After three different productions and field tests of the Insta360
Pro 2 - I want to share some of the footage with you like what you are
watching right now in 3D 360 in 6K 60fps. To me personally what
excites me of this camera is the possibility of shooting high frame rate
3d 360 video in professional quality without complicated setup. So for this
first review video of the brand new Insta 360 pro 2 VR camera, I
want to focus on high frame rate 3d video quality. I will compare it with
another popular high frame rate 3d 360 camera the Kandao Obsidian S and
original Insta360 Pro. With optical flow interpretation you can also get 6K
60 frames per second 3D video out from the original Pro camera.
We do not just stop in-camera comparison. I will also show you the real world
application of the 60 frames per second video when the camera is on the move
with FlowState(TM) stabilization. How about mixed lighting and low light?
High frame rate video does require lots of light and I will show you how it
performs in a sunset low-light situation. We will compare i-LOG: a special LOG
mode designed for colorist by Insta360. And we will test the dynamic range in
High frame rate shooting with beautiful dancers and gorgeous sunset in the middle of the
ocean if you are ready put on your VR headset and join me on this high frame
rate 3d 360 VR adventure...
Before we start I just want to
point out all the switching is done in the free Insta360 Stitcher
So you see lots of stitching issue. Especially in high frame rate videos
please follow this Mistika VR tutorial to fix the issue
okay let's focus this video in high frame rate video quality comparison
First we have the Insta360 Pro 2, full auto setting, native sensor level 60
frames per second in 6k 3D and Stitched with the Insta360 Stitcher. Here is
the setup of all three cameras they stack on top of each other. 60 frame per
second gives you more information between frames and less motion blur in
the headset so a more comfortable reality like experience compared to 30
frames per second. Okay pay attention when I'm crossing the stitch line. Let me
rewind and go through it again and now slow motion. It's pretty smooth with just
very minor 3d motion flickers which is almost unnoticeable. By the way, if you
need real slow motion this is not the correct way to do it. Set your sequence
to 30 frames per second and slow down the 60 frames per second footage in half
speed will give you silky smooth slow motion. Here is the resolution chart in a
distance. Color and focus chart 5 feet away from the camera which is standard
distant and then I ran 30 feet away from the camera to see how good is the
resolution and sharpness for distant objects and I ran into the shadow to
show you the dynamic range. Okay let's switch to the original Insta360 Pro now
So here is the original Insta360 Pro. It actually only shoot stereoscopic
3d in 6k 30 frame per seconds but the Insta360 Stitcher has this
optical flow feature they can double the frame rate
with the software. Lots of people think they do not need to upgrade to Insta360
Pro 2 - because the software will give you the exact same thing which is what
you are watching right now. But if you pay close attention around me you will
see a weird halo around motion that try to hide the motion blur and blend the
pixel that were not really there to begin with. So if you want silky smooth
motion use the optical flow faked high frame rate processing it's not the way
to go. Also you notice the Insta360 Pro 2 captured way more detail
than the Pro 1 - both in dynamic range and sharpness. The Pro 2 is clearly a win in
image quality in 60 frames per second compared to the original Pro. And this
gave me comfort for my investment on the Pro 2. But how about compare it to a
more expensive Kandao Obsidian S. Another VR camera that loved by lots of
professional VR filmmakers. On paper the Obsidian S actually only do 50 frames
per second with software boost to 60 frames per second as you are seeing the
action here in a 60 frame per second timeline the Obsidian footage looks
sped up. As 60 frames per second is a more common frame rate than 50 frames
per second this gives Insta360 Pro 2 a huge
advantage on high frame rate production. Lots of producers might even not
consider Obsidian S just because of the 50 frames per second they are not used
to. If you put the frame rate difference aside and let's look at the resolution
the Obsidian 6K is in a lower resolution than the 6K Insta360 Pro
2 or Pro produce. But let's look at the image quality of obsidian s. It
definitely looks better than the pro one both in dynamic range and sharpness. Is
it better than the pro 2 though? That is arguable. I think the dynamic range of
the obsidian is still slightly better than the Pro 2. There
are more details in the shadow if you look back on the pro 2 footage in the
same spot I pointed out under the bushes. The stitching quality in motion of the
box is better in Obsidian. Especially when I wheel through the stitch line. In
Pro 2 if you really pay close attention you still see some stereo motion
flickers when are crossing the stitch line in 60 frame per seconds. In the
Obsidian s the stereo motion flicker is less noticeable. There is a lot less
motion blur in high frame rate production so good left and right eye
stitch matching in motion are a lot more crucial than regular 30 frames per
second production. Something that you should keep in mind when your action is
crossing the stitch line.
All professional VR Cameras have some kind of LOG mode. As you know from my original Insta360
Pro review the pro flat mode, as you are watching it right now, it is unusable. The
brand-new Pro 2 introduces i-log: a dedicated LOG mode to protect highlight
and shadow and to give us the freedom to color grade in post-production. It is
actually necessary to shoot in LOG in high frame rate to protect shadow so we
don't lose important details in the dark area. You are watching the pro 2 LOG mode
right now if you look at the Sun - LOG mode really protects the highlight to
prevent blow out compared to the regular mode you just saw. But I want you to pay
extra attention to the shadow which is the area above my chair and below my
ceiling and also inside of my house. Remember what you see and we will
switch immediately to the Kandao obsidian log mode. Now you see the dramatic
difference in dynamic range in log mode. There is a lot more information in the
shadow in obsidian, like the inside of my house, the reflection of my chair, and the
ceiling. If you have not turn around fast enough here again is the pro 2 LOG mode
on the right. Now you know why so many professional colorist prefer obsidian
log footage. Personally I like obsidian log footage more than Yi Halo, GoPro
Odyssey and Z Cam V1 Pro Z log for this exact reason. The dark area is protected
with very very low noise. To achieve this impressive log capture you do need to
update to the latest obsidian firmware. So now you see the comparison if you are
into a high frame rate production upgrade to the Insta360 Pro 2
from your pro 1 is a no-brainer. You will be very very happy with the image
quality increase. Pro 2 is a close match with obsidian. I think they are both
great cameras. You should download this comparison footage from the link in the
description below and sideload to watch it on your VR headset. If you want to avoid
YouTube compression to crowd your judgement and comment below and tell me
which one you think it is better and give your reasonings. So your comments
will help others as well
so you may ask how about low light in high ISO of the Insta360 pro 2. As we all
know for my other reviews the original Pro cannot go past ISO 400 even with
NeatVideo denoising. You are actually watching a real world pro 2 footage in
ISO 800 right now. The Sun just set in the middle of the ocean and the only
light source is the remaining of the Sun leaks. This is in i-log and we can grade
it with official LUT as you can see right now. So the footage is actually
really good there is noise but totally removable and the pro 2 i-Log captured
the true color of the golden hours really well and I'm very happy with this
low-light performance. When the sun fully set, I will switch to 30 frames per
second and keep the ISO at 800 which I will show you in my next pro 2 review
video in 3d true 8K 30 frames per second
The last thing I want to show you about high frame rate performance of the pro 2
is when the camera is on the move with the FlowState stabilization. In this
clip I am literally running behind my friend on the Ronin, protecting his back
at the same time doing a 360 behind the scene capture. Talk about multi tasking.
Pro 2 is a great point and shoot professional 360 camera for
documentary filmmakers when the action is live and you just need to capture it
I think the up-and-down movement does make you sick in the headsets but
FlowState and high frame rate combined do give you pretty smooth 360
without using a motorized dolly or rover. See this other clip with my more
stable hand it is totally usable. So if you are using FlowState, I would highly
suggest also shoot in high frame rate. So in post if you need the footage you can
slow it down for a more smooth movement in 30 frame per second
expensive rover like mantis from Motion Impossible will be a history soon. I will
show you in my 8K 30 frames per second review in the next video.