Insta360 has been a huge name in the 360 and action camera market. Last year we went hands-on with the thumb-sized Go 2, which is one of the simplest action cameras I’ve ever used. Now, it’s out with the new Insta360 One RS – an evolution of their modular action camera. We got our hands on the twin edition, which includes a 4K Boost lens as well as a 5.7k 360-degree lens. Be sure to hit the video below and see this camera in action.
Insta360 One RS: Overview
Insta360’s new One RS takes a similar design from the older One R and upgrades it for 2022 with new features and faster processing. The basic design starts cube-shaped brain called the One Core. From there, lenses and mods can be attached to build out the camera to specific shooting scenarios.
Offering a 4K Boost lens, 360 lens, and a 5.3K wide-angle lens, its interchangeable design makes it very versatile. Beyond the mounting bracket cage, there are other accessories as well to make it even more powerful.
Insta360 has also built plenty of features into their app to make editing and exporting videos quick with AI controls, or more personal with robust support for user input for edits.
Coming in at $550 for the twin edition that includes the 4K boost and 360-degree lenses, it’s more like getting two cameras in one. Considering the MSRP on the GoPro Hero 10 and Max 360 is $500 each, the One RS sounds like a heck of a deal.
Upgrades over the One R
With such a similar design and name to the One R, the new One RS features some nice upgrades and updates over the previous model. With the 4K boost lens, the One RS can capture photos at up to 48MP, which is a 4x increase over the 12MP of the older camera.
For better audio, the new One RS has an additional microphone, and the mounting bracket has been upgraded for better wind compensation. We’ll go into more detail on the audio below.
Insta360 One RS: Video
There are some new functions on the One core’s screen that enable a quick zoom as well as a quick menu to change video settings.
Additionally, Wi-Fi is 50% faster, battery capacity has increased, and improved in-camera FlowState stabilization means videos can be exported faster.
Insta360 One RS: Design
There are really four essential parts to this camera system. There is the One Core, which holds the touchscreen, micro SD slot, and charging port, as well as the power and record buttons. The lens attachments easily connect to one side of the core, and the red battery base holds them together with a spring-loaded release.
The final piece is the mounting bracket/cage that has a standard action camera mounting point on the bottom but also makes the One RS camera waterproof up to 16 meters. Without the cage, the camera cannot be submerged in water.
Video Quality – 360 lens
To try out the camera, I went on a canoe float with kids.
With a 5.7k and 30fps, I found the Insta360 One RS to look great for 360 video. It’s a really fun way to shoot. I often ride motorcycles, and being able to record some of my adventures in a third-person-like view thanks to the invisible selfie stick feature is a lot of fun.
Reframing and zooming are easy on the Insta360 app as well as when editing videos in Premiere Pro. Now, it’s never really going to look quite as sharp as a DSLR, iPhone, or even the 4K boost lens attachment, but for me the creative possibilities that 360 cameras enable make up for the compromises. Especially from a consumer side where the majority of content captured would just be for social media or fun family videos.
HDR and Active HDR
One other major feature is HDR. In my testing, it worked great to preserve information when filming in the late evening on my motorcycle. The standard mode easily blew out near the sun when HDR was enabled, there was much more information for a better image.
The One RS also has an active HDR mode for the 4K boost lens. It will limit the frame rate from 60fps down to 30fps, but for those who want a mode dynamic image, it’s tailored to work well for capturing action clips.
Now, Insta360 does warn to not use HDR in low-light settings, which includes bicycling through wooded forests, so use at your own discretion. But in my testing, it made a big difference when shooting outdoors in sunlight.
Video Quality – 4K Boost lens
Testing the 4K boost lens with a chest mount while riding my bicycle, I was impressed with how well it was able to remove all of the bumps from the footage. It also looked nice and sharp. With the quick menu and fast zoom buttons, it’s easy to swap between ultra-wide and linear views. 4K 60fps also helps for some smooth footage that can be further manipulated in post-production.
Stabilization
Insta360’s FlowState stabilization works great on the One RS making videos silky smooth. With the 360 lens, it locks position and smooths out any movements easily. When shooting in low light, some motion blur can make the image a little softer, but the image remains rock solid.
Insta360 One RS: Audio
Upgraded audio seems to work well on the One RS. When riding my motorcycle around 50mph, I can almost hear in the recording when it switches between different microphones to compensate for wind noise. By the time I got out of first gear (which is pretty low on my Phoenix 250), it would pop over and the sound became more muffled, but still usable. There was still some wind noise that came through, but it wasn’t constant and my exhaust was much more audible than the wind.
Insta360 app/editing
For editing, users can connect to the camera from the Insta360 app and edit on a mobile device, use Insta360’s Studio app on a desktop to edit, or download and use another editing program like the Premiere Pro.
For short clips and social media sharing, the Insta 360 app is plenty powerful. There are AI editing tools to help make quick edits, or you can dive in and make your own edits. Other features like Auto frame and beautify add more functionality to the videos. When exporting, you can select resolution, bit rate, and make a couple of adjustments to color and noise reduction.
Snap editing
One handy way to edit quick clips for social media or other sharing might be the Snap feature. With this mode, just hit record and then physically move your device or swipe the screen to reposition the angle. You can also zoom in and out easily to reframe the image. When you’ve captured the clip that you wanted to, just stop recording and export.
9to5Toy’s Take
Insta360’s latest camera is a versatile powerhouse. Being able to swap lenses based on what kind of activity your capturing is a great feature. And the upgraded features over the One R seem to be a worthy progression. HDR is helpful in bright sunlight, the mics work well, and the stabilization keeps images rock solid. At $550 for the kit that includes the 4K boost lens and 360 lens, it’s right in line with the competition from GoPro, but the interchangeable lenses make it more like two cameras in one.
Buy Insta360 One RS
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