DIY Photography

Your one stop shop for everything photo-video

  • News
  • Inspiration
  • Reviews
  • Tutorials
  • DIY
  • Gear
Search

Submit A Story

Insta360 drags webcams into the 21st century with the new Insta360 Link

Aug 2, 2022 by John Aldred Add Comment

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

Webcams aren’t exactly a new thing. They’ve been around since the days of the parallel port and other than switching to USB, they’ve largely remained unchanged. Most of them still offer potato-quality images and very little has changed by way of their design. It’s not much of a surprise, though. With only a couple of companies actually making a name for themselves with webcams, there hasn’t really been a big push for innovation.

Well, that might be changing now as Insta360 announces its entry into the world of webcams with the Insta360 Link. Their webcam features a 4K resolution 1/2″ sensor, built-in 3-axis gimbal with AI tracking, smart gesture control, phase detection autofocus, HDR mode, dual noise-cancelling microphones and it can even switch to a vertical 9:16 orientation for streaming to social media.

Webcams have become very popular over the last couple of years as more of us have needed to take to the Internet for our online meetings rather than doing them face to face. More of us have also started to live stream to platforms like YouTube and Facebook. Many photographers who teach have also switched to doing online training rather than in-person, too. And Insta360 takes all of these up to the next level.

With 4K UHD resolution at up to 30fps, the Insta360 Link offers better detail with a higher dynamic range than other webcams on the market thanks to its 1/2″ CMOS sensor. It’s also capable of capturing 1080p at up to 60 frames per second for smoother live streaming performance. And the 3-axis gimbal means that as you move around in front of the camera, it can adjust to follow you and you can use gesture control to zoom it in and out.

Phase Detection Autofocus also means that it should never focus on the wall behind you instead of on your face. And if you need to hold something up to the camera to let the viewer see it, Insta360 says Link offers near instant focusing with a minimum focus distance of only 10cm. So now you don’t need to choose between holding it so close it’s out of focus or so far away that your viewer can’t actually tell what you’re showing them.

It also features an HDR mode to give a greater balance between the shadows and highlights, a common problem for most webcams is that they can’t handle a little bit of soft light coming in through the window and balancing it with the room lighting. In auto exposure mode, you get +/-3EV exposure compensation but you can also set the ISO, shutter speed and white balance manually, too. The aperture is fixed at f/1.8 with a 26mm equivalent lens.


But by far, the standout feature on the Insta360 Link is that it features a built-in 3-axis gimbal. It’s basically like having a DJI Pocket as a webcam. This is what allows the AI tracking to work, with the camera moving to follow you as you move – very handy if you’re a bit animated in front of the camera. And if you’re teaching online, it also has a whiteboard mode that lets it automatically zoom in to have the whiteboard fill the frame when you’re jotting things down to it.

Gesture control allows you to zoom in, zoom out, enable and disable AI tracking and switch between whiteboard and regular mode seamlessly without having to physically click to change modes in a piece of software. And, naturally, there is software. Insta360 Link is a USB camera, designed for use on Windows and macOS and comes with a desktop companion app to let you configure things the way you want or adjust and tweak things during your stream or Zoom chat. The camera can then be added into OBS or any video conferencing in the same way you would with any other USB webcam.

Another particularly cool feature is that it includes DeskView and Overhead modes, allowing you to switch it into top-down views of your desk, with automatic perspective correction – very handy if you’re a YouTube channel that includes things like unboxings in your content. This ability to face the camera downwards also means that the Insta360 Link automatically goes into privacy mode after 10 seconds of inactivity, pointing the camera straight down to prevent unwanted eyes from seeing its view.


That gimbal also leads to the Insta360 Link’s second standout feature and that’s portrait orientation live streaming. The Insta360 Link offers native uncropped 9:16 mode, where the gimbal rotates the camera to 90°, allowing you to insert it into OBS and then stream out to vertically oriented platforms like Facebook. And having both a monitor clip as well as a 1/4-20″ threaded socket underneath, you get a lot of versatility on where and how you want to mount it.

The Insta360 Link certainly elevates webcams up to a whole new level compared to what else is out there on the market. Hopefully, this means that the likes of Logitech and Microsoft will now start to step things up a bit and we’ll see more of this kind of tech and innovation coming to their product lines.

The Insta360 Link is available to buy now for $299.99 from the Insta360 website or pre-order at B&H.

FIND THIS INTERESTING? SHARE IT WITH YOUR FRIENDS!

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

Related posts:

Phottix drags Sony flash into the 21st century bringing it in line with Nikon and Canon The Photon is a product photography “light tent” updated for the 21st century Analogue Pocket makes Game Boy camera relevant in the 21st century Insta360 teams up with Leica to go large with the new Insta360 ONE RS 1-Inch 360 Edition

Filed Under: news Tagged With: Insta360, Insta360 Link, webcam

John Aldred: from diyphotography.net

About John Aldred

John Aldred is a photographer with over 20 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter - and occasional beta tester - of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.

« Nikon adds Linear Focus ring capability to some Z lenses with new firmware updates
This free AI tool restores all your old photos in seconds »

Submit A Story

Get our FREE Lighting Book

DIYP lighting book cover

* download requires newsletter signup
DIYPhotography

Recent Comments

Free Resources

Advanced lighting book

Recent Posts

  • Panasonic PanaTrack is a big bendy motorised camera slider
  • Once again, tourists are getting too close to bison for photos
  • Fujifilm announces shipping delays for the new Fuji X-S20
  • International Photography Awards reveals breathtaking 2022 winners (mildly NSFW)
  • 7artisans launches a 24mm f/1.4 lens for only $109

Udi Tirosh: from diyphotography.netUdi Tirosh is an entrepreneur, photography inventor, journalist, educator, and writer based in Israel. With over 25 years of experience in the photo-video industry, Udi has built and sold several photography-related brands. Udi has a double degree in mass media communications and computer science.

Alex Baker: from diyphotography.netAlex Baker is a portrait and lifestyle driven photographer based in Valencia, Spain. She works on a range of projects from commercial to fine art and has had work featured in publications such as The Daily Mail, Conde Nast Traveller and El Mundo, and has exhibited work across Europe

David Williams: from diyphotography.netDave Williams is an accomplished travel photographer, writer, and best-selling author from the UK. He is also a photography educator and published Aurora expert. Dave has traveled extensively in recent years, capturing stunning images from around the world in a modified van. His work has been featured in various publications and he has worked with notable brands such as Skoda, EE, Boeing, Huawei, Microsoft, BMW, Conde Nast, Electronic Arts, Discovery, BBC, The Guardian, ESPN, NBC, and many others.

John Aldred: from diyphotography.netJohn Aldred is a photographer with over 20 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter - and occasional beta tester - of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.

Dunja Djudjic: from diyphotography.netDunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.

Copyright © DIYPhotography 2006 - 2023 | About | Contact | Advertise | Write for DIYP | Full Disclosure | Privacy Policy