Insta360 X3 Action Camera Review
Catch all the action with this easy-to-use 360° action camera!
June 28th, 2023
Our Verdict
Over the past few months, we tested the Insta360 X3 360-degree action camera on the slopes, hiking and mountain biking on the trail, and even on an electric snow bike.
By recording video in 360 degrees it offers a fully immersive experience that even action cameras with the widest lenses can’t capture.
In the end, we think the Insta360 X3 balances value with features really well, and it’s likely the best 360-action camera available for most people in 2023.
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COMPARE PRICES OF THE INSTA360 X3
For instance, if you’re recording on the Insta360 X3 with a group of buddies mountain biking and you find out later that a buddy did a sick trick on the jump behind you, but you didn’t see it, you can go back into the video you recorded and rotate the viewpoint until you see them in frame doing the move. It’s a neat trick you can’t achieve with normal cameras and the X3 does it marvelously—well-stitching together two spherical images with great stabilization to give you a whole shot. You can go back into the video and look down at your feet pedaling or at the sky above you as well.
As such, for adventure seekers who want a fun way to capture all of the action like a latter day Argus, the Insta360 X3 Camera is definitely worth the investment.
With two buttons on one side, a decently sized touch screen, and a baller smartphone app that lets you control it and edit the resulting, surprisingly smooth 360 degree footage—it’s an impressively easy-to-use, immersive 360 camera that catches everything!
While it’s hard not to call it a fun toy for recording adventures, we also see it as a helpful tool that coaches, and athletes can use to review and analyze the performance of, say, a mountain biker or snowboarder on a particular slope or trail. Similarly, for surveying, it could come in handy in inspecting buildings or areas.
A still photo of Chris Meehan’s Insta360 X3 video of skiing Berthoud in Colorado.
But did we mention how fun it is?! With bomber image stabilization and the ability to record in 5k at up to 30 frames per second, the 360 camera delivers buttery smooth videos. It also has built-in recording features like Active HDR video, TimeShift, Bullet Mode, and a live stream feature (we haven’t tried that one yet).
The hardest part is editing those 360° videos down to a single perspective since many mobile apps and browsers still can’t show 360° video. It’s also a challenge figuring out whether to focus on your experience as you’re thrashing the slopes or your buddies shredding pow around you.
Thankfully the powerful included apps—available for iphone and Android smartphones, tablets (Insta360), and Windows and Mac desktop (Insta360 Studio) have tools and templates to add to your videos that help make editing relatively easy. They’re not as powerful as Adobe Premiere Pro or Final Cut Pro, which both can handle the 360° video.
But for our needs, they have some fantastic features, like the ability to DeepTrack, which automatically focuses the camera’s viewpoint on one person’s or animal’s movements as they move closer and farther away from you, saving a ton of time in editing. However, we would like to see some mobile app tweaks, such as the ability to carry edits made on one device over to another.
Specs
Image sensors: Dual 48MP 1/2'’ sensors
Megapixels: 72
Waterproof: Yes
Image stabilization: Yes
Video frame rates: 5.7K 360-degree up to 30FPS, 4K up to 60fps (Single lens mode)
LCD: 2.3"
Touchscreen: Yes
Video modes: Standard, Active HDR, Timelapse, TimeShift, Bullet Time, Loop Recording, Pre-recording
Photo mode: Standard, HDR, Burst, Interval, Starlapse
Photo resolution: up to 72 MP
Photo format: INSP, DNG RAW
Interface: USB-C
Connectivity: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0
Memory card: Micro SD
Size: 4.5 x 1.8 x 1.3 inches (114 x 46 x 33.1 mm)
Weight: 6.3 ounces (180 grams)
Battery: 1800 mAh
Charging time: 90 minutes
What We Liked
Ease of use
Compactness
Accessories
Shooting modes
App integration
Design and Build Quality
External design features
The Insta360 X3 has dual spherical lenses, which allow for 360 degree recording.
The four external microphones allow for immersive stereo sound recording and voice commands.
A 2.3 inch touchscreen makes it easy to navigate the various shooting modes when not using the app. It has external control buttons including power, quick menu, shutter and lens selection, on some they can be programmed to do other functions as well.
The 1/4’ mounting point allows the use of many standard camera accessories as well as Insta360’s own accessories like the invisible selfie stick.
The USB-C port allows for fast charging and connecting to a computer as a web camera and the battery and SD compartment allow for exchanging batteries and camera storage.
Materials used in construction
The ruggedized case is IPX8 waterproof to 33 feet and the knurled edges make it easy to grip even when wearing gloves in the winter. The external buttons are easy to see and use, the recording button also allows the camera to turn on in a quick record mode. That's not quite as waterproof as the Olympus Tough TG-6, which won our overall award in our Best Tough Camera guide, but the Olympus doesn't shoot 360-degrees.
Accessories and attachments
There are a plethora of accessories and mounts available for the Insta360 X3 from simple one-off pieces like an invisible selfie stick to lens guards to bundles intended for snow, motorsports, biking or underwater diving cases.
Durability and water resistance
This action cam is IPX8 waterproof up to 33 feet for up to 30 minutes. To increase durability, we used lens protectors provided with the camera. We scratched them rather quickly, most likely with the edges of our skis or while hitting branches in the forest. Still, we were quite glad we only damaged the plastic lenses rather than testing the durability of the glass lenses themselves. Otherwise, the build seems solid and rugged.
Comparison to previous models
Insta360 had two prior “X” 360 camera models in the X line: The Insta360 X2 and the Insta360 ONE X. The X2 is still available. All three offer 360-degree, 5.7K video at up to 30 frames per second. The X3 has a faster video bitrate at 120 megabytes per second compared to 100 Mbps in the previous versions.
The X3 is an improvement over the X2 ONE X in several ways. It offers a 4K single lens video mode, which its predecessors didn’t. It also captures high resolution photos up to 72MP. The previous versions could only capture photos up to 18 MP.
The size and weight of the X3 are slightly larger and heavier than the previous models, but it also boasts a much larger 2” touchscreen, compared to the quarter-sized touchscreen on the X2. It also has a bigger 1800mAh battery (compared to a 1630mAh in the X2 and an even smaller one in the ONE X).
COMPARE PRICES OF THE INSTA360 X2 AND Insta360 ONE X
X2
ONE X
Software and User Interface
Insta360 App functionality
Learning to edit 360 video is like learning to tap your head while patting your belly and spinning with an occasional hop. There’s a learning curve. With that said, we felt the app (available for Apple and Android-based smart devices) was relatively intuitive. You can quickly add video clips together to create stories and add in video keyframes where you can focus on any feature above, below, or anywhere around you.
The app also allows you to essentially ‘shift’ where the video is taken to a certain extent. For instance, you could make it appear that it was recorded a few inches right or left, above or below where you had the camera. This is useful if you’re recording from the side of your handlebars rather than on the stem in the middle but wanted to make it look like you’re recording directly above your wheel.
The app allows users to quickly split up or cut parts of videos, loop them, or even play different aspects of the same clip. For instance, you could show both the forward and backward view of riding down the same part of the slope with one clip following the other or even split screen the video to show both views simultaneously.
A feature we loved is the ability to use the AI software DeepTrack to identify a subject and follow it as it moves around the camera. In our testing, it did pretty well at tracking clothes of all colors, whether it was a red, green or black jacket, for example. It was able to track the subject even against a background of moving trees and other people. Due to Colorado's exceptionally snowy winter while testing in 2023, we mainly used it in snow conditions. While it did well tracking clothes of all colors, we haven’t had a chance to use it with many people of color who weren’t wearing helmets or goggles (we note this because racism in photography and videography has existed for a long time—inadvertent or not). In future testing, we’d like to make sure that it does as good a job of properly capturing all flesh tones as well and that it’s able to track all races equally well.
With the latest releases of the app, it has a new AI feature that can take the clips you input into its Stories function and generate a video with automatic transitions and cuts as well as generate storyboards and add music—they’re selections only. It does a good job of focussing on subjects but doesn’t let you re-edit it afterward as easily.
In the latest release (1.39.0-released May 2023), we noticed that it experienced more lag time when connected to an iPad Air than an iPhone—despite the iPad being brand new.
Desktop editing software
The free desktop software, Insta360 Studio 2023, offers many of the same capabilities you'll find in other content creator apps for iPhone and Android devices. Still, it also lacks some critical features, like combining multiple clips into one project or snipping out parts of one video footage to make it shorter. If you want to do that while taking advantage of a computer's bigger screen, you’ll have to use another editing software. Both Adobe Premiere and Final Cut Pro can handle the 360 video, but both require a subscription. Insta360 Studio is available for Windows and Mac operating systems.
Firmware updates
Insta360 has issued a couple of firmware updates to the X3. The latest is v1.0.60 as of 4-19-2023.
Social media integration
Natively, the Insta360 X3 exports new or edited video to Insta360’s site and your smart devices’ photo album. From the photo album, you can import video to social media channels.
The Insta360 X3 can also support RTMP (Real-Time Messaging Protocol), allowing you to livestream to several social media platforms, including Facebook, YouTube, and China’s Douyin and Kwai sites.
AI-powered editing features
If you’re uploading video footage where you’re narrowing down the 360-degree viewpoint to one that’s fixed on where you want it, the AI-powered editing tools are powerful. They can quickly cut your editing time and add interesting special effects. It’s a little like rolling dice, though—you don’t know what you’ll get, but it will look good.
Deep Track
The AI-powered Deep Track capability automatically tracks a person or animal as they move toward or away, in front or behind the person wielding the camera.
Shot Lab
The Shot Lab has AI-powered advanced features like Sky Swap that allow you to trade out the sky for different video footage or an animation. Electric Surge adds an animation around the subject—they keep adding more.
Auto Edit
The Auto Edit feature, new as of 2023, allows you to take multiple clips in the smart device app and automatically edit them into one continuous video with multiple transitions.
Example of the Insta360 X3 camera video while snowboarding
Image and Video Quality
We were impressed by the image quality and video quality throughout our testing.
Daylight performance
In the daylight, we could shoot high-quality 360 degree video footage with Active HDR mode, which punched up the colors on some bright outdoor gear but didn’t make them look too bright or cartoonish.
Low light performance
In low light, we used the 4K mode single lens mode rather than the 5.7K mode, which could still capture images reliably and without much graininess.
Stabilization effectiveness
Stabilization is another place where the X3 shines. The FlowState stabilization is aided by a six-axis gyroscope and its 360-degree Horizon Lock, which keeps it focused on the horizon. We’ve tried recording on an action camera with poor image stabilization, like the OCLU 4K Action Camera, and the resulting action footage felt like it could give us motion sickness. But the X3’s stabilization is on par with that of GoPro’s, another action camera market leader. In our testing, we had the camera on a 7”-long extension on our mountain bike handlebars. The camera went from being upright above them to almost upside down below them—watching the video footage, you’d never know.
Color accuracy and dynamic range
We found that the X3 produced accurate colors throughout the spectrum.
Audio quality
With four microphones—one on every surface save the top and bottom—the Insta360 X3 is a capable sound recorder. We also appreciated its onboard ability to reduce noise from external factors like the wind. However, we did not record any video footage that focused heavily on spatial sound.
Treeline Review tests the Insta360 X3 Camera while mountain biking
Battery Life and Storage
Battery capacity and runtime
With its 1800 mAh battery, the Insta360 X3 has a claimed run time of 81 minutes when shooting 5.7K video at 30 fps. We never shot a continuous video for 81 minutes, but the battery never ran out on us, even when testing MoonBikes for a few hours and recording most of it.
Charging options
The Insta360 X3 charges batteries via the USB-C socket on its side. Optionally you can purchase a charging station that can charge up to 3 of the replaceable batteries simultaneously.
Storage options and capacity
Like most digital cameras, the camera has no onboard video storage options, which is pretty standard for action cameras these days. Storage is handled on mini SD cards and the device can handle up to 1 terabyte of video storage.
What could be better
Desktop application could be more complete
App could sync edits across devices
Protective lens covers could be more durable
Comparison to Competitors
| Camera | Insta360 X3 | GoPro Max | Ricoh Theta X |
| Image sensors | Dual 48MP 1/2'’ sensors | 18MP | Dual 48MP 1/2'’ sensors |
| Still Image Megapixels | 72MP | 16.6MP 360 degree | 60MP |
| Waterproof | IPX8 | Yes (to 16ft.) | N/A |
| Image stabilization | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Comparison to GoPro Max (Fusion 2)
Still image megapixels: 16.6 MP
Video resolution: 6K30 footage that can be stitched into 5.6K30 spherical videos
Weight: 5.4 oz
Waterproof: 16 ft (5m)
While GoPro Hero is the hero (hah!) of action cameras, when it comes down to specs and capabilities, the Insta360 x3 comes out on top in most cases. The Insta360 x3 is the best seller at B&H and also is its best customer-reviewed 360 camera. Customer reviews at Best Buy yield similar results between the two. Regarding professional reviewers, the Insta360 also beat the GoPro Max, being named Editor’s Choice by PC Magazine and threexitycameras.com, among others. That’s thanks to its rich feature set, which include higher quality recording capabilities, more shooting modes, a larger touchscreen, and strong app integration.
COMPARE PRICES OF THE GOPRO MAX
Comparison to Ricoh Theta X
Still Image Megapixels: 60 MP
Video frame rates: 8K 360 degrees up to 10 FPS, 5.7K up to 30 fps, 4K up to 60 fps
Waterproof: n/a
Weight: 6 oz
Ricoh has a large line of Theta 360 cameras. The Theta X is the most reviewed one. It’s also more geared toward the other crowd that can take advantage of 360-degree video footage—professionals, like real estate agents and construction workers, more so than it is really an adventure camera. It’s impressive in that it can shoot 8K videos but at 10 fps, it won’t deliver as smooth a video while jumping on a mountain bike. At $796, it’s also much more expensive than the GoPro Max or the Insta360 X3, which are both in the $450-$500 range.
COMPARE PRICES OF THE RICOH THETA X
Comparison to any other 360-degree cameras
The first 360 degree camera we saw was likely the Kodak Pixpro SP360, which was introduced in 2015. Action cameras have come a long way since then. Now, companies including Kandao, GearPro, Vuze, and others are vying for market share.
Amongst those, we’ve seen GoPro, Insta360 camera, and Ricoh usually dominate the market. Insta360 also has other 360 models, including its unique modular One RS system, the older Insta360 One X2, and the higher-end Insta360 One RS 1-inch 360 Edition, which is more expensive due to a 1-inch sensor. In the end, we think the Insta360 X3 balances value with features really, really well, and it’s likely the best 360-action camera available for most people in 2023.
How We Tested
Like a bunch of giddy outdoor fools, for this Insta360 x3 review we tested on the slopes, hiking on the trail, mountain bike bars, and an electronic snow bike—just like anyone would. We used multiple shooting modes and different mounts, including helmet, handlebar, and invisible selfie stick—then reluctantly sat down to edit nearly a terabyte of video footage that literally makes your head spin.
We skied and snowboarded backcountry and in-bounds along Colorado’s Front Range with the 360 degree camera attached to our helmets or in friends’ hands, passing it off to see what different people thought and did with it. We were lucky enough to hike the West Rim of Zion National Park and Angels’ Landing with Outdoor Vitals, and we took it on mountain biking adventures like Floyd Hill and North Table Mountain. We even took it out on the pedicab to record a wedding and opening day of baseball.
We used almost every shooting mode at least once—we didn’t have a chance to do a Starlapse video on a clear night—yet. And we look forward to using it on more adventures!
About the Author / Why You Should Trust Us
As an outdoors writer covering adventure and gear, I write regularly about mountain bike equipment, bikepacking, hiking, packrafting, and more. I’ve authored numerous gear guides for Treeline Review and write for Popular Mechanics, Bicycling Magazine, Popular Science, Backpacker, and other outdoor publications/organizations.
These days, I spend most of my time mountain biking, backpacking, hiking, climbing, and crisscrossing Colorado and the Rocky Mountain region. I enjoy using all my knowledge of gear and skills to learn about new equipment and how it will benefit me – yes, I’m selfish – and Treeline’s readers.
I have authored multiple outdoor guidebooks. My most recent Falcon Guide, "Colorado’s Best Front Range Adventures: The Greatest Hiking, Climbing, Paddling and More From Denver to Colorado Springs and Fort Collins," arrived in Spring 2021. In it, I cover the region's best hiking, cycling, climbing, and rafting. I’m also the author of Falcon Guide’s “Climbing Colorado's Fourteeners: From the Easiest Hikes to the Most Challenging Climbs” and edited Justin Lichter’s excellent guide to thru-hiking titled “Trail Tested: A Thru-Hiker's Guide To Ultralight Hiking And Backpacking.” This experience has helped me become a first-rate gearhead and product tester.
I have 20-plus years of exploring, mountain biking, hiking, backpacking, climbing, guiding, and playing in the wild. I worked with National Geographic and their mapping division in developing their Colorado 14ers Map Pack Bundle. I’ve written about hiking and climbing for Elevation Outdoors, including stories about Colorado 14ers and outdoor apps to boost adventures.
I’ve written about countless outdoor companies, outdoor sports, and tested gear with publications, including CompanyWeek, Outdoor USA Magazine (print), Elevation Outdoors, 5280, and more.
At Treeline Review, we strive to offer unbiased reviews to help you find the best product for the price. Treeline Review doesn’t accept sponsored content, native advertising, or paid reviews. I am not sponsored by any companies, nor are any of my family members sponsored by, employees of, or ambassadors of any of the companies in this review.
See all Treeline Review gear guides by Chris Meehan.
