I thought gimbals for phones were almost useless.
The whole point of a phone is convenience and shooting quickly.
Why add an accessory that slows you down?
And besides, phones already have pretty good stabilization.
But after using the Insta360 flow for several weeks, I was surprised.
The Flow became one of the camera accessories I use most often -- even more than my DSLR.
I'll show you why in this video.
In this video, I want to help you answer three questions: first, if you've never used a gimbal,
do you really need it?
What if you only use a phone or what if you already have a GoPro or 360 camera?
Second, if you do use phone gimbals, is the insta360 flow better than the DJI OM6 or other
gimbals?
Third is the Insta360 Flow practical and convenient to use or will it just gather dust on your
shelf?
So here's a summary of the answers to each question.
Do you really need it?
If you're looking for an action cam or 360 camera alternative, this is not a substitute.
The Flow can't give you a third person view like a 360 camera and it's not a substitute
for an action cam because it's not wide enough or rugged enough.
But a phone with a gimbal has two big advantages over other types of cameras including GoPros
and 360 cameras: first, they can use longer focal lengths and two, your phone is way smarter.
So in some cases, insta360 flow is more useful than a phone, GoPro or 360 camera or even
a DSLR.
We'll talk about those use cases later.
Second, if you do use gimbals, is the Insta360 Flow better than the DJI OM6 or other gimbals?
If your top priority is performance and features, FYI there are many other gimbals that are
more powerful but less convenient.
Generally, the more powerful a gimbal is, the less convenient it is.
Now if your priority for gimbals is convenience and quick usage, then in my opinion, the Flow
is arguably the best gimbal as of March 2023 because it has many capabilities that the
DJI OM6 and other folding gimbals don't have.
Third, is the Insta360 Flow practical and convenient to use?
Older phone gimbals were a hassle to use that's why I thought they were nearly useless.
But the insta360 Flow is as easy to use as a selfie stick and is very useful for two
groups of people.
Let's talk about them.
When I'm shooting by myself, nothing beats the convenience and versatility of shooting
with a 360 camera.
But I do have to give up a couple of things.
First of all, there's more work after shooting.
I have to stitch and reframe the videos.
Second, I do give up a little bit of image quality.
So when I don't have to move around, I like to shoot with a DSLR.
I get better image quality and I don't have to do any stitching after shooting the video.
What I don't like about shooting with DSLRs is that they're much bulkier and plus, because
they're heavier, I have to use a bigger tripod.
It's a bit of a hassle especially for those times when I have to move from place to place.
Now with the Insta360 Flow, I get both convenience and image quality.
Insta360 Flow is a smartphone gimbal with tracking capabilities just like many other
phone gimbals in the market.
But what's different is how much better it is.
To demonstrate, let me show you the tracking performance of the current market leading
phone gimbal -- the DJI OM6.
I tested the OM6 tracking by skating down this ramp the OM6 was able to track me until
about 120 feet away.
I tried several times but could not get it to track me past that point at 1X Zoom.
I tried zooming to 3x and the OM6 was able to track me but you can see that it's a bit
bouncy [Music]
And you can also see that it lost track of me around here.
Now here's the Insta360 flow at 1X Zoom at the distance of around 200 feet.
It's able to track me with no problems.
Now here's the Insta360 Flow at 3x Zoom.
Not only does the Flow have longer range tracking but it also has smoother tracking.
And remember how the OM6 got stuck at the fence?
The Insta360 Flow went on to track me for another 200 feet.
The flow can handle obstacles pretty well and when it loses tracking, it's smart enough
to zoom out and is better at recovering lost tracking.
Tracking also works in low light.
Here I am at a distance of around 200 feet in low light and with backlight, and the Flow
is still able to track me.
I also like how the Insta360 flow lets me change the composition by moving the tracking
subject off-center.
So in this example, I used the joystick to move the subject to the left side of the frame
and it will keep it there as it tracks it.
[Music] Flow also has two new features that OM6 doesn't have.
First is tracking in slow motion video mode.
[Music] It also has autozoom.
[Music]
The only downside is that auto zoom loses tracking more easily.
I also wish autozoom would give me the option to capture the whole person from head to toe
not just the upper body shot.
Another bug I noticed is that sometimes Insta360 Flow uses digital zoom even though it could
have used optical zoom.
But I expect that insta360 will fix this bug in the future.
Insta360 flow also supports gestures for active tracking.
So, as you can see, for solo shooters, Insta360 Flow is really useful and it's much better
than DJI OM6.
But what if you aren't a solo shooter?
The other group of people who would find the Flow useful is video creators.
Insta360 Flow gives you three key advantages over 360 cameras and action cams.
First, it can let you use a variety of focal lengths.
The ultra wide angle for GoPro or 360 camera is great for action but horrible for distant
subjects.
A phone's telephoto lens is much more detailed.
In addition, if you only shoot with a 360 camera or GoPro all the time, then your videos
could look monotonous.
Using a phone with longer focal length can make your videos look more interesting.
Now wait a minute Mic.
Who cares about different focal lengths?
Can't you zoom with your feet?
Sorry sir that's a myth.
You cannot simulate longer focal legs just by moving closer.
The perspective will be very different.
By letting you choose from your phone's different lenses, the Flow lets you choose the perspective
you want for greater artistic control of your videos.
I like how the Flow lets me switch focal lengths instantly with a flick of its wheel.
I can also flip the camera around while shooting and I can also switch the front camera in
real time.
Second, your phone is smarter than your other cameras.
Thanks to computational photography and other technologies, a smartphone can be a serious
tool for creating videos by adding effects such as a blurry background, focus pulls,
or HDR.
Third, the Flow will give you better stabilization in low light.
The Insta360 flow does have some downsides.
For me, the biggest downside is the limited amount of roll correction so like here or
here.
It's vibrating and the motor just quits.
And it has also limited amount of tilt correction.
So watch this.
Right now I'm in pan follow mode, which means it will try to keep it in the same tilt but
it can't go beyond that.
It can't go beyond this either.
Now please note: all folding phone gimbals have similar limits including the DJI OM6.
It's a trade-off for the quick deploy design that doesn't require balancing.
Now the big question is: Is the insta360 Flow practical and convenient to use?
Well let me show you in real time.
So I have it here in my pocket.
I just take it out, and take out my phone.
...clamp it...
and then click this handle down.
That's it.
It's just as easy to put it away.
You just flick this and this part instantly locks it into place.
And what I like about it is that the clamp can be left on the gimbal, unlike the DJI
OM6 where you have to look for a place for the clamp (hopefully you don't lose it).
The Insta360 flow has many other features that make it more convenient than the DJI
OM6.
Live Recording lets use its tracking capabilities with your phone's native camera app, Tik Tok,
Zoom, or almost any other video app on your phone.
There is a lag in the tracking so it's not as good as native support but it's still amazing
that it works.
It also has a much larger battery with a 12 hour capacity.
Speaking of battery, the Flow can charge your phone while you're using it so you won't deplete
your phone's battery.
Another nice touch is that during playback, the Flow will rotate your phone automatically
depending on whether the video you're watching is landscape or portrait.
Overall, the Flow has many more features for convenience than the OM6.
So should you get the Insta360 flow?
Smartphones these days already have pretty good stabilization and you might even have
a GoPro or 360 camera which has even better stabilization.
Where the Insta360 flow is different is that it helps put the camera at a distance from
the subject.
This distance is what helps make the video look like it was shot with a cameraman or
a camera crew.
But unlike a DSLR, it's easy and convenient to use.
Dirst of all I don't have to carry around a lot of heavy equipment or a large tripod.
I can use a simple monopod.
And more importantly, it helps me frame the shot reliably.
When using longer focal lengths, you know that it can be challenging to keep the subject
or yourself in the frame but with the Insta360 Flow's amazing tracking capabilities, I can
trust it to keep me in the shot, which avoids having to do retakes.
So if you want an easy and affordable way to get better image quality or higher production
value from your videos, then check out the link in the description below for the Insta360
Flow and let me know in the comments if you have any questions.
Thanks for watching.
I'll see you in 360.