fbpx

DIY Photography

Hacking Photography - one Picture at a time

Search

Submit A Story

The Insta360 X3 shoots massive 72-megapixel stills, 8K timelapse and 120fps bullet time

by 1 Comment

It’s that time again. Insta360’s announced another camera. This time it’s the Insta360 X3; the successor to the Insta360 ONE X2 (review here) – although they’ve dropped the “ONE” bit from the naming system now. But how does it compare to its predecessor? What’s different? What’s new? Is it really any better?

I’ve had the opportunity to test one for the last couple of weeks and in some ways, it’s definitely an improvement over the ONE X2. It comes with some very useful new features including upgraded 1/2″ sensors that shoot up to 72-megapixel 360° stills, 8K timelapse, a larger touchscreen display and some new shooting modes.

[Read More…]

This 360° amphibious camera takes its optical design from the eyes of fiddler crabs

One of the big problems you encounter when moving a camera from dry land to under the water is the difference in the index of refraction (IOR). That’s the thing that often makes rivers and lakes appear much shallower than they actually are when you’re looking at them from the water’s edge. For 360° cameras, this difference in IOR can be a big problem when it comes to shifting from the air to underwater.

A team of researchers at the Institute for Basic Science (IBS), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), the Seoul National University and The University of Texas at Austin, though, have developed a system based on one of nature’s designs. They’ve taken inspiration from the fiddler crab to develop a 360° camera system that works both in and out of the water.

[Read More…]

This 360° camera shoots 12.5K 360 footage and costs a whopping $42,000

Despite the name, the Meta Three 360° camera has nothing to do with the recently rebranded parent company of Facebook. They’re actually a UK-based company developing 360° cameras and live streaming solutions. The “Three” part of the name is because it’s their third their camera. There’s also a Meta One and the Meta Two, which cost a relatively low £21,000  (~$25,400) and £16,000 (~$19,350) respectively… Plus tax, of course.

I say “relatively low” because the Meta Three costs an insane £35,000 + VAT – or a little over $42,000 + tax for our American readers. But the specs and features of this thing are pretty insane. Like, the fact that it shoots 12.5K resolution video using four vertically oriented 6K sensors with very low parallax, ProRes 422 (and h.265), electronic focus and aperture control and live streaming capability.

[Read More…]

Insta360’s ONE RS 1-Inch 360 Edition is a welcome and huge-sensored addition to the ONE RS family – A review

by 3 Comments

Insta360 has seen a lot of success in the 360° camera market over the last few years and they’ve arguably become the leader in pocketable 360° cameras thanks to devices like the Insta360 ONE X2 (review here) and the Insta360 ONE RS (review here).

Today, though, Insta360 has announced that they’re going big with the new Insta360 ONE RS 1-Inch 360 Edition. Co-engineered with Leica the new 1-Inch 360 mod lets you shoot 360° footage at up to 6K resolution using, as the name suggests, a pair of giant 1″ sensors.

[Read More…]

Insta360 teams up with Leica to go large with the new Insta360 ONE RS 1-Inch 360 Edition

by Leave a Comment

Insta360 has today announced their newest camera… Sort of. It’s not all entirely new, as it uses the same core as the regular Insta360 ONE RS (review here), but it is a whole new look for that familiar core module with a giant 360° lens module that packs a pair of 1-inch sensors. The new Insta360 ONE RS 1-Inch 360 Edition (review here) was co-engineered with Leica and it shoots up to 6K footage and 21-megapixel 360° stills.

While Insta360 has teamed up with Leica before, producing the 1-Inch standard camera module for the ONE R, this is the first time Leica has been involved in the creation of a 360° camera. And with a pair of 1-inch sensors, it’s going to capture better dynamic range and struggle much less in lower light conditions than smaller sensor 360° cameras.

[Read More…]

The Insta360 ONE RS is a worthy successor, adds 6K video, Active HDR and native FlowState stabilisation

by Leave a Comment

Insta360 has today announced the new Insta360 ONE RS. It’s the follow-up to the company’s popular and modular Insta360 ONE R, released in 2020. It boasts some fancy new upgrades in both the core module as well as the 4K “Boost” module, but is it any good?

I’ve been playing with one for the last couple of weeks, so today we’re going to talk about some of its differences and benefits over its predecessor and take a look at some sample footage from both shot side-by-side to see how it compares. For those who just want the announcement info and the specs, you can check out the announcement article here. For the rest of you, carry on reading.

[Read More…]

Insta360 launches its second-generation Insta360 ONE RS modular action camera

by Leave a Comment

Insta360 has today announced the new Insta360 ONE RS modular action camera. The Insta360 ONE RS is the follow up to the popular Insta360 ONE R released in 2020 and brings with it a new 4K Boost module capable of shooting 48-megapixel stills with a new 1/2″ sensor and even boasts a 6K 2.35:1 cinematic mode. There’s a new Core module, offering better in-camera stabilisation and audio.

Being modular, the new 4K boost lens can be swapped out for the pre-existing 360° module or the 5.3K Leica 1-inch module. And, of course, the new 4K Boost lens is compatible with the ONE R core unit and the new ONE RS core unit is compatible with the old 4K module as well as with the previously released Quick Reader for the Insta360 ONE R.

[Read More…]

42 fun camera moves for you to try with your 360° or action camera

Teeny tiny action cameras and 360° cameras open up a lot of filming options that just simply aren’t available to larger DSLR and mirrorless camera setups, let alone big chunky cinema cameras. You’re not limited to just clamping one to your chest or handlebars while you go out cycling, either.

There are many very cool effects that you can create with one and in this video, Luke Edwin shows us 42 of his favourite small camera shots that he’s created with his action cameras and 360° cameras over his last few years as a full-time YouTube content creator. It’s a fantastic video that while obviously pointing out the limitations of certain cameras in some situations, provides a lot of really cool ideas for ways to film things – especially with 360° cameras or really tiny cameras like the Insta360 GO 2.

[Read More…]

Ricoh Theta X 360° camera comes with a big touch display, 60MP image capture and real-time stitching

by Leave a Comment

Ricoh has today announced the new Ricoh Theta X 360° camera. Like the rest of the Ricoh 360° range, the Theta X is an all-in-one camera featuring a pair of lenses and sensors. It seems to represent a pretty big step up from previous Ricoh Theta cameras in terms of user interactivity, thanks to a great big new 2.25″ touchscreen display that lets you preview your shot (a Ricoh Theta first!) and better smartphone connectivity.

As well as the new touchscreen display, the Theta X brings along with it a couple of other firsts for Ricoh – although they are features that the competition has had for a while now. The battery is replaceable, so you’re not reliant on just an internal one. Swap out whenever you need. And while it still features internal storage (~46GB) it also sports a microSD card slot.

[Read More…]

The Insta360 ONE X2 has a touchscreen OLED UI, IPX8 waterproofing and longer battery life

by Leave a Comment

When Insta360 released the original Insta360 ONE X in 2018 (review here), it kind of shook things up for the pocket-sized 360 camera market. It shot 5.7K footage with pretty revolutionary, almost gimbal-like stabilisation with better dynamic range and more features through its smartphone app than just about any of its contemporaries at the time.

Well, today, Inta360 has announced an update with the launch of the new Insta360 ONE X2. I’ve been having a bit of play with one for the last couple of weeks, so let’s take a look at some of the changes, see how it differs from its predecessor and what I love about the new ONE X2.

[Read More…]

Recent Posts