How would you like to have your own IMAX 3d theater? And how would you like to
create your own IMAX 3d movies? If anything, you can get an even MORE
immersive experience through Insta360 EVO, a VR camera. This is a review of
the Insta360 EVO, a hybrid 360 and VR180 camera. to test it out we're gonna
visit a special place -- one of our favorite places in LA. You'll see in a
moment. In this review, we're gonna talk about several things. First, we're
gonna talk about what's the difference between a regular 360 camera and a
virtual reality camera like the Insta360 EVO. Then we're gonna look at
specifications and key features. Then we'll take some photos and videos with
it and while we're doing that, I'll share some tips with you for shooting in VR.
After that, we'll take a look at the photos and videos to see how they look
and we'll also compare the Insta360 EVO with other popular 360 and VR180
cameras such as the Vuze XR, Kandao Qoocam, and the Insta360 One X. Then finally
we'll talk about should you get an Insta360 EVO. The Insta360 EVO is a
VR camera -- a virtual reality camera. VR is one of those things that's kind of hard
to understand unless you've experienced it firsthand. A lot of people have
tried Google Cardboard for example but that's not really VR. So what's true
VR? Well, let's take an example. Let's say you have a true VR headset,
let's say an Oculus Rift or HTC Vive or Windows Mixed Reality. If you see a
treasure chest in VR then not only will it have depth, but you'll be able to move
around it. You'll be able to walk around it and it will look like it's right
there in the room with you. Now true VR feels so real
that some people have even fallen on their faces because they forgot about
reality. Because VR is so powerful you can imagine how amazing it would be
to take your photos and videos in VR. But is that what the Insta360 EVO can do?
Can you take photos and videos and walk around in them? Well not quite because
the kind of VR I've described to you is the highest form of VR called 6DOF VR (six degrees of freedom)
The insta 360 evil captures virtual reality with 3 degrees of freedom. So
what's the difference? Well it's kind of like 6DOF but you cannot walk
around. You can however stand in one place and look around it. So as long as
you're standing in one spot or you're sitting in a swivel chair, everything
will look real. But that's not all. Insta360 EVO can also switch
to 360 mode to capture a third-person view or cinematic angles with nothing
more than a monopod.
Insta360 EVO has only two buttons. This is the shutter button and this is
the mode button. By the way the shutter button is also the power button.
Unlike the Insta360 One X, the EVO doesn't have a display so sometimes it's hard to
tell what mode you're in. It does have these two LED lights here but
they're really tiny and the markings on them are really small. For an
older guy like me it can be a little bit hard to see that. Something else that's weird
about the Evo is the tripod hole. It is off-center
when you're in VR 180 mode. There's one thing the Evo has that's better than the
One X and that's the microSD slot. It's a lot easier to remove the microSD card. I
just push it and it comes out just like you expect it to,
unlike the One X which has a MicroSDslot that's very deeply set and you
have to reach deep or have long fingernails. Let's go shoot with the
Insta360 EVO. Let's see how good it is.
Here's a tip when you have a distant background like that
if you look at that in stereo, it's gonna look pretty much flat. Anything beyond
you know let's say 50 feet or so will look flat. To add depth, you need
a foreground element like these bushes for example. The viewer will get a better
3d experience. In the scene behind me there's a path over here like that and I
think that it can act like a leading line. Also there are objects at varying depths
so there are some objects that are near, some that are a little bit further and all the
way until the horizon. So that's good. I think that's going to enhance the 3d
effect so I'm going to take a shot here. Let's take a look.
When shooting in 3D, it's best to shoot objects that are not too far away. Here
at Terranea, I know just the perfect place to show this. These rocks and waves should
look pretty good but I'll need to get as close as I can to the waves. Hopefully I
won't lose my footing or drop the camera.
I'm done taking test shots. Let's see what they look like in a VR headset.
Alright just got done shooting. Now it's time to check out our photos and
videos. I'm really excited to show you this because there are some things
here that you've never seen before. Just like other 360 cameras, you can
download your photos and videos to your smart phone app but how would you like
to see your 3d 180 photos and videos without a VR headset? that's right the
EVO includes this new technology called HoloFrame. Here's how it works. so
after downloading your 3d 180 photos and videos just tap on them and you'll see
this cube-like icon on the bottom. tap on that and you'll launch Holoframe
mode. now check this out. the Insta360 EVO comes with a special case that's
actually a lenticular lens. You snap the case over your phone and check it out --
it's in 3d! you can see it with your naked eyes,
kind of like Nintendo 3ds, kind of like that. But it's really cool. and I'm sure
you've seen lenticular images but they weren't very detailed. This one is very
detailed. iI's the most detailed lenticular image I've seen and it's
really cool but there's a catch. So far insta360 has made this available only
for iPhones with dual lens. How about the rest of us? Like me? I've got an
iPhone 7 so here's what I did. First I exported the photo and video to my
camera gallery then I used MOPIC 3d snap. it's an accessory that works
exactly the same way as Holoframe. Launch the Mopic app and you can use
that to view your VR 180 photos and videos in 3d. Now I think this way of
looking at VR 180 photos and videos is pretty cool because for one thing
it's social because everyone can see what you're looking at, although only one
person can see the 3d effect at a time. after using Holoframe you just remove
the case flip it around and it becomes a regular phone case. so that's pretty cool.
but there's something even better with Insta360 EVO.
you can view your VR 180 photos and videos on a VR headset without stitching
them first! this works for Samsung Gear VR and
Cculus Go so first thing you got to do is connect the phone to the Insta360 EVO.
so on my phone I'm selecting the Insta360 EVO's wireless signal. and if
you're using the oculus go, use the oculus app to connect the oculus go to
the Insta360 EVO wirelessly. once they're connected, launch the
Insta360 VR app. let's try one of these videos. now I've never seen this
before. some of the thumbnails aren't loading but I'm sure they'll fix that. so
let's see how long it takes. Whoa that was fast and wow this view is really
cool! it feels so much like like being there! this was the time when I was
shooting right at the beach and wow I mean you can see everything in 3d and
there's depth. you can see the rocks. it's really awesome and the detail
is amazing. I mean this is really nice. Wow look at that. Now I'm impressed by
several things. First of all the detail it's really amazing you gotta see it.
so I'm gonna create a VR180 montage so you can check out the samples yourself.
now which camera should you buy? here's my suggestion.
first get a VR headset or try one out at your local electronics store. and I
mean a real VR headset such as a Gear VR or
Oculus Go, not just a Google
Cardboard. That's going to help you decide whether this experience of being
there is worth it. If it's not then you should get a regular 360 camera
such as the Insta360 One X, which is my favorite 360 camera at the moment
because it's super easy to use and has great image quality. but if you want the
experience of being there and you're planning to get a VR headset in the
future, or you already have one, then VR180 is a good way to go. The first option for
VR180 is the Lenovo Mirage. this is the most
affordable camera in this group. the image quality is not as good as the
others also it doesn't have a 360 mode. it's
purely a VR180 camera but like I said it's the most affordable. and you can
also upload your photos and videos directly to YouTube or Google Photos.
next is the Kandao Qoocam. it's a hybrid VR 180 and 360 camera. its main advantage
is the stitching. it's stitching quality is the best among these hybrid
VR 180 cameras. another key feature is the raw burst mode the DNG8 mode shoots
a burst of eight Raw DNG photos and they have special software to combine them
without ghosting. and it's also the only one in this group that has a depth map
feature so you can use that to create simulated 6DOF effects or to convert your
VR 180 photo into a facebook 3d photo. finally one of its biggest advantages is
battery life. it can shoot for 3 hours. if you connect this to a USB power bank
in between shots you'll probably be able to shoot the whole day with just one
camera. now the Qoocam does have a couple of disadvantages. first of all,
it's image quality is not as good as the Vuze XR or Insta360 EVO.
secondly it's vulnerable to flare. so next is the Vuze XR. this has several
strengths. first of all it's the only one in this group that has an underwater
case. second it has the best exposure blending so it's the most immune to
flare. it also has the easiest controls. it's easy to tell whether you're
shooting or photo video, or if the video has already started recording. and
finally in the smartphone app, it has cool effects like a mosaic effect, a neon edge
effect, and pointilize. the main disadvantage of the Vuze XR is
stitching. as of March 2019, its stitching is not as good as the Insta360 EVO and
definitely not as good as the Qoocam. Humaneyes said that there's a fix for
this but we'll see. and finally we have the Insta360 EVO.
so this has the best image quality among hybrid VR180 cameras as of March 2019.
it also has the best app. By that I mean it has the most number of features and
Insta360 always pushes out these updates really frequently. it also has
the easiest workflow on the desktop and has the best sharing options with
Holoframe and Insta360 EVO. now it does have a couple of disadvantages.
number one is the on camera shooting controls. it's hard to tell whether it's
in photo or video mode, and secondly converting it from VR 180 to 360 is not
as smooth as the process for Kandao Qoocam or Vuze XR. The other issue is
the stitching. in 360 mode, the stitching is better than Vuze XR but not as good
as the Qoocam. here's a tip. you can often improve stitching by choosing
optimize stitching in the smartphone app or desktop app. the other disadvantage is
that it doesn't have a hard case unlike the Vuze XR. so how about you? which do
you prefer: 360, VR180 or both? let me know in the comments! thanks and I'll see
you in 360.