Insta360 One R – New modular action cam with 4K, 360° and 1-inch sensor

From Insta360 we know especially the very popular ONE X and recently also the mini camera Insta360 GO. The latest model of the manufacturer is the Insta360 One R, a modular camera. Due to various components, the Insta360 One R is either a classic action cam or a panorama camera.

Technical Specifications

A modular camera with 3 functions

First the manufacturer had published a teaser, which already gave a hint of the concept. On a first published picture, the silhouette of a camera consisting of three puzzle pieces could be guessed. As it now turns out, this was not only meant figuratively – the camera is actually composed of several parts. The information was already leaked in several videos before the official announcement. Pictures of the camera had already appeared a few days earlier.

What exactly does that mean? The camera consists of three parts, a base, which probably contains the battery, a core, with processor, keys and memory card slot, and a camera module. The latter is interesting: the actual camera is exchangeable. You can either use a 4K wide-angle camera, a 360° camera with two lenses or a large 1-inch sensor with 5.3K resolution. Insta360 calls the individual components “mods”.

4K- and 360° mod are both part of the standard version of the camera called “Twin Edition”. The 1-inch sensor is available separately and was developed in cooperation with camera manufacturer Leica. The idea behind the modular design: Instead of several cameras (an action camera and a panorama camera) you only need the One R. Of course you are not exempt from having at least the exchangeable parts with you anyway.

The camera is waterproof even without an additional case. But this does not apply to the individual parts, only assembled all connections are sufficiently covered. But there is an additional underwater case, or even two. One is suitable for the 360°-mod and allows dives up to 30 meters, while the case for the 4K-mod and the 1-inch-mod is waterproof up to 60 meters.

https://youtu.be/b8dsssSi4Aw

Other notable features include improved image stabilization even in dark environments with low light, a new tracking function and Auto Frame. Auto Frame uses an algorithm to always detect the best shooting angle for 360° shots, making editing much easier.

No drone

In the run-up, the camera was announced in a very creative video in which several cameras and a drone were thrown into a mixer. What is now missing with the camera, however, is the “drone function”. There were speculations that Insta360 could even work on a drone. A video of the camera published on Twitter showed spectacular aerial shots. However, it seems that the camera was simply mounted on a drone.

https://twitter.com/imclover07/status/1211679974983290880

Anyone who had hoped for a flight function in any form will be disappointed – for a shot like the one shown in the video, you need both a suitable drone and the necessary pilot skills. Very few people have both.

But for aerial shots at least from low altitude, there is supposed to be a so-called “Invisible Selfie Stick” function. This mode, which is only supported by the 360° camera, hides the selfie stick in the finished spherical image. This has already worked very well with the Insta360 ONE X.

Evaluation

Insta360 has certainly surprised many here. The concept of an action cam consisting of several individual parts doesn’t exist yet, on the other hand the reactions are now somewhat muted after the announced comparison with a drone. In any case, it is obvious that after having released a very good 360° camera with the Insta360 ONE X, one wants to attack the action cam market. This puts the Insta360 One R in direct competition with big names like the GoPro Hero 8 and DJI Osmo Action, which are currently considered the best action cams.

The official announcement of Insta360 is still pending. Also the price of the camera is not yet known. So the One R makes you want more, but only the further details will show if it is competitive.