Aside from your smartphone the best video camera you can carry with you is one that’s small, versatile, and captures multiple angles. For the last few years, the Insta360 X line of cameras has been all of these things and more. The new X4 improves upon a lot of the X3 but comes with some drawbacks that are perplexing.
You can watch the video above for my full review or read on for the highlights.
Seeing In 360
The Insta360 X4 is an action camera that has two lenses on both sides that allow it to get a 360 degree field of view. This mean in 360 mode, the camera is actually filming everything around it and then, using the Insta360 Studio desktop or mobile app, you can reposition the footage in any way you want.
Adding a larger front facing screen compared to the X3 means framing is a bit easier on the X4 as is scrolling through the various menu options. On both counts though the X4 is mostly a set it and forget it camera since it’s filming everything around at the same time. In this way the X4 acts like multiple cameras since you can re-frame the footage endlessly. Even the microphones will focus on the sound in the direction of the footage you want in frame and those microphones do a very good job of picking up sound, especially speaking.
What’s Changed
The X4 is noticeably bigger and heavier than the X3. It measures 46 x 123.6 x 37.6mm versus the 46.0 x 114.0 x 33.1mm of the X3 and weighs 203 grams, 23 grams heavier than the X3. If you don’t have the X3 nearby, then the X4 doesn’t look that big but next to the X3, the X4 feels a lot less pocket-able – I think this is probably as big as the X line can get before they become too large for an action camera.
The added size comes with a bigger 2290mAh battery though and that’s need to power the upgraded 5nm AI chip which supports 8k capability. Recording at 5.7k on the X4, the highest resolution of the X3, you get 67% more battery life – about 130 minutes – or 60-70 minutes when filming in 8k.
The added size gives you bigger microphone and speaker vents but also heat dissipation which is even more important on the X4.
Hot Takes
See, the X4 gets noticeably hot shortly after you power it up and when recording in 8k you definitely feel the heat. The X4 even shows a warning when you switch to 8k to use it in windy conditions so it doesn’t overheat. Typically with a 360 camera you’re hitting record a few minutes at a time outdoors which helps mitigate overheating. But in hotter climates and parts of the world overheating is going to be more of an issue if you’re recording in 8k for any duration over 15-20 minutes.
The resulting footage does look better than the X3 with a much improved color science (still terrible at low light) and a level of sharpness that should be reduced in the settings to avoid a grainy look. The X4 is $100 more than the X3 and if you’ve already got one I don’t think this is a must upgrade. It’s a nice to have upgrade but if you film in hot climates often you might just be better off with the X3 and waiting for whatever version comes after this one. The X4 feels a lot like an in between product – the next version might be in this form factor but with a chip that runs cooler with a newer sensor giving you more battery life and improved heat dissipation for longer recording times.