There’s no doubt GoPro has the lion’s share of the action camera market, thanks to a mix of clever marketing and useful products, but other companies are still playing the game and coming up with interesting ideas. Insta360, with its 360-degree action cameras, are one of the more prominent competitors. Now we’ve got the new Insta360 One X2 action camera, with updated AI making for an improved product.

Like other 360-degree cameras, the Insta360 One X2 combines raw video footage from multiple lenses to create 360-degree footage that’s then converted into standard video—you view the footage, and pick and choose what perspective you want in your video. Of course, internal sensors, accelerometers and clever AI all work together to make this happen, and supposedly all that’s been upgraded from the previous X1 camera, making the X2 capable of taking better footage. It still shoots at 5.7K resolution when you’re taking 360-degree footage, but all that internal trickery is supposed to make for better colour, stabilization and the audio is also improved. The camera shoots at 100Mbps now, too.

Along with all that internal trickery, the X2 also has a touchscreen now, although it’s a weird circular affair, certainly not your standard interface. It’s intended to be a pocket camera, and hand-held, unlike GoPros that are typically attached to some sort of selfie stick or other mount. You can use a selfie stick or other mount with the X2, though, and the camera will actually use its AI to edit the mount out of the footage. Very cool stuff!

Where the X2 really gets interesting is all its built-in software that allows for everything from auto-tracking of objects/animals/people/vehicle, to enhanced image stabilization, to hyperlapses that can edit people out of busy tourist areas afterwards. It’s really powerful stuff, and would no doubt take some time to learn effectively. If you want a more point-and-click experience, the X2 also has a self-edit feature, that helps you choose perspectives for your video footage.

The camera’s battery life is now extended to 80 minutes, and it has IPX8 weather proofing, offering water resistance to 10 metres.

While this camera and its functions aren’t for everyone, it does capabilities beyond what even the latest-gen GoPro has, although GoPro certainly has many advantages to its own product line. If you’re seriously interested, you can check out the Insta360 website, or view the veritable flood of review videos that have popped up on YouTube in the past week.

Vezi sursa