Insta360 Reviews

The camera and Insta360 have the makings of being really really great. But the support of the company is very lackluster and they will tell you every time it generally takes “hours” for them to respond.

I loved the idea of being able to quickly edit in Insta360 but it shuts down (crashes) every time I try to export it. Very disappointing as this was a huge feature for me to put out content. I sent a request in on this several hours ago but haven’t heard a response, it’s unfortunate sometimes their “hours” take a few days.

Also, I’m not sure if it’s the camera but you can’t use any audio if you film in anything higher than 30fps. Want to shoot in 60fps? Don’t plan on using any audio form the video. I’ve been told from this app this is a known issue that they’re working to update in the next firmware update but I have no clue when and when I bought the camera I was advertised that it can take videos in 60fps and higher but I didn’t know that meant without any audio.

I will take this review down if they try to make this right but I won’t know for several days. The longer this is up, the less likely it is they’ve fixed any of these issues.

Since I purchased this item, I, along with countless others, expected to be able to have the live view feature to work on the iOS devices. Updated app, phone and still doesn’t display a live view. ‘Preview is compressed’ displays on the screen when you again should be able to see what you are filming. With or with out the one inch mod, or the 360 mod, there is still no option to see what you are filming on your phone. Unless you wish to damage your eye sight and try to look at a small 1 inch square this camera is a waste of money. I am hoping to return this item soon as it’s only another company making false promises and under delivery of the product. Again so, do NOT purchase this camera. And If you did, return it as fast as possible. They are unlikely to fix a problem that is a main essential feature.

There is no VR viewing mode in this software!

I purchased the original this app one and it has a VR mode which is fantastic. When skiing you can put the camera on a mount on your helmet and then review the video on your smart phone using VR goggles. When you do that it puts you right back in the moment allowing you to re-experience the event just like you did originally. But it’s even better because you can look around and see things in other directions that you didn’t notice the first time. Like looking at the person standing in the lift line behind you. Or turning around and looking back up the hill that you are skiing down.

Same thing if you go out on hikes, personal watercraft, motorcycle or anything else. It lets you relive the moment from your own perspective.

I bought the X2 to get better video. The software for the X2 does not include the VR mode. You can only edit the video for normal viewing or output for 360 view but it will not work using VR goggles. This is a terrible oversight and makes this camera useless to me.

I submitted a request for technical support and they said they will note this for their engineers. If you want VR mode please send in a technical support request from the settings menu. It only takes a minute.

Rule number 1 of engineering is don’t fix what isn’t broken. The One X could use the One R app and its many software advantages just fine, now you restrict the best features to One R users only and give canned responses that it’s due to incompatibility with the One X. Be honest, this was a Steve Jobs power move to try to sell One R’s and everyone sees right through it. Aside from the outrageous ONEX lockout from shot lab, you are forcing the One R’s dynamic stitching to be on with no option to turn off. This feature is nice but prone to stitching errors on the one X and should be able to be turned off. We lost the ability to toggle audio improvements on or off, and we lost the ability to turn chromatic calibration on, which in my experience should always be on because it worked flawlessly. Do the right thing and give us a true power app that gives everyone all the features that are truly compatible which is most of them. Aside from the complaints, it is nice to have the superior keyframable FOV and no download editing available with the proper ONEX stitching profiles (now for waterproof cases!), aside from the fact that dynamic stitching doesn’t work right and can’t be turned off.

1 star until these things are addressed. Editing in the iPad would be amazing if I could edit in landscape. Also having to edit off the camera with my IPad is extremely annoying when I got the iPad specifically for the files management and it’s useless with any this app camera since they don’t have an option to open the this app files from the files app. Also free capture is frustrating and glitchy sometimes. The last thing that drives me crazy is the active tracking, when editing I always enable the active tracking accident while trying to frame up a moment, there should be a separate button or something to enable it. The action to enable it is too close to the same action used to reframe. Come on insta 360!! On top of my One R overheating I’m about over it!!!

The company is a scam. I bought the camera for my wife for Christmas, and she asked that I return it because the quality of the camera/technology was not reflective of the price. But when I tried to return it (16 days after purchase) they told me their return policy was 15 days and tried to sell me other accessories. When I complained, they tried to sell me more accessories and didn’t even acknowledge my complaint. I’m almost positive the messages I received back were from bots. Now onto Insta360 . Insta360 is confusing and the opposite of user friendly. And when you export photos onto your phone, it says “shot by this app” in the bottom right corner. This company is all marketing. The camera is terrible. Insta360 is a joke. And the customer service is non existent. They just want your money and don’t care about anything else. I will never buy another product from this company.

If I had known what a terrible app this was on a iPad, I would have purchased the iPad and possibly the camera.

I purchased the iPad so that I can backup and edit on the road without a laptop. Since the videos are so large, backing up to an external hard drive is a must. Insta360 does NOT allow for you to access the videos from external storage or even saved locally in the Files folder. Opening the videos from the camera freezes or disconnects constantly. Importing from the camera through Insta360 takes forever. You then can’t even locate the files without a PC. The iPad is limited in storage and require external storage for backing up.

The this app app does allow for access of files from the native Photos app, but the Photos app does not suppose .insv extensions, making it useless. If I wanted regular videos, I would have stuck to my DJI or any other camera for that matter.

Also, why not landscape mode? Ridiculous it’s in portrait and that looks like a webpage selling gear. I want editing software for a camera I already have… don’t need any other products.

Insta360 is great on paper but has so many unpolished features! I feel as if they just didn’t pay close attention to the smaller things like being able to actually cut and delete segments rather then having to trim down one long recording to get one clip! When you do trim multiple clips it cuts in and out! I also wish the software had all the features Insta360 does but the software on pc us even worse! I’d honestly pay money for Insta360 if it worked just like how and editing app/software should be! It’s not user friendly when you record a 30 minute video and have multiple parts you want to save! The exporting is also 1080p why even shoot in 5K then! I just really feel like Insta360 has so much potential but it’s just lacking the easiest things ever! INSTA 360 PLEASE FIX UP AND ADD FEATURES THAT WILL MAKE IT user friendly Id hate to use Adobe primer and loose out on Insta360 !

The phone app isn’t the worst. There’s some random quirks I’ll never use but there’s some really amazing, robust options. But the watch app is such trash and it doesn’t have to be. When I’m biking and the camera is attached to my helmet or if I’m hiking and the camera is on the end of a selfie stick, I can start and stop recording from my watch but the default option is picture mode, and I can’t access my presets on the watch. Additionally, the corners are cut off like they built Insta360 for a larger screen but I have the Ultra so it’s the largest screen any Apple Watch has. I get that they’re probably trying to sell more of their own gps remotes but it seems like it could be an easy fix that would make all their cameras so much more convenient for me. Please update the watch app and fix this, this app

Using Insta360 on iPad is maddening. Editing supports landscape mode, but top menu only works in portrait orientation. So if you’re using a keyboard case, you have to keep turning your case sideways when going in and out of edit mode, or remove your iPad from the case and stick to portrait mode. The actual editing process is well thought out, but the file management is glitchy… locally downloaded files disappear in the middle of editing when the camera goes to sleep. I had downloaded a few clips, was finishing up edits on the local copy (since WiFi streaming was very laggy), and when the camera went to sleep Insta360 kicked me out to the main menu and my edited clips are nowhere to be found.

I have been a GoPro user for years (skydiving, snowboarding, BASE jumping, etc). I finally made the switch from GoPro Max to X3 and while the X3 camera is WAY better, the editing app has three MAJOR issues:
1. The “direction lock” doesn’t work at all. I absolutely want a Camara that I can edit a video exactly where I was looking during a skydive, when using direction lock and setting a single key frame the Camara goes absolutely crazy. GoPro has an INCREDIBLY smooth version of this with no issues.

2. Key frames - unfortunately if you have to use a ton of key frames every time it switches from one to the next you can clearly tell in the video due to the speed changes, there is no smooth motion through key frames (example: doing a 270 turn and want to follow my rotation). This makes issue 1 above even more annoying.

3. “Snap mode” - compared to GoPros over capture mode (probably the best edit feature ever for a 360) it needs a lot of work.

Unfortunately, I already sold my GoPro so I’m stuck with insta but if these issues aren’t resolved by the time the max 2 comes out I will 100% be going back.

Insta Team, I would recommend buying a GoPro max to use as reference when trying to resolve these issues. It appears the direction lock issue has been known since the X2 and still no solution.

Insta360 could be great, but I find it frustrating in a few ways which interferes with my workflow.

The thing that I find frustrating is the automatic video playing and pop ups. When I open Insta360 , I want to quickly connect to my camera, take video, download the footage and start editing. Especially in the field. I find that Insta360 experience is very distracting - there are always videos playing and often a pop up screen appears which I have to close before being able to proceed (often not obvious where to close - especially in the field when it is sunny). I find this distracting and interferes with my workflow. It would be good if the workflow was streamlined, obvious/intuitive and less distracting.

Landscape mode on Ipad. I normally use my Ipad in landscape mode on the magic keyboard. Given that Insta360 only really works in portrait, I have to remove the Ipad from the keyboard to edit footage.

Finally, I have experienced some bugs which have interfered with my workflow. Fortunately, they have been fixed by a recent update. One in particular caused my camera to crash.

Insta360 has good core functionality for shooting and editing, but it has problems in a few areas.

When you download images and videos from the camera to your device, they don’t show up in Settings -> General -> iPhone Storage as part of Insta360 - they show up at the bottom under “System Storage”, which is confusing if you’re trying to free up space. It also makes me wonder if Insta360 is writing temporarily files on export which will clutter up my phone.

Also, when exporting videos to Google Street View, there’s no indication or list of what videos have been previously uploaded, either in Insta360 or Google Street View app. It seems to work as Google Maps updates a few days later - but at first I thought it was broken and silently failed.

I have used various 360 cameras and Pps over the years and this app app is by far the best. Inutive and very easy to use. I have two problems with. The first being that I have original One X which they have locked out of some special features. There are minor differences between the One X, R and One X II major reason why haven't upgraded. Instead they have decided to limit functions in Insta360 for my camera the same (to be clear these features were present for the One X to be pulled later which kind of confirms that it is not a hardware limitation.
The next issue is soul crushing and makes no sense. When using video I can't make stay on 5K. Anytime I stop using Insta360 it switches back to 4K. This not how it functions when I use the camera without Insta360 . I like to reframe which works better with 5K and never or rarely want 4K. So frustrating. I can't tell you how many times I have stopped a video and start again only to realize I hadn't reset back to 5K. I'm guessing that this is a weird hardware issue when connected through WiFi but I don't care if it drains the batter more, just allow for the default setting be changed. I have looked for one and have not been able to find it yet.

I have an iPhone 11 Pro, app was working flawlessly, no stuttering of the videos while editing… running smooth. I have not done an update on Insta360 in forever. I don’t know why I decided to update my application, because it keeps on lagging and stuttering while doing playback on my phone. I’ve always been able to connect to my phone and edit on the go super quick. Well, since I updated Insta360 it’s been impossible. I removed Insta360 and reinstall it 3 times. My phone has the latest IOS and I have storage space. I tried on my IPad (which is older than my phone) and I don’t seem to have that issue. I got a message saying app stuck in playback mode. I also receive another message that said frames are too slow yet it works on my iPad.

More issues specific for iPad:

1. No way to just import files from microSD card via adapter.
2. No way to import files from Files app.
3. No way to export files to Files app.
4. A lot of screens work only in portrait mode.

But there are some other issues.

- All the nice looking scenes available only on iOS, like Starlapse, etc. Which is fine.

- But on iOS you cannot for example export 72MP 360 Photo. Even on iPad Pro M2 I got a message that because of the performance of the device, export is limited to 8K only. Well, this is just lazy developers. This iPad has 16GB RAM, and it is M2 chip, it can definitely handle the export similarly to my MBA 24GB M2.

- After shooting Starlapse there is no way to trim it from iOS. I mean you can trim the video of Starlapse, but not to trim all the photos before trying to create a Photo. The issue is, because I started recording at sunset, I could trim the video, but trying to create a photo with star path - because some photos were too bright - you cannot do that. So I had to connect camera to Mac, remove some photos and make the photo on iOS after that (because mac version does not support it). So just hope Insta360 will keep improving! I am new to this app and love it.

Full landscape mode support. I am an iPad user spending the majority of my time editing in Stories tap in Insta360 , which is quite painful, because Stories tap doesn’t support landscape mode unlike explore tab and album tab. When you edit your video in the iPad app, you’re forced to work in portrait mode all the time, and if you’re not using Bluetooth headsets, you’ll have to hold the device with your hand throughout the whole time because the audio jack should be connected on the bottom which is very inconvenient. Why not just use Bluetooth headsets? Because you don’t want to drain the headsets battery while editing your videos. Of course you will also have to detach your iPad from the Magic Keyboard.

Auto edit feature sounds great, but just ignores all my trimming for each clips, which is frustrating. If otherwise, it would speed up my workflow greatly. For now it’s not an option for me.

While editing the clips, inserting music doesn’t work. While my iPad is wirelessly connected to the device(GO3), using LTE for the Internet, I cannot load & insert any music. Wonder what’s possible for wifi iPad models in this scenario.

New to this camera and app. I’m loving what it can do — I see the power. But Insta360 is harder to use than it needs to be IMHO. Some buttons aren’t clear as to the purpose, and there’s no hint text. I enabled a filter in the gallery (only show favorites), and took minutes to figure out how to disable it. One thing I really wish were more clear is how to download video to Insta360 so that it can be manipulated after the camera has been disconnected. And I want to be able to select multiple clips and import them, the disconnect.

Last but not least PLEASE RUN IN LANDSCAPE ON IPADS! I hate when apps force portrait mode on my tablet, it’s so unnatural.

Insta360 is very simple to learn and get the hang of. The layout is simple while still providing the robust tools for editing. I love that it also incorporates a social aspect to it like the different contests to help build interest in new techniques. My only issue with Insta360 though is that I use it on my iPad Pro with the Magic Keyboard and Insta360 keeps forcing a portrait orientation on some screens which then forces me to remove the iPad from the case, then rotate it from portrait to landscape to get Insta360 back into landscape mode and then I can finally place my iPad back on the case… until it happens again of course.

Insta360 it’s self works petty decently it’s got a few thangs that could be a little easy in the editing part but it’s not to bad after you mess with it a bit. But the part that I really hate and really bugs me is that it constantly show on the home screen of my phone that there is like 40 thang to look at in Insta360 then when I open Insta360 I have to spend who knows how on clicking on petty much every thang in Insta360 trying to make them go away because it dose not show you what to click on once you are in Insta360

Hi this app, Thanks for making a user-friendly app for us newbies. Works great on the iPhone, but not so much on my iPad Pro. Stage Manager interferes with the landscape view on the iPad. Switching it off allows landscape, but it gets to be a pain if you use Stage Manager normally. Hopefully Apple allows non-standard file formats to be read through the iPad’s USB-C/TB port in the future. Please optimize the control elements in the iPad version of Insta360 . They are all too small or too close to the bottom edge that it activates app switching every time I try to scrub through videos. Looking forward to 4k in Me Mode!

The viewfinder is one of my favorite features in Insta360 because I can use my phone to frame the shot! Something I really hope for is a way to tap to record and stop in the Viewfinder instead of having to hold the button down. The problem is I normally don’t want to change the field of view and I often change it accidentally when I move my phone around. Maybe you can keep the feature to hold down the record button, while also including the tap to record feature.

The second request, and maybe this already exists, is there a way to view the shot when the camera angle is locked instead of rotating with the world orientation? Thanks!

I do not know whether it is an issue with the latest app or I just received a bad product. I also cannot connect the device to app and activate it. The experience of using app is terrible. Try several times and using both iphone and ipad, all failed. My ipad can find other device through wifi. My device is one X2 and I use iphone8.

I finally fix the issue by updating the firewire through the SD card. I think it may because I just insert a SD card I used for the DJI osmo pocket. The content on the card from DJI somehow disabled the wifi module. It’s also possible that the original firewire is not broken.

First, this is a good gimbal with plenty of features.
But, thankfully my wife asked to see one of the tripod pics we took at .5 zoom. It’s displaying all 3 lenses at once. I assume there’s no saving these as it cuts the top 1/3’d off the image I was trying to capture, which is just out heads. Great for foot cam I guess.
This is only an issue in picture mode. Other camera apps I have required enabling the macro switch to stop it from flipping from camera to camera. I wish this app would have had a warning about this, rather than the multiple pop ups I get every time I go to use Insta360 .
This said, I started using the iPhone camera app with the Flow. This is good except for any times shot. The shutter happens a full second after being clicked. It took many a try to get that ‘throwing leaves in the air’ selfie.
The gimbal is also ‘loaded’ like a spring when you turn it on, so if you try to switch to tripod it spins all over and freaks out, so Insta360 goes full boogie and takes powering it off and back on once in tripod to take a pic or video.
Insta360 still needs some work but overall it’s done a decent job.

I used to have the original Go but I ended up losing it because it was so tiny it slipped out of my pocket. Before I lost the Go, I cracked the lens and that was also because it slipped out of pocket. Now the Go 2 has much more user friendly experience than the original. First of all, the image quality is so much better. It no longer blurry, stability is on point. I no longer have to worry about cracking the lens because it has a cover. The best feature is the case. It transforms into a tripod, you can film and use it as a stick while the camera is attack to the case. Will we see a 4k version of this camera? That’ll be so wow….

Love the camera, Insta360 works very well and I’m certain I haven’t even made full use of it yet.. But I have to say I am incredibly disappointed with the iPad version of Insta360. It’s the exact same as the phone, just scaled to a larger screen. As someone that does 90% of their editing from an iPad, it is so frustrating that I have to work off my phone to make edits to my videos. At the very least there needs to be a horizontal mode because as it stands I have to disconnect my keyboard and work with the naked iPad to do any editing. Why not make use of the extra power? I will absolutely come back and update this to a five start if this issue is resolved. I don’t know how I can take this seriously as a professional level action camera if I am forced to edit off a phone.

Edit:
The Developer has updated to include much, much better iPad support. Insta360 is fantastic and an appropriate companion to a phenomenal camera.

Insta360 works great, providing many ways to edit along with AI and routines to produce near-finished videos.
My only complaint is that when editing 360 clips, the thumbnail views in the album always revert to the initial rear camera lens view which are consistently very similar images, even after editing when keyframes are set at the beginning. It would be great if there was an option to use front or rear lens view for thumbnail images in the album and/or the first key frame when a clip has been edited. With a long day with many video clips it would help to distinguish those that have been edited from those that have not, especially when editing is not done chronologically.

I’m professional photographer and videographer. For years I’ve always wanted to take my professional cameras in environments where I just absolutely shouldn’t for example on my JetSki‘s this camera is a game changer waterproof and gets the job done like no other. And on top of that Insta360 is absolutely mobile friendly and is hands-down the best video editing software to date. I would recommend this to anyone that wants to leave old video editing in the past, and looking for a futuristic look in their video footage. Can’t wait to see what Insta 360 has in store.

Makes capturing footage on this app One X flawless and I can actually enjoy my time not having to deal with thinking about camera placement or if I’m getting the shot cause I know I will! The quality being produced out of Insta360 vs the old one is sooooo much better as well. Not sure how that happens behind the scenes but this app…you’re killing it out there! I love it and constantly buy your products. The only company that makes me jump when I see teasers for new products come out in my email lol.

I had a GoPro hero 7 and the thing had so many issues I wanted to try a different brand. After using the X3 for about year now, there’s no going back. It works when I need it to, and amazing picture/video quality. My friends ask if it’s worth it and I’d say yeah. However pretty pricey if you are the traveling type or any type of action, you can get some amazing sessions with this. I always had issues with the GoPro software of freezing or just not turning on at all on a full charge. Never had an issue with the X3 so far. this app is the champ

Forget about my first review, after 6 months the camera stop reading any sd cards, spent money in three memories this app recommended and nothing. Money in the garbage. I formatted the memory with the computer (windows and mac) with Insta360 on the phone, from the camera menu, still nothing. this app doesnt follow up on your questions. Just garbage------------------- previous review -----------------I have used it to many times, I love to be part of the experience/activity and not have to be looking if things are in frame!just get it!    ​