Insta360 X5 action camera review: An “industry leading camera”

Fire up any social media platform and it won’t take long before you come across some footage shot by a 360 camera and here we’ve got a second camera from the brand sitting at a slightly higher (and definitely premium) price point.

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360 filming experience

Distinctive because of its slightly warped, fish-eye-style finish, the footage is much more than a lens effect. The all-seeing camera design allows the user to capture any angle without having to worry too much about framing, shooting forward, backwards and everywhere in between with it possible to pick the focal point during the editing phase or hand that task over to the Insta360 app’s AI tool.

Insta360 has been the market leader in this segment since its launch of the ONE X back in 2018, and the X5 is its latest, range-topping option. The specs alone make it pretty impressive – ability to shoot 8K30fps in 360 video (or 5.7K60fps if you don’t need incredibly high definition footage), 4K60fps in single-lens, almost three-hours of battery life – while the replaceable lenses and clearer audio make it a worthwhile upgrade on its predecessor, the X4.

In use

In practise, it was a novelty to shoot using the 360 camera and opened up a whole new world of options when filming. When mounted to my handlebars using the specially designed outfront computer mount accessory, I was able to revolutionise my riding footage, recording POV clips of descents, lock on to other riders when passing through a group and honing in on the pain face when out of the saddle on a climb. When running, a slightly off angle with the selfie stick didn’t mean that the content I was capturing was unusable, and the camera was an awful lot of fun to mount to my running buggy and finally see my toddler’s reactions when we were passing dogs and people on local paths.

Single-lens mode and features

The 360-aspect to the X5 is only one piece of the puzzle too, and the camera can function as a standard single lens design and be used in the same way as any standard action camera. The built-in screen provides a monitor when recording in selfie mode or acts as a viewfinder when using the rear camera, and is also where you can tweak settings and review footage to your heart’s content.

Is it worth it?

The real question with the X5 is ‘is a 360 camera worth it?’ And the answer is, unfortunately, ‘it depends’. At £130 more than any other camera tested, it’s a significant investment to have the ability to shoot in 360°. Also, in single-lens mode, the DJI Osmo Action 6 outperforms the Insta360 X5 thanks to its 8K abilities, and at £190 less, makes the X5 even more of a budget blower. Combined with there being no accessories included in the box (not even a selfie stick), and you’re easily looking at £600 minimum by the time you’ve bought an SD card and whatever else you need to get this up and running for your sport. But, if you want an action camera that can truly do it all, then it’s currently very tough to beat.

Insta360 X5 specs