The Insta360 ONE RS, ONE X2, and the original ONE R
are three of the best cameras to come out
over the past two years.
However, they share a lot of similarities
and a couple of differences.
So by popular demand, I'm making this video
to answer the question of which one should you buy.
What's the difference for between them?
Should you wait for the next Insta360 camera
or should you buy a different 360 camera completely?
So let's start with photo and video specs.
And like I mentioned in my last video about the ONE RS,
the specs are nearly identical
to the previous two Insta360 cameras
when it comes to flat action camera type video,
as well as 360 video.
Sad face.
With the exception of 6K widescreen mode
for flat video up from 4K and 5.3K
and 48MP flat photos up from 12MP the original ONE R had.
However, despite having identical resolution
to the previous two cameras,
do the photos and videos from the ONE RS look any different?
Now, I'm not going to bother with flat photos,
because I just don't see
why you'd use these cameras for that purpose.
But when I put all three together side by side
in this virtual tour type environment,
strangely enough I think the One X2 is actually the sharpest
and has the best dynamic range of all three.
You'd think it would be the ONE RS,
but the ONE X2 is outperforming it.
So, no, I don't think this is an upgrade for 360 photos,
nor would I recommend any of these cameras
for 360 photography when there's better options
like the other cameras I cover on my channel
unless you're shooting for social media,
in which case all three of these cameras
would be a great option for capturing
catchy reframe 360 photos.
Where they do thrive, however, is 360 video.
Here, I put them side by side in my new office
all in their respective HDR video modes
and straight up, they look really, really similar.
Well, aside from the ONE R,
which seems to expose the video slightly darker,
resulting in slightly better exposure outside
but darker foreground objects inside.
Otherwise though, I can't pick these three apart
and I'd say they look pretty much the same.
Taken outside and they all have damn good stabilisation.
And even the colour, the dynamic range,
and everything looks the same.
By the way, those little black things intruding in the shots
are the lens of the other cameras.
It's not a stitching issue.
So again, the images are the same.
The ONE R looks slightly darker, just like it did inside,
and perhaps slightly bluer straight out of the camera,
but of course, that can be fixed in post.
So I'm afraid to say there's practically no difference
between these three cameras when it comes to 360 video,
which is both a good and a bad thing
because this quality is the norm in 2022, at least for now.
In very low light I found the ONE X2
to outperform the ONE R and ONE RS marginally,
with slightly better sharpness all around.
I want to be the very best, like no one ever was.
To catch them is my real test, to train them is my cause.
I will travel across the land
searching far and wide
for these Pokemon to understand
the power that's inside.
Next I wanna compare the ONE R and the ONE RS
for flat video quality.
This is 6K widescreen mode on the ONE RS
versus 4K 30fps on the ONE R.
What is the difference? That is the question.
Good question, Ben.
Well, I would say that, yeah,
the ONE RS does look slightly sharper.
If you look at the reflection on my eyes,
you'll see that it's a little bit crisper
on the right hand side.
Even though the 6K isn't 6K horizontally and vertically,
it does look sharper with the ONE RS
despite the ONE R having more vertical resolution
with the settings I chose.
Okay, this is Insta360 ONE RS in Active HDR mode
versus Insta360 ONE R in normal HDR video mode.
Is there a difference at all in the dynamic range?
Again, great question, Ben.
Well, looking outside and it's completely
blown out with both cameras.
It was fairly bright and cloudy here,
so I think most cameras would do the same in video mode.
However, I am actually noticing better dynamic range
inside with the ONE RS.
If you look at the window frame,
the contrast is a lot better
and the lines are sharper with the ONE RS.
Here's another side by side of Active HDR versus HDR video.
And yeah, again, the ONE RS definitely does look better.
There's more detail in the clouds
as well as the shadows of the trees.
You can see more detail in there.
And I do think that this is a pretty killer feature
of the ONE RS.
So if you shoot action type content
and you want that really good dynamic range
with everything you're shooting,
I would just permanently be using Active HDR mode
because it should deliver the goods
in most situations whether it's handheld or static
as long as you have an adequate amount of light.
Now, let's talk about low light.
Now, here's a side by side of the ONE R and ONE RS
both using the 4K mod and the exact same manual settings.
And the blue background of that photo
is much grainier with the ONE RS.
Hold on a second.
Isn't this supposed to be better in low light?
I mean, not only does the new 4K mod
come with a slightly bigger sensor,
but also the aperture opens wider than the previous 4K lens,
which should, on paper, produce a less grainy shot
than the ONE R.
I can't say why this is exactly,
but I put them side by side in a few low light situations
and I consistently got the same result.
The ONE R outperformed the ONE RS consistently.
So whether this is just my camera is yet to be determined,
but for now, let's just say that the ONE RS's 4K mod
is nothing special in low light yet.
Here's hoping they fix this with future firmware updates
to release the true potential of the upgraded camera specs.
This is where the 1-inch mod comes in.
Because it has an inbuilt one inch sensor with both cameras
it will deliver a far superior result in low light
than the 4K mods will.
As you can see, a pretty similar level of grain here
and much better than before.
And overall, the 1-inch mod
will produce better video quality than the standard 4K lens,
especially in mixed lighting like this soccer game here.
I shot it again and it actually looks kind of cinematic.
I can't believe I'm saying that about an Insta360 camera,
but absolutely the quality is there.
So if you shoot a lot of flat action type content,
then the 1-Inch Editon would be an absolute necessity
if you choose the ONE RS as your camera of choice.
One thing that definitely has improved
since the original ONE R is the design of the ONE RS.
Like I mentioned in my review video it has a bigger battery,
it has an extra mic, as well as this windproof cage,
which definitely does improve the sound,
and the new core that they upgraded from the last ONE R.
And despite these two looking quite a bit different
don't forget they're modular.
So the accessories I've got
like the boosted battery on the ONE R
can also be used on the ONE RS.
Is it enough of a cosmetic upgrade
to upgrade from this to this?
No, and you might be wondering if any of the other features
that these cameras have differ much?
And the answer, again, is no.
They all do live streaming. They're all waterproof.
They all make those cool and catchy Shot Lab effects
and there's quite a lot of these handy features.
However, I can't think of any of them
that are unique to one camera only,
except small things like inbuilt flow state stabilisation
on the ONE RS.
But again, that's not enough to justify
upgrading from one to the other.
Now, I don't know if you remember
when I first released my review on the ONE X2,
but basically my comment when it first came out was,
yeah, it's a great camera,
but it's not that different to what we had before.
They did fix some of the design problems
and even added some unique features to the firmware,
but it was really only a five to 10% upgrade
given the specs were identical.
And that's exactly what they've done with the ONE R as well.
Like I said in my review this is a small upgrade
that made it more like a ONE R 1.5 instead of 2.0.
But you know what? That's okay.
If you're a first time buyer,
you would rather the ONE R 1.5 than the one.
So from now on just pretend
that the original ONE R doesn't exist.
If you are sold on the idea of buying
a modular action camera that also turns into a 360 camera,
then the ONE RS is obviously
going to be the go-to from Insta360.
So which one of the three should you buy?
Well, let's start with the price comparison.
So the ONE X2 is $429 outright. I'll link it below.
The ONE R, it does seem like
they might be moving towards phasing it out
because the Twin Edition isn't available at 4K and 1-Inch R.
1-Inch is 549, 4K is 299.
Then with the ONE RS, the 1-Inch is 549 and the 4K is 299.
Again, the exact same price as the original.
If you want the Twin Edition,
which comes with a 4K lens and the 360 lens
it's going to be $549.
Whereas it seems like they're not selling
the Twin Edition of the original ONE R anymore,
it's grayed out and it says 479.
So if you wanna use it like you would a normal GoPro,
it's going to be $299.
If you wanna use it as a 360 camera, however,
you have to buy the 4K lens and the 360 lens,
which bring it up to $549,
which is a bit more expensive than the ONE X2.
So I would only consider buying the ONE RS
if you're someone that would use a GoPro
and you want a dedicated 4K action camera
that also doubles as a 360 camera.
But if you're not into that,
then you'll be best going to ONE X2.
But should you upgrade if you already own
the original ONE R?
No, don't upgrade to the ONE RS.
Because it's modular you can buy it piece by piece,
so if you accidentally scratch the 360 lens,
you can just buy a 360 lens.
If you wanna upgrade just the 4K lens, you can do that.
And I just don't see a reason to buy the whole camera again.
Should you upgrade if you own the original ONE X2? No.
Like we saw, the 360 footage looks pretty similar.
So the only reason you would do that
is if you decided you wanted a GoPro like camera,
so that would basically give you two cameras in one.
But I've talked about,
it's not an upgrade for 360 photo or video,
so it doesn't make sense to upgrade.
Should you upgrade the ONE RS if you own an older 360 camera
like this, or this, or this?
Abso-freakin'-lutely, it's about time you updated.
What took you so long?
I would, just again, go back to whether
you are a dedicated 360 shooter
or you wanna shoot you a bit of both.
Ooh, here's one.
Should you upgrade to this
if your primary focus is 360 photography?
No, I don't recommend this if you were,
say, shooting virtual tours.
Instead, I'd recommend the Trisio Lite 2
if your budget is under $500,
I have a review on my channel,
or ideally the Theta X if you can afford it,
which is currently 800 US dollars.
The results you'll get with both of those cameras
will leave the ONE RS in the dust.
In the dust.
Now, I know I've been brutally honest
in my last two videos about the ONE RS,
but I don't wanna spoil it too much.
It is technically a good camera
and it's one of the best 360 cameras available right now.
So if you think Mr. Ben is raining
on the whole Insta360 parade,
I'm really not trying to.
I'm just trying to be honest about the marketing
and presentation of cameras that appear new, but in reality,
they're only small upgrades that aren't worth paying
the entire price of a new camera for.
And I think you absolutely could make that argument
about subsequent GoPro releases.
If we're being honest,
there's not always that much of a difference
between GoPro cameras.
Anyway, long story short.
It's still an awesome camera and I absolutely recommend it,
especially if you're upgrading from anything older.
I do have full reviews of all three of these cameras
on my channel so I definitely recommend checking them out.
And to wrap up this video I wanna share some brief thoughts
on whether there's going to be a new Insta360 camera
that you should potentially wait for.
Well, are they making a new camera? Yes, of course they are.
When's it coming out?
Could be tomorrow, could be next week, could be next year.
But I think it's unlikely
that it's going to be anytime soon.
This is because they just released the ONE RS
and they're probably not going to minimise
their own camera release by releasing something
within the next six months.
That said, my future prediction
for the next Insta360 camera is the ONE X3.
That will be their next release
and I think it's going to be within the next 8 to 12 months.
So time will tell whether that prediction is right or not.
Guess you'll have to hit that subscribe button
and we'll both find out together.
And that's it for me.
Leave your thoughts on these three cameras down below
and I'll see you in the next video.