The Insta360 One RS is a unique take on the action camera that differentiates it from the GoPro. It provides you something that GoPro doesn’t by allowing you to swap out its camera on the fly, allowing it to shift from a typical action camera to a 360 camera. Continue reading our Insta360 One RS review to determine if this is the greatest action camera and best 360 camera for you.
What will you see here?
Price and availability
The Insta360 One RS, which went on the market on March 22, 2022, is available in various configurations. For $549.99, the Twin Edition includes the 4K Boost Lens and the 360 Lens. The 4K Edition (with only the 4K Boost Lens) costs $299.99, while the 1-Inch Edition with the previous 1-inch camera module costs $549.99. Extra battery bases are $29.99 each.
Design
The Insta360 One RS is designed similarly to its forerunner, the Insta360 One R, and allows you to have two cameras in one.
- The camera is divided into three sections: the camera module, which houses the lens (or lenses), the control module, which includes a tiny color touchscreen, and the battery.
The concept behind the Insta360 One RS is that you don’t need to carry an autofocus lens and a 360 camera separately; change out the camera module on the One RS. It’s a novel concept that DJI has partially replicated with its Action 2 action camera.
The One RS, like the original, is compatible with three lens modules: a 360º glass module, a 5.3K 1-inch Wide Angle glass module, and a 4K Boost Lens with a 1/2-inch, 48MP sensor. The last two lenses may be inverted, allowing you to compose your selfie photos using the camera’s display.
The One RS’s modular architecture is undoubtedly innovative, but that does make the camera hefty. It’s larger than even the GoPro Hero10 when fully constructed, and it grows much bigger when you insert it into its mount. While wearing my ski helmet, I didn’t feel its weight too much, although I did bump it on the lift bar more than once.
The most visible difference between the One RS and the One X is the mounting case, which is now considerably easier to use. Rather than unfastening from the top, it now unlocks the form of the side, and the process is simpler. The cover also features a plastic shield on the front to assist reduce wind noise, but it wasn’t as successful as I’d thought. Because the One RS’s casing employs the basic GoPro-compatible mounting method, any top GoPro accessories with a universal mount should suit the One RS.
Performance:
The different pieces of the One RS were quite simple to switch out. The latching method is the same as on the One R, so the modules lock together quickly, and the battery snaps into place. It wasn’t as sleek as the DJI Action 2, which uses powerful magnets to keep its parts together, but it was safer Atop the control module of the One RS is a Power button and a Record button; because of the size of the camera, these buttons are a little smaller than the ones on the GoPro Hero10 and were a little more challenging to detect and push by feel alone. It was harder for me to climb up over my mask and press the controls while wearing ski gloves.
A little latch on the control module’s side protects the camera’s USB-C connector and microSD card slot. The door is kept in place by a flimsy plastic rope that appears brittle after repeated usage. Like the original One R, the screen on the One RS is tiny – half the size of the GoPro display — making it more challenging to select menu options. However, if the camera is connected to your helmet, you may alter the settings via the Insta360 app, which may be the easiest choice.
The basic 4K camera on the Insta360 is limited to 4K. When utilizing Active HDR mode, the maximum frame rate is 30 fps. If you are not using HDR, the frame rate can be adjusted to 60 fps. It takes 1080p at 200 frames per second and 2.7K at 100 frames per second in slow-motion mode. The 360 lenses can capture 5.7K footage at 30 frames per second and 3K resolution at 100 frames per second.
App:
The company’s smartphone software allows you to edit your film in various highly creative ways, where a lot of the beauty of Insta360’s cameras resides.
You may alter the look of any video by adjusting the color, contrast, and filters. You may take it further by including music (the app offers a range of tracks). Other editing features include the ability to slow down or speed up certain areas of your video and Snapshot, which allows you to capture a single point in time.
When you use the camera’s 360-degree lens, your editing choices expand. First, you may include keyframes throughout your movie so that the action can vary, whether in front or behind the camera. Subject tracking allows you to maintain people in the center of the screen regardless of how you move. In my testing, it was fairly accurate, and it relieves you from thinking about what you’re shooting at.
Freeze Frame is a clever feature that allows you to choose a moment in time. I have had the video freeze for 5 or 10 seconds when the viewpoint changes. Then continue the movie. I didn’t do something as daring as jumping over a chasm. Understand how the function may be beneficial for showing your audience a clever trick.
All of the editing tools have a learning curve. Then you can review all of your modifications without committing to them.
Battery life:
According to Insta360, the One RS can capture video in 5.3K at 30fps for up to 65 minutes. This is equivalent to the GoPro Hero10’s ability to shoot 5.3K/60 fps footage for 56 minutes.
As stated previously, other cells for the Insta360 One R cost $29.99 each. GoPro charges $19.99 for a basic rechargeable battery and $24.99 for an Enduro rechargeable battery. Keep in mind that editing video on your smartphone directly from the One RS can quickly deplete your battery life. So recommend either uploading clips to your smartphone or transferring them to your computer and editing them using Insta360’s desktop program.
Bottom line:
When it comes to the greatest action cameras, I believe that the GoPro Hero10 is the most acceptable option. It has greater video-recording capabilities and is somewhat smaller. Simpler to operate on the move due to more oversized buttons and screens. While video quality suffers, as a result, you may have a camera module in one. If you want the most adaptable action camera, the Insta360 One RS is the way to go.
At the time of writing, the GoPro Hero10 with a 32GB microSDHC card and a one-year membership ($50/year). This includes Limitless cloud backup, and discounts on GoPro accessories are available for $349. The Insta360 One RS with the 4K Boost Lens & 360 Lens, on the other hand, costs $549.99. The One RS with only the 4K lens costs $299. But if you want an autofocus lens, the GoPro is the way to go.
Unless something extraordinary occurs in the field of action cameras, it isn’t easy to envision any firm surpassing GoPro’s early breakthroughs. Insta360 provides an appealing alternative by development. A different type of action camera — one with lenses that can be swapped out for a 360 camera — integrates it with sophisticated software.
Conclusion
The Insta360 One RS is the company’s newest camera. This is a follow-up to the modular Insta360 One R, introduced a few years ago. The modular design of the One RS is retained. Letting users swap between a 4K action camera and a 360 lens for creative and unusual pictures. The One RS has a new lens shape, a more user-friendly bracket, and a number of software improvements.
