Insta360 One RS. Insta360's first action/360 camera hybrid since 2020's ONE R. The GoPro Hero 10 and ONE RS are similar. However, it does have some nice aspects that make it stand out, marginally.
The first is the pricing, which is $299 US, making it $50 less expensive than the GoPro Hero 10 Black when purchased with a GoPro membership. The 4k and 360 lenses, on the other hand, cost $549. And I believe it is critical that we begin with the price so that you may regulate your expectations.
If you look at it closely, you'll find that it looks just like the previous Insta360 ONE R, and that's because it is. They've gone with a modular design this time, with the red battery on the bottom. It's somewhat larger than the preceding ONE R, but not by much. And it disassembles in the same manner as before. You remove the battery, then separate the lens from the core and replace it. I've got the 360 lens here, and voilà! As previously said, this is two cameras in one. It's both a 360-degree camera and an action camera. So, what's the latest? Both of these pieces, to be exact.
So, it appears that the core, a.k.a. the camera module, has been upgraded in minor ways since the last time. One additional feature of this core is quick zoom, which allows you to switch from a wide to a small perspective by zooming in via the screen.
Then they've added this 4K boost lens, which is the regular lens that comes with the camera. I suppose you could consider it a regular action camera lens. It does have two benefits. The first is that this lens can shoot 6K wide-screen footage at a 2.35:1 aspect ratio, technically making this camera a 6K camera. Capturing 6K wide-screen video, for example, is extremely beneficial. You can utilize it in scenarios where you might need 6K wide-screen video, such as, uh, situations where you could need 6K wide-screen video. Jokes aside, that is technically a pro because I'm sure some people will find it useful.
As a result, 6K wide-screen is limited to the 4K lens, as is Active HDR. And Active HDR is essentially built-in HDR video that can be used in any situation, including shaky hand-held photos. I shot a slew of clips with Active HDR, including the opening shot of this video and many others. And I have to mention that the dynamic range of these videos is rather impressive. I tried pushing it here by putting the sun squarely behind my head and shot in high-contrast settings. But, in every case, the footage was not spoiled by overexposure or lens flares. Apart from the pricing, Active HDR is one of the nicest aspects of the One RS in my opinion. Those are some nice images. And if you frequently photograph handheld, you won't have to worry about whether or not your shot is properly exposed. It always will be if you utilize Active HDR mode, except in low light, when they encourage just using Active HDR during the day.
You can use your old 360 lens and your old Leica 1-inch lens with the One RS if you bought the original ONE R. The new 4K boost lens, which is exclusive to the ONE RS, is the only thing that isn't cross-compatible.
, at least for the time being. So, how does the One RS compare to the One R in terms of specs? Sorry to disappoint you, but it's nearly identical. The great majority of photo and video stats are same between the One R and the One RS, with the exception of 6K wide-screen video and still-photo resolution, which is 48 megapixels, which is quite good for a little action camera. I'm not sure why you'd use an action camera for photos when you have a phone. I took the identical photo with the One RS and my iPhone 13 Pro Max, and the One RS is noticeably sharper. Those roof tiles are filthy, but they are crunchy. So, if you're in a position where you require high-quality photographs but don't have your phone available, as in some sporting circumstances, the One RS will offer excellent results.
To offer you the actual video statistics of the One RS, if you use the 4K boost lens, you can shoot anywhere from 1920 x 1080 at 24 to 200 frames per second, all the way up to 6016 x 2560 at 25 fps. You can shoot 3K at 100 frames per second up to 5.7K at 30 frames per second with the 360 lens. I apologize to my 360 brothers and sisters out there. We were anticipating more, but the 360 specs are the same as the previous camera launches. Don't get me wrong: it's great. We should express our gratitude. It's 5.7K, which is great. And you can edit it on your phone, and the end result looks good, but the same specs, like three or four cameras in a row, can't we mix it up a little? Perhaps I'm missing something. It may be difficult to develop a compact handheld 6K, 7K, 8K, or 360 camera. However, there is no 360 upgrade with the One RS. So this is largely an enhancement on the action camera front. Moving on to the 1-inch wide angle lens, you can shoot at resolutions ranging from 1920 by 1080 at 24 to 120 frames per second, all the way up to 5.4k at 30 frames per second. Again, there's a lot of resolution here. It appears to be good, but it is virtually identical to what we saw last time with the One R.
To brighten the atmosphere, here's a funny slow motion shot I captured with said camera at 200 frames per second at 1920 x 1080 resolution. That's a cool shot. And the slow-motion mode is completely legitimate.
The One RS is comparable to the original One R in many ways, including the fact that it is waterproof. It supports both standard video and 360 video live broadcasting. You can also use it as a webcam.
They did include built-in Flowstate Stabilization in the One RS. So, instead of needing to shoot, stabilize in the app or desktop software, and then export to your phone or computer, it does it all for you.
As a 360 shooter, I can report that the built-in HDR video option is getting pretty good. I'm walking the One RS on a selfie stick, almost like I'm walking a dog. And the dynamic range is impressive. I'm very pleased with that shot. And there isn't a lot of overexposure. And while I believe that 360 is a huge strength of Insta360, clearly given it's in their name, there's no doubting that video quality has grown dramatically since they debuted their first camera, the Insta360 Nano, some four or five years ago.
As usual, you can use the One RS for new shot lab effects, which feature extremely simple tutorials. You follow the steps, and the program automatically creates a cool effect.
The One RS now has a second microphone. If you can see those little holes on every side of the core, you can see there's a mic there, which suggests they're trying to increase the audio quality. In fact, they've developed a novel mounting bracket that houses the camera while also acting as a wind shield. Hello everyone, this is Mr. Ben vlogging from a big crossroads. I have two inquiries. First and foremost, how does this appear? Second, how does this sound to you? Because it's so noisy in real life, I'm curious if the extra mic on the One RS makes a difference. If you want to record sound directly into the One RS using external sound recording equipment, you can get a mic adapter and an accessory shoe.
So I was interested to see how the video quality differed between the One R and the One RS. So I used the same 1-inch mode with both cameras, which is why they don't sync, but looking at this raw 5.3K film, can you tell them apart? Aside from Active HDR mode, which is only possible with a 4K boost lens, I believe I can confidently state that the video quality from both cameras is identical.
So, should you upgrade to, from, or from this? I'm going to say "No." The camera is so similar to the previous two Insta360 releases that the difference isn't significant enough to justify purchasing a brand new camera to do a lot of what you can already do with those two cameras. I'd definitely upgrade to the One RS if you're switching from a GoPro and want to shoot more 360, or if you're switching from an older 360 camera and want something new and modern with the latest technology. Because, while I believe this is the greatest consumer 360 camera under $600 right now, it isn't enough to warrant an upgrade if you already have something similar. By the way, you may get this camera in a variety of ways. Because there are so many various parts combinations, I'll include a link to the Insta360 store below. So you can see all of the numerous alternatives for purchasing this camera.
So, is the One RS a significant upgrade? No, it isn't, but it is a minor improvement. I believe Insta360 is slowly becoming more like GoPro, where each new camera release isn't 50% better. It's more like a 5 to 10% improvement. Something that I believe contributes to this increase is the fact that Insta360 is constantly updating the firmware and software associated with their cameras in order to add more percentages to that. So, if it starts 5% better over the next 12 months, there's no doubt they'll add brand new firmware that gives the camera new capabilities, new modes, and reduces, if not eliminates, the problems that people will eventually discover with it, allowing it to eventually get close to 20% better.
So, in my experience, you can usually count on that when purchasing an Insta360 camera. Again, I believe the majority of the improvements with this camera are for action camera users rather than 360 camera users. It does have a lot of those exciting new features that action camera users will appreciate.
