Snippet
In this in-depth review, we explore its exceptional video quality, ease of use with the original underwater housing, and innovative features like AI stick removal and color correction. Dive into the details to see why it’s a must-have for underwater adventures.
I love the Insta360, and ever since I started using it in its previous versions, other action cams have lost much of their appeal. In the past, I always used GoPro with filters, housings, lights, and other accessories, but I never became particularly passionate about videography. However, with the Insta360, everything changed: I can’t wait to find new opportunities to use it, whether on skis, motorcycles, bikes, in water, and now even underwater.
During a recent trip to the Maldives, I had the opportunity to test the Insta360 X4 with the original underwater housing, and I must say it’s an exceptional product for those who want to capture underwater footage, whether amateur or advanced.
The Insta360 X4 is waterproof up to 10 meters, which can be limiting for diving. However, with the original housing, available in a kit or as an accessory, the maximum depth reaches 50 meters, making it a much more interesting choice for divers.
Original Insta X4 underwater housing
The included underwater housing is extremely easy to use and almost imperceptible. It has only two buttons, making it intuitive even for those with little experience with action cams. One button is for powering the camera on, while the other is for starting and stopping the recording. This minimalist setup is especially appreciated underwater, where simple and immediate control is crucial. The housing offers excellent protection for the camera, ensuring safety down to 50 meters, making it ideal for deeper dives.
The housing closes with four plastic clips, which seem a bit delicate to me, and I would have preferred them in steel. However, I must admit they withstood a week of testing…
Video quality
The Insta360 X4 offers exceptional video quality, allowing you to capture the beauty of the seabed flawlessly. The colors are vivid, and the details are surprising, especially in good lighting conditions, within the first 5-8 meters of depth.
The new Insta360 X4 supports 8K recording at 30 fps, offering considerable flexibility for zooming in on details within frames. However, I prefer to keep the resolution at 5K at 60 fps, which allows me to slow down parts of the clips without compromising fluidity. Even at the lower resolution of 5K, I was able to capture clips in both horizontal and vertical formats without any issues.
The Insta360 X4 can record video in various resolutions, including 8K at 30 fps, 4K at 60 fps, and even 4K at 100 fps. It can also take photos at a resolution of 72 megapixels. Personally, I don’t use the Insta360 for photos often, as I prefer to extract snapshots directly from the video clips, selecting the best frame with excellent quality for digital sharing.
Another notable feature is the HDR mode, available for both photos and videos, which allows for images and footage with a wider dynamic range and richer details, ideal for further post-production processing.
Underwater mode and color correction filter
I want to emphasize once again the importance of lighting during underwater filming. It’s essential to remember that achieving optimal 360° light distribution underwater is practically impossible, whether with the Insta360 or any other camera. Without good lighting, colors quickly fade, and as you descend deeper, everything takes on that familiar blue hue.
Unfortunately, the Insta360 cannot perform miracles in these conditions, but it does offer tools to improve the quality of the footage. One of the most interesting features of the Insta360 X4 is the underwater mode, which includes a digital color correction filter. This filter is particularly useful for balancing tones and compensating for the loss of warm colors, a common problem in underwater filming. Thanks to this feature, colors appear more natural and less affected by blue or green tints, making the footage more realistic and pleasant to watch.
AI stick removal
Another surprising aspect of the Insta360 X4 is its ability, even underwater, to use artificial intelligence to remove the stick used for filming. This feature is extremely useful as it allows for clean, distraction-free images, making the footage even more immersive and professional. The fact that this works even in an underwater environment is a big advantage, as it maintains the aesthetics of the footage without the need for complex post-editing.
Neutral buoyancy underwater
When used underwater, the Insta360 X4 also performs excellently in terms of stability. A particularly useful feature is that the camera, when placed in the housing, remains neutral or slightly negatively buoyant. This means the Insta360 X4 doesn’t tend to float excessively or sink quickly, making it easier to maneuver and achieve stable, controlled shots during dives.
Shooting flaw
An important aspect to consider is that 360° video is the result of the combination of footage captured by two separate sensors and lenses. This results in a seam in the video where the two shots are merged. In most cases, this junction is barely visible. However, I’ve noticed that it becomes more apparent when objects get close to the camera. A simple solution to minimize this effect is to slightly rotate the camera so that the seam moves from the center of the scene to the sides, where it’s less noticeable.
In essence, when the two lenses of the Insta360 X4 merge their video streams to create the 360° effect, a slight seam is visible at the point where the two videos are combined, and this flaw can be particularly evident in underwater environments, where refracted light accentuates the seam. While it doesn’t completely ruin the viewing experience, it’s something that could be improved to make the footage even smoother and more immersive.
Video editing
Outside or inside the water, video editing doesn’t change, and the process is the same. Once the material is collected, you need to connect to the native Insta360 app, which I always use for convenience for editing, never having to take out the computer.
In post-production, ease of use is very simple. You can intuitively drag the footage to show the area of the video you want to highlight. You can also easily set where you want the video clip to start and then “slide” the camera to another section of the video with just a couple of clicks. So I can have a super wide shot, zoom in on the subject of interest, and follow it in the video with automatic tracking or manually setting keyframes in the timeline.
Conclusions
The Insta360 X4 with underwater housing is a great product for underwater filming enthusiasts. The video quality is excellent, and the housing is simple and functional, with two essential buttons for power and recording management, as well as offering protection up to 50 meters deep. The underwater mode with the color correction filter is a very useful addition to improve the visual quality of the footage. Additionally, the AI’s ability to remove the stick from underwater footage and the camera’s stability, which remains neutral or slightly negative in water, are further advantages. However, the flaw of the seam between the two lenses is something to consider, especially for those seeking the highest quality in 360° filming. With some improvement in this area, it could become an indispensable tool for underwater adventures.
What I liked
- The ease of use, even simpler underwater because there are only 2 buttons available, and presets should be made before diving.
- The ability to shoot in a “set and forget” style, capturing everything and refining in post-production (knowing, however, that you’ll have to manage very large files).
- The excellent battery life, which has always exceeded expectations with more than two hours of autonomy.
What I didn’t like
- The slow startup, although it’s not necessary to turn it off because it automatically goes into standby.
- You need to pay attention to where the video seam between the two lenses will be in certain situations.
- The lack of all controls in the Insta housing.
Initially, I was convinced that 360-degree cameras were just a gadget destined for short-lived success. Fortunately, I was completely wrong. This camera has significantly improved my ability to produce amateur videos with a simple process. The Insta housing has always done its job excellently, despite the limitations already described. For those looking for something better (I would love it too!), it can be replaced with Easydive’s dedicated housing, a more complete, robust, and professional product.
It’s a product with very high potential, where often my creativity is the real limit to a good result.