Another year, another Insta360 release. While that sounds like an anti-climactic statement about the new X5, it's not meant to be. While there may not be any headline-grabbing features like higher-resolution footage, there are a few improvements that make the camera just a bit more livable than the X4.
360 filmmaker and YouTuber Hugh Hough takes a deep dive into the Insta360 X5 and compares it to many of the popular models out there, most notably Insta360's own discontinued ONE RS 1", the X4, and Kandao's latest offering, the QooCam 3 Ultra (which I reviewed and very much enjoyed).
When the cameras are pitted side by side against each other, there are no real surprises here: the larger sensors and AI processing of the X5 handily outpace the X4 and the long-in-the-tooth 1" with its lower resolution (5.7K vs. 8K), but Hough also points out some scenarios where the AI processing actually hurts things. These are things that would probably take the average user a long time to figure out, but that Hough's extensive testing picks up right away. The other not-surprising fact was that the 1" sensors of the RS did better in low light, though with lower resolution. Like Hough, I wish the company would revive this line of cameras again and give it modern features—maybe even breaking the 8K barrier in this level of camera—though the company's own Titan might have something to say about that.
Also of note, under the no-replacement-for-displacement category of revelations, the Kandao QooCam 3 Ultra, with its 96-megapixel still images, also handily beat the 72-megapixel X5 in still image quality, making it the one to beat for virtual tour usage. That said, the X5 beats it when it comes to color and stabilization, as Hough even tested both cameras on a drone.
While there's a lot to like about the new X5, one sticking point is that the camera moves around ports and changes up the type of battery that it uses compared to the X4, so users of the camera that's only a year old will have to switch out all of their accessories to accommodate the new camera's design, as well as buy an entirely different set of batteries. At least the new design allows for easy lens replacements instead of lens guards that eat into image quality.
Hough runs the camera through a lot, including heat tests, low-light/colored-light image quality tests, and even an impressive concert footage set. Check out the video above to see the results of his tests and side-by-side comparisons—there's a lot to chew on with the X5.
