Was looking at getting one of these but the photo quality doesn't seem to be what I'm after. My research is your gain.
Mobileciti @ $634.79 : https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/374265831700
Codes: SAVB8 and MCSAVE60
If it goes out of stock, also available at for slightly more $647.10 on Wireless1 ebay store, also uses 2 codes.
Wireless1 @ $647.10 : https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/285265634240
Codes: W1SSAVE5 and YIPPEE10
That's a different camera to the Insta360 ONE RS 1-Inch 360 which I was mentioning in my comment, which is ~$1,200 on sale, $1,300 at RRP.
I've changed from the X3 to 1" this last week but haven't had time to test it out yet…
Great reply, same as my thoughts. I actually only wanted it for 360 photos for business purposes, but it just seemed to be lacking. And similar to you, every time I looked into the ways photos were exported etc, it seemed that there was a lot of work going into exporting, changing colours etc etc.
Currently I use a Pixel 7 to do photo spheres and while not perfect connections and joins on the images, the photo quality is pretty incredible - zooming in gives great output.
If anyone has ideas on creating better photo spheres I am all ears (eyes), I am going to be trying using a tripod and hope that helps get them closer to perfect.
Ahh I see - I suppose it would depend on your clientele. I'm sure the Insta360 X3 could produce alright 360 photos on a tripod for things like mid-range real estate. But for higher end, more professional stuff, I imagine it'd leave a lot to be desired.
Interesting, I didn't know about the photo sphere feature, sounds cool! Like you say, perhaps a tripod to keep the phone steady at the same height/angle would help create more seamless stitching.
Have you researched only or used all/any of the above?
I ask, not as a pick, rather, out of interest in your experience if you have had such.
I've used GoPro's for years, and while good, the software has generally been a bit of a headache in my opinion.
Since switching to the insta, i've found using the device a lot easier in comparison. (Being transparent, i've not used the Max 360).
There has also been another round of firmware updates on the i360 x3 last week. I've not used any of mine since the updates, however, for daily sports runs and general playing around the i360 is the best of a bad bunch at the moment.
I still have an original Ricoh Theta floating around. I've heard some good stuff about the newer versions, but up there in the 'parting with coin$' stakes too…
Depending on what you want out of the device - I'd say, at the moment, the i360 is the way to go. Video quality is not poor at all, it's all about expectations and bang for buck for the average user.
Thanks for the reply - I've got 2 questions about the i360 and Theta, I will PM you them.
Yep I've only researched, not actually used any of them hands on. Though I have trawled through hours of comparison videos online. And you're right, a lot of people recommend the Insta 360 X3 as the best of the bunch overall. I think it's a really compelling product at $630 AUD. But then I really drilled into looking solely at the video quality and not getting swept away by the cool functionality of the X3, simply comparing its video quality to the Go Pro Hero 11. I find that it's pretty jarring to look at X3 footage compared to the Go Pro Hero 11. It just gives me old school home-video vibes, with lack of detail/sharpness. Whereas the Go Pro Hero 11 seems to capture stunning footage and photos.
This is a good comparison video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8fPmZUdrm8
But you can simply just search the camera names in YouTube and start trawling through heaps of real-world examples.
I've found that the Insta 360 X3 footage looks best when its not mixed in with footage from other cameras, that way you don't know what you're missing out on.
You can't deny the awesome shots/angles and flexibility the Insta 360 X3 offers though. If I was into creative video editing, I'd definitely want one. But it'd probably be secondary in nature to compliment the main camera getting the high quality standard shots.
You dont have to use the 360 degree mode and recrop… That why you see the worse picture quality. You can select the same field if view as the Gopro and the PQ is almost identical…. The X360 is like having 2 cameras in the one package. A standard field of view lens and the 360 degree lens…
Yeah that's true, I am aware of the single lens mode but the quality still isn't as good. And if I was just going to use single lens mode then I might as well get the Go Pro Hero 11 or DJI Osmo Action 3 which are cheaper.
The sample I saw between the Gopro and this is so close it didnt matter. Do a YOUTUBE search you will find the samples…
@graham johnson: I mentioned in my comment above that I've spent hours upon hours watching examples on YouTube and even linked one above - big difference in quality in my opinion. Of course everyone is different - I'm sure it ticks all the boxes for a lot of people. I am just not a huge fan of the way the footage looks to me.
Oh my Lord.. 🤣
lmao
I've been on the fence about buying one of these for weeks, but I think I've come to the same conclusion as you - video quality not good enough when cropped to a flat image/normal aspect ratio. Some YouTubers are able to get okay-ish looking footage, but that is after a lot of messing around with exporting to huge sized ProRes files and colour grading. And that's in perfect sunny conditions - it gets much worse in more difficult / low-light conditions. Also need to be extra careful not to scratch the lenses, as even though lens protectors are an option they will impact the already questionable video quality. For the most part it looks like old camcorder footage to me and I don't like the look of it now, and it certainly won't age well either.
In comparison, the Go Pro Hero 11 footage looks really great - but they seem to have a lot of reliability issues, such as over-heating quickly and clunky user experience leading to missed footage, so I am gonna pass on Go Pro too.
Then I looked into DJI Osmo Action 3 which seemed to do everything right that Go Pro Hero 11 was doing wrong in terms of reliability and user experience, except that the video quality isn't as good. I'd want the Go Pro Hero 11 quality at a minimum.
To me, the main upside to the 360 cameras like Insta X3 is the ability to not think about what you're shooting so you can focus on enjoying the moment, then pull out some nice shots later. The Insta360 ONE RS 1-Inch 360 camera improves on quality over the X3 to a more acceptable level, but it is double the price ($1,200) and less portable/compact/simple. Hopefully the buzz and competition in this field will result in some good improvements over the next year or so, to the point where we can get a camera like the X3 but higher video quality. Supposedly an Insta X4 will release at the end of this year.
I was just wanting something for taking nice videos while travelling, not for extreme sports. I will stick to iPhone 13 Pro for now and make my life a lot easier.