Insta360 introduced a sports camera system called Insta360 One R at CES 2020.

In the module of Insta360 One R, everyone is most concerned about the performance of Leica one-inch camera.

As a sports camera, it has an equivalent of a 14mm ultra-wide-angle lens and the largest 1-inch base in the field of sports cameras. It can shoot up to 5.3K 30p video.

At the same time, Insta360 also added a night video enhancement mode for the low-light environment enhancement on One R. It is easy to see that Insta360 puts a lot of thoughts on improving the quality of One R.

This time, we will focus on the one-inch wide-angle lens of the Insta360 One R. Let’s see how much the One R has improved in image quality after the increase in frame size, and whether the anti-shake performance can maintain the previous level. Compared to our most commonly used mobile phones, the overall shooting experience will have a lot of advantages And difference?

What can a one-inch action camera do?

Like the previous 4K wide-angle lens, the one-inch module has the same design.

The one-inch wide-angle lens uses a one-inch frame lens equivalent to 14mm F3.2. In order to cover the one-inch image field, the lens is much larger than the lens on the 4K module and previously released by Hasselblad. The one-inch camera L1D-20c used on the Mavic 2 Pro is large.

After all, the Insta360 One R camera module uses the 1-inch lens with the widest viewing angle at present. The viewing angle equivalent to 14mm is naturally much larger than the L1D-20c equivalent to 28mm.

Insta360 also installed a lens protection lens with knob pits in the lens this time. In addition to protecting the lens, this structure is also convenient for users to replace filters with different functions. This knob design is also relatively simple, and it is not difficult to introduce ND filters or CPL filters after Insta360.

But if I can, I personally look forward to Insta360 can use this design on ordinary 4K modules, after all, it is not only users who use 1-inch modules that need to replace filters.

Although it is a product launched in cooperation with Leica, there are not many Leica-related elements on the Insta360 One R. Like Huawei, it only has the word “LEICA” printed on the lens.

The configuration of the one-inch wide-angle lens was introduced in detail at the time of release. Now let’s make a simple summary:

  • Supports up to 5312 × 3552 photo shooting, with a dedicated Super Night Scene mode
  • The highest video specifications are 5.3K 30fps and 4K 60fps
  • The highest specification for slow motion video is 1080P 120fps
  • Support H.264 and H.265 encoding, the highest bit rate is 100Mbps
  • Log color function
  • FlowState 2.0 anti-shake
  • Shooting modes are: photo, HDR photo, video, time-lapse photography, time-lapse photography

    In terms of configuration, InsThe one-inch wide-angle lens of the ta360 One R is mainly a product based on image quality.

    With the use of larger sensors, Insta360’s functional investment will also follow this direction, such as recording specifications up to 5.3K 30p, also supports both H.264 and H.265 encoding, also equipped with Log color Support, easy for users to grade.

    Only, the one-inch wide-angle camera does not support the HDR video supported on the 4K wide-angle lens. The slow-motion shooting specification is 1080P 120fps, and there is no support for 1080P 200fps. For a product with the highest positioning, it is indeed a pity that there is no full specification support.

    However, it may also be limited by the fuselage’s processing performance and battery life. If Insta360 can enhance processing performance in subsequent products, it will not be impossible to achieve HDR video shooting or higher frame rate slow motion on the next-generation one-inch lens. In addition, now that they have launched an enhanced version of the battery, you can still give a little more confidence in battery life.

    What’s up with it?

    Of course, the specific shooting effect depends on the actual shooting experience.

    This experience is mainly divided into the comprehensive experience of shooting quality of day and night environment, camera image stabilization effect, radio and handheld shooting to see the shooting experience of Insta360 One R.

    For the overall handheld video shooting experience, Ai Faner also issued a complete Vlog before. In that Vlog, you can see the radio performance of Insta360 One R and the overall radio effect of shooting.

    In the absence of a microphone or headphones, the microphone performance of the Insta360 One R one-inch lens version is actually acceptable, and it can also receive the photographer’s voice on noisy streets. If you can handle shooting without a microphone, it’s actually okay.

    ▲ If you need to connect an external WIreless GO or other microphone, you need to use an adapter cable.

    I want to use an external microphone to improve the radio effect. Insta360 also provides USB-C to 3.5mm interface accessories. The interface cover can also be opened without disassembly. The microphone is not difficult.

    In addition, this protection frame is also compatible with Rode’s RODE Wireless Go wireless microphone design. It is also very convenient to use with the official USB-C to 3.5mm adapter.

    In addition, the body of the Insta360 One R also supports external AirPods, and users can receive audio through AirPods. Unfortunately, only AirPods are currently supported. If other Bluetooth headsets can also be supported, it will be more convenient for Android users.

    In terms of battery life and heat, the official said that the battery life of the one-inch lens version of the Insta360 One R is actually about 40-60 minutes, and we use a maximum of 5.3K 30P to shoot, so the battery life will be longer. shorter.

    Heat is also an unavoidable problem for this compact and small body, whether it is 4K 60P or 5.3K 30P, Insta360 One R one-inch lensThe version also started to get a little hot before it was taken for a long time. If you shoot for a long time, there will be overheating and shutdown.

    This is actually normal, and it is understandable that the small body can’t dissipate heat properly. Compared with GoPro and DJI, the stability of Insta360 One R is also similar. It is not too prominent or incomparable. Everyone is actually at the same level.

    After watching the shooting experience, let ’s take a look at the image quality and image stabilization performance of the Insta360 One R one-inch lens version in daytime and low light environments:

    • Shooting picture and quality

      In the light environment, the one-inch lens version of the Insta360 One R with official firmware has greatly improved the look and feel of the screen.

      ▲ 4K 60fps, default mode

      Shooting in 4K 60fps mode, the one-inch lens version of Insta360 One R has strong image resolution, and the details of the lines on the building are also prominent, and there will be no blur. Although the weather was not good when shooting, I can see from the picture that the cloud layer still has a little highlight detail, and the cloud layer can still see some lines, but it is not so obvious.

      The overall imaging style of the one-inch lens version of the Insta360 One R is similar to that of mobile phone shooting. The contrast of the picture is not low. If it is mixed with the material shot by the mobile phone, it will not have a clear sense of violation.

      In fact, the Insta360 One R one-inch lens version also supports the Log color mode. In this case, Insta360 does not need to gray out the screen in the default mode to improve the space of the screen. The overall idea is to hope that the default environment has a stronger adaptability. Sexual GoPro is different, they want to provide choices to meet different needs.

      ▲ 4K 60fps, default mode

      ▲ 4K 60fps, color enhancement mode

      Insta360The “Color Enhancement” function is also added to the built-in application, which is similar to the automatic enhancement on mobile phones. Turn this option on when exporting, and the application will reprocess the video to enhance the video’s performance. As you can see from the screenshots of the shooting video, you can see that the sample with the “Color Enhancement” function turned on will have more cloud details, and the layered sense and light and dark performance of the picture will be slightly better than the original film.

      For those who do n’t have a color correction foundation, or are too lazy to make color corrections, it is actually enough to shoot directly with the machine and use the “color enhancement” function. It ’s not too difficult to simply share to the short video platform or Weibo, or friends Big problem.

      ▲ Super Wide Angle

      ▲ Wide angle

      ▲ Linear

      ▲ Narrow

      In terms of viewing angle, the Insta360 One R one-inch lens version also provides four modes: ultra wide angle, wide angle, linear, and narrow. The perspective is selected only during post processing.

      I also thought it was troublesome for Insta360 to switch the perspective of the One R into the secondary menu. I didn’t expect them to actually want the user to adjust the perspective later. This processing method can also increase the adjustment space in the later stage, and the user can also do a greater amount of creativity in the post-processing.

      It should be noted here that the one-inch lens version of the Insta360 One R uses a larger one-inch sensor than 1 / 2.3-inch CMOS, plus an equivalent 14mm lens with a wider viewing angle, the distortion will be 16.4mm equivalent. The 4K wide-angle lens comes a little bit noticeably.

      When shooting scenes such as buildings or taking selfies, you still need to avoid the distorted areas on the edges.

      • Anti-shake

        This time, the one-inch lens version of Insta360 One R is equipped with Insta360’s latest FlowState 2.0 electronic image stabilization technology.

        ▲ 4K 60P mode recording, selfie stick handheld shooting

        In a normal walking state, the Insta360 One R one-inch lens version equipped with the new firmware will have a smoother transition when dealing with picture shake, and the effect will be more natural than the previous Vlog shot.

        But in the pure hand-held state, the camera still has some jitters on the edges that cannot be eliminated, and it is still a little jittery when watching in 4K 60P mode. I don’t knowThis has nothing to do with the frame rate and firmware. After all, the official four-camera anti-shake test previously provided was also operated in a 4K 30P environment.

        ▲ 4K 60P, handheld shooting with selfie stick

        Insta360 One R’s one-inch lens version can also basically cope with the scene of descending stairs, but the edge shake when walking on flat ground will also appear in the environment of up and down stairs. .

        After all, the machine is just launched, and the camera format is larger than when FlowState was used before. Insta360 needs more time to adjust, but it is acceptable.

        ▲ 4K 60P, handheld shooting with selfie stick

        When dealing with stairs, the Insta360 One R one-inch lens version does not show much difference. In both cases, some anti-shake and smooth situations will actually appear.

        • Low light shooting effect

          Compared with other 1 / 2.3 action cameras, the Insta360 One R 1-inch lens version with a 1-inch sensor has some advantages.

          ▲ 4K 60fps, default mode

          In this low-light environment, the performance of the one-inch lens version of the Insta360 One R is actually acceptable.

          The overall performance is fairly clean, but you can still see more obvious noise in the dark position. The details of the interior of the building are fairly clear, and the resolution is maintained. However, in the case of shooting, it is better to open more large light ratio or extremely dark environment.

          ▲ 4K 60P, pure handheld shooting (because you have to avoid the person in front, it will still shake left and right)

          In low-light environments, the Insta360 One R’s one-inch lens version also has image stabilization similar to daytime, and its stability can be maintained.

          Only, the image shake during the day is slightly more obvious at night. However, this problem can also be solved through later algorithm corrections. I believe Insta360 can also be fixed in future firmware updates.

          Want to buy?

          Insta360, the one-inch lens version of the Insta360 One R is a major breakthrough. Using 1-inch them in action cameras has laid the foundation for future image quality improvements.

          But judging by some of the current effects, the performance of the one-inch lens version One R still fails to fully use the full capabilities of the one-inch bottom.

          Although it has a little bit of picture quality advantage when facing other sports cameras with small bottoms, Insta360 One R has yet to break through in the face of the mobile phone camp with mature algorithms.

          If you want to fully highlight the advantages of the 1-inch bottom, it still depends on the optimization of the algorithm and subsequent performance.

          However, these are not difficult for Insta360 who is familiar with algorithms and AI image processing technology. If they really want to go in the direction of highlighting the image quality performance, today’s prominent one-inch lens must be the core of development, and all technology and investment will be developed around this module.

          So now you have made up your mind to buy the Insta360 One R system, that one-inch lens should also be an essential accessory.

          In addition, most of the flagship sports cameras that can shoot 4K are actually priced around 3000-4000. The price of 3498 for One R one-inch lens is actually very reasonable. If you really want me to configure it, the one-inch lens kit with an additional 360 ° panoramic lens and the enhanced battery should be the most balanced solution at present.

          It would be more convenient if Insta360 could target the protective frame for enhanced batteries.