Insta360 X5 8K 360 Action Camera

[rdprdp01]

I am blessed to live in a beautiful riding area. Oceans, cliffs, beaches, valleys, mountains, canyons, quaint towns, and imposing cities are accessible. Summers and winters are mild. Spring and fall are breathtaking. The roads are mostly good, although traffic, earthquakes, floods, wildfires, and construction can sometimes make my weekend rides difficult.

But the time I spend on and about my CB1100EX is always cathartic. 



I am an old-school, DSLR photographer who enjoys planning a shot. I love to manually manipulate aperture, shutter speed, ISO, lighting, lens selection, and more to arrive at the perfect calculus to capture a moment. I rarely get it perfect, but there are moments where there is more good than bad. As we say in the Southern United States, even a blind hog can find an acorn every now and then.



But talent and technique are not my biggest challenges. I cannot take pictures or videos while riding a motorcycle with a DSLR camera or a smartphone. Although I frequent roads less traveled whenever possible, I still struggle to find a safe spot to park a motorcycle, take a picture or video, and return to the ride. 

To address that quandary, I recently purchased an Insta360 X5 8K Action Camera, outfitted for motorcycles like ours. I had read about 360 cameras, which use two opposing lenses to create a Dr. Seuss-style, three-dimensional photograph or video. However, the draw for me was the potential to set up a high-resolution camera to record while I rode. I was enamored with the idea of sharing a perspective with you that you might find equally engaging as I ride through Northern California.

The Insta360 X5 is a powerful technical platform. It has many of the camera settings of traditional devices, along with some artificial intelligence to help smooth things out. 

I have much to learn about the Insta360 X5. So far, this much I know:


• The device is highly configurable and offers an extensive range of features.
The default settings will not yield the image quality I want.
  
• Many YouTube experts have a firm grasp of the features but are not very knowledgeable about how to apply them to create a great video or photograph.
  
• If I am willing to make mistakes and iterate, I am confident I can use the Insta360 X5 in those situations where a traditional device is not possible.
  

Here are the videos and photos I took when I set up my first configuration and went for the inaugural ride. I welcome your feedback. If I spark an interest, I will gladly share more details. Enjoy the weekend. For the Faithful, Happy Easter. David

360 Dual Lens Video


Cropped Video of 360 Dual Lens Video Recording


Single Lens Video


Dual Lens 360 Picture Taken @ 35 MPH


Dual Lens 360 Picture Taken @ 30 MPH


Dual Lens 360 Picture Taken @ Full Stop


Single Lens Picture Taken @ 45 MPH


Single Lens Picture Taken @ 45 MPH


Single Lens Picture Taken @ 45 MPH


Mounting Option #1


Mounting Option #2


Mounting Option #3


Controlling with Phone


Camera Close Up


Firmware Update


Packaging #1


Packaging #2


Insta360 X5 Product Overview


Baseline Settings

[pdedse]

Fun looking video! I feel like I went riding with you. I have a Go-Pro given to me 4 or 5 years ago for my birthday. I still haven't opened the package yet. Maybe soon.

How user friendly would you say the insta360 is?

[Cormanus]

Looks like a fun tool. On my tablet, at least, the videos look a heap better at 1080p. They're not so good at 720p

[rdprdp01]

Great point, Cormanus. It is definitely a 1080P+ / High Res tool. Those extra pixels are needed to stitch everything together. Almost all new technologies assume broadband connections and large storage. I suspect the 720p standard will fade sooner than later.

[rdprdp01]

How user friendly would you say the insta360 is?

The initial set up is a little involved, but the actual use of the camera is very easy. You can one-touch the phone or use hand gestures to start and stop the video or take a photograph. If you flash a two-finger “peace” sign in front of the camera, it starts recording a video. If you “wave” at the camera, it takes a photograph. An AI engine edits things in realtime. Amazing stuff.

[Cormanus]

I like the way the AI manages to remove all traces of the support so it looks like the camera is floating along beside you somehow.

[E11even_Hunnit]

I've been running an X3 as bike "dashcam" for the last 3 years. The only thing I don't love about it is the annoying 30min single video length limit, but loopholes gonna loophole.

Also captures great GTA POV footage with a telescoping stick mount during trackdays on the bucket 

[rdprdp01]

Great shot and an even better line heading into the curve. David

[Gone in 60]

Hmm, I need to get up to speed on the Insta 360. We'll be installing them on the Blood Bikes so that the containment boxes can be in view while we're transporting. We're trying to figure out the mounting for the poles, using a bracket on the back of the bike that would have been used to mount cop stuff.
I might be asking for advice on these... I have good GoPro experience, but have not used the Insta 360.

[Tev62]

I wholeheartedly wish you well on your purchases rdprdp01 and what it brings you, have fun! They are an amazing bit of kit. I have been running an older 360 X2 for many years now and a mixture on GoPros, currently on the Hero 13, I have learnt a good many things over the years, some observations.

Taking long video of a ride is something you are unlikely ever to watch yourself. That 3 hour ride will take 3 hours to watch again, you won't (well if you do I'd argue you are wasting your life). Start the video when you have something spefic that you want to capture, stop it when passed. A two to five minute video of the best highlight on a three hour ride is much better, you and others will watch. The 360 is excellent of currating these short videos automatically on the phone with minimal input as I am sure you have already found out.

A long video of your ride is of little interest to almost everyone else on the planet. I'm 63 now, I remember being 10 and my older brother coming back from his holidays for a 150 picture slide show on a projector. "Here is me in Greece by the pool, here's me by the Sea and here I'm eating an Ice Cream". Beam me up Scotty, please! My Mother, Father and five brothers and sisters dreaded it when he turned up with all the kit. It is the same for all your onboard video, nobody cares to watch long video of someone else's experience.

If you are making a video that you want people to watch you must have a subject or purpose. The only way to do this is to talk on the video about the subject (any subject that takes your fancy), avoid or cut out lengthy pauses. Avoid the mistake in thinking that the stunning scenery by itself with no chat is something others will enjoy. The camera flattens all, wonderous mountain ranges and steep roads never come out as spectacular and as impressive as you experience them.

If you are going to edit 360 footage on your PC rather than short curated clips on your phone you will need very decent processing power to handle the large files at a reasonable pace. Editing large 360 footage is very CPU intensive and takes a long time too. Three hours of footage will take an absolute age to produce your custom 2D image. Again, keep to short 360 files and straight to the point, take the image for a specific reason.

My old X2 records to a resolution of 5.7K (in 360 mode) but the 2D output, which is the ulimate output of any 360 camera, only does so to 1080P (because you only use a portion of your 360 recording). I don't get too hung up on video resolution, the majority of people watch videos on mobile devices and tablets, you don't need 4K output, it will never come out as such on a phone or a tablet. Even 1080P comes out perfectly well on large 60" TV's. Keeping the output down to 1080P makes life an awful lot easier.

I would argue a GoPro / DJI or any other 2D camera mounted to the helmet is infinitely better at capturing a ride, will easily record audio, a tough take for a 360 on a pole, and be a whole lot less hassle editing. You import your 2D directly into your editing package and work away rather than having to pre-edit like you would on the 360.

The 3D cameras are fun, versatile making an awesome and a powerful tool when used right. Good luck with your recordings!