Would you use a wearable mini-camera for your next adventure? We test the Insta360 GO Ultra

The Insta360 Go Ultra is a bit like having two action cameras in one. The small, square pod is where the lens, microphone, and SD card are housed, giving you everything you need to record a swim, ride, or run in a mini, lightweight package.

The magnetic pendant included in the box allows you to wear the camera for those POV shots without a chest harness, and its built-in image stabilisation was able to keep the footage smooth even when embarking on trail runs and bumpy gravel rides. The magnet on the pod also means you can mount it pretty much anywhere to capture self-shot stills or video without a tripod or lugging around a mount, and I stuck it to town signs to record those sprints for the line and a bench to capture my running form from front and side on.

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Limitations and battery life

The pod on its own isn’t perfect. Continuously recording drained the battery before I’d got to the end of a 75-minute ride, while with no screen to check alignment, you have to connect to the action pod or smartphone app before setting off to make sure what you’re going to record is framed appropriately. The former restricts the Insta360 Go Ultra to capturing snippets of an activity, providing a highlights reel rather than blow-by-blow of the entire outing, while the latter is a minor inconvenience that soon gets ironed out and refined after the first few times of use.

Action pod and accessories

When docked to the action pod, the Insta360 Go Ultra works more like a standard waterproof action camera. The flip-up screen is how you navigate the camera’s settings and modes, and when folded outwards, can act as a monitor if shooting a piece to camera or a selfie. The action pod also extends the battery life three-fold, although there isn’t an additional slot for a second SD card or any built-in storage.

In action pod-mode, the Insta360 Go Ultra can be attached to a magnetic quick-release mount, and used with a variety of different prong- or ¼” nut-based adapters and mounts like a selfie stick, computer mount or chest harness.

Editing of any footage takes place in the Insta360 smartphone app. The interface is a user-friendly piece of software that enables you to chop and splice to your heart’s content and has a suite of AI-based overlays and effects you can apply before uploading direct to your social media.

Performance and verdict

In terms of the footage, it was hard to fault the Insta360 Go Ultra, and it held up admirably even on unsmooth terrain. Its 4K at 60 frames per second is a respectable return for such a small unit, but if you don’t need the option of a mini pod, then you can get better camera specs (and even 8K) for less.

Overall, it was a fun camera to put through its paces, and the pod and magnetic pendant set-up provides a flexible, lightweight POV option for recording without lugging around a load of additional accessories.

Insta360 GO Ultra specs