with a traditional camera.
Some of my favorite 360 cameras lately are from Insta360.
I've got the interchangeable ONE RS Twin Edition, the all-in-one X3 and the high-end ONE RS
1-inch 360 Edition.
They're each unique cameras however, they're a lot more alike then they are different and
that got me thinking - which of these Insta360 cameras should you buy?
I hope to help make that decision easier with this video!
Alrighty, so first up we have the ONE RS Twin Edition.
As I mentioned before, the ONE RS is a modular, interchangeable lens camera system.
Think of it as kind of like building you’re own camera.
You have the ONE RS core, which is the brains of the camera, the lens and a battery base.
The Twin Edition of the ONE RS comes with two lens - a 4K Boost Lens and a 5.7K 360
Lens.
The 4K Boost Lens kind of makes this camera like a GoPro whereas the 360 lens obviously
turns it into a 360 camera.
Personally, I think it’s the 360 lens that makes this camera shine.
Regardless of which one you use though, the photo and video quality out of this thing
are really, really good.
What I love most about it though is how easy it is to upgrade.
Not only can you swap lenses but you can also grab a Boosted Battery Base for longer battery
life, add on cold shoe mount for lights and microphones and so much more.
The ONE RS offers you a ton of versatility.
The main downside to this is that you’re going to have a lot of gear to carry around
and keep tabs on.
If you can look past that, you won’t be disappointed with the ONE RS Twin Edition!
Next up we have the X3.
I don’t want to play favorites here but the X3 is my favorite camera of the bunch.
It has everything you need to create amazing content built into a compact camera that’s
ready to go when you need it.
From amazing 5.7K video quality to fantastic battery life and much more, I feel like the
X3 takes the best of all these cameras and blends it into one.
What’s nice is that it also has the largest display of the bunch, which makes it so much
easier to change settings, see what you’re shooting and all of that stuff.
There’s even a single lens 4K mode to use just one of the lens.
What’s nice is that there’s no need to swap lens here like you would have to do with
the ONE RS.
As good as the X3 is though, it obviously is not perfect.
I don’t think the photos are as crisp and sharp as the ONE RS, it struggles a bit in
low light situations and it has a few other little quirks here and there but all things
considered, the X3 is an all around incredible camera to toss in your bag and travel around
with!
And last but not least is the ONE RS 1-inch 360 Edition.
This is Insta360's high-end, premium, most expensive 360 camera that's a part of the
ONE RS system.
The main difference with this one is that it has a huge 360 lens with two 1-inch sensors
that were co-engineered with Leica.
If you thought the X3 had a lot of glass on it, think again.
This one by far takes the cake.
Despite that, you’ll get higher res 6K video quality out of this thing and it is incredible,
especially in lower light situations.
I wouldn’t say it’s significantly better than the other cameras but you know you can
definitely see that things are a bit sharper and more detailed here.
Even though you can take this one apart just like the ONE RS, the 1-inch 360 Edition very
much feels like its own standalone camera.
I never felt the need to change it back to the standard ONE RS action camera form.
The main downfalls with this one is that the screen is very small and battery life isn’t
the best.
You’ll get about an hour and a half of record time.
There’s also a lot of glass here so you do have to be more careful with it.
Still, I think ONE RS 1-inch 360 Edition has the best video quality out of the bunch.
If you want the sharpest of the sharp, this is the camera to roll with - just be prepared
because this thing isn't cheap.
At the end of the day, no matter which of these three cameras you decide to go with,
you’ll get access to Insta360’s incredible suite of software tools - the Insta360 app
and the desktop Studio app.
These tools make editing the photos and the videos that you shoot with these cameras a
breeze.
These are what, in my opinion, make Insta360 cameras so amazing.
For me personally, these are part of the reason why I'm drawn to using their cameras.
The editing tools that they offer are second to none.
The app and the desktop software are both user-friendly, easy to use with little to
no learning curve and you can even edit all of your footage together in just a few taps
in the app thanks to their AI trickery.
Gone are the days of 360 cameras being a hassle to work with.
These things are so much fun to shoot with nowadays.
So as you have been noticing throughout this buying guide, all 3 of these Insta360 cameras
are a lot more alike then they are different.
All 3 of them do exactly the same thing except they do it in a different way so which one
you choose, ultimately comes down to the form factor you like, what features you need and
so on.
If you want an interchangeable, modular system that'll likely be expanded upon with more
lenses and accessories, the ONE RS is going to be the way to go.
You can upgrade to a Boosted Battery for longer battery life, add a cold shoe for microphones,
lights and things like that.
You'll also be able to pick up the 1-inch 360 Edition kit without the core to upgrade
to that model.
So in a way, the ONE RS is kind of multiple cameras in one.
The downside to that is that you're going to have a lot of gear to carry.
On the flip side, if you want a camera that doesn't need to be put together, that's easy
to use and one that has everything you need built right in, the X3 is going to be the
perfect camera for you.
At the end of the day, no matter which one you decide, you're going to be getting an
awesome camera that's going to give you a unique perspective on the world.
If you haven't used a 360 camera before, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by how
versatile of a tool it can be.
So that’s about all I got for this buying guide my friends!
I hope you enjoyed it and found out helpful.
If you did and you liked what you saw, you know the drill, be sure to give it a thumbs
up and hit that subscribe button because it always helps out the channel.
Also, don’t forget to follow @raystrazdas on Twitter and Instagram for much more!
Until the next one, I will catch you guys later.
Peace!