{"id":589512,"date":"2026-04-06T17:14:15","date_gmt":"2026-04-06T17:14:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/589512\/"},"modified":"2026-04-06T17:14:15","modified_gmt":"2026-04-06T17:14:15","slug":"insta-360-x5-unlocks-a-whole-new-level-of-content-creation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/589512\/","title":{"rendered":"Insta 360 X5 unlocks a whole new level of content creation"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\"Insta360<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been years since TikTok and Instagram made curated visual storytelling part of everyday life. Stories and reels have become the two most common methods of self-expression, and this has required people to think differently about content.<\/p>\n

Can you even remember what travel was like before we had new and creative ways to tell a story? Whether it\u2019s something as banal as walking the dog or as unique as riding in a helicopter over Manhattan, there are now multiple tools out there that let you capture life the way your imagination intended, and edit accordingly.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why Insta360 is such a fascinating disruption to a market that was once dominated by action cameras from DJI and GoPro. They walked; the X5 sprints.<\/p>\n

As a brand, the cameras play on the action potential that made these types of POV cameras so famous. But instead of shooting with a fixed field of view, you\u2019re capturing the entire environment at once and then reframing it in post-production.<\/p>\n

One of the most notable parts is that the camera comes with numerous attachments, including a selfie stick that, very cleverly, appears invisible in the final shot. The camera has a double-ended design with two 200-degree fisheye lenses on either side, capturing over 400 degrees of footage, but creating a bit of a blind spot beneath the camera. AI is used to stitch together the resulting images, which gives the impression that you aren\u2019t holding anything at all. But your fist may look a little clenched, like this meme<\/a>.<\/p>\n

You have to give it to a company that can make selfie sticks relevant again. Insta360 make a few of these. I\u2019ve only been using the standard one, which isn\u2019t long enough to get those really out-there shots you\u2019ll find plastered all over YouTube. Still, it\u2019s enough to show you how seamless the camera\u2019s \u201cinvisible\u201d trick is.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been playing around with the Insta360 X5 for a few months now, mostly testing out video and image quality simply because I find it hard to believe a camera this size can shoot up to 8K and give you so many editing options.<\/p>\n

And I guess that\u2019s why these are getting so popular. The X5 does exactly that. While you might have to contend with large file sizes, the Insta360 app \u2013 think CapCut, but more specific, targeted and playful \u2013 opens the imagination right up. To the point where I see this as a brand new category of content creation altogether, fusing what has made the industry so fun and engaging into an impressive piece of tech.<\/p>\n

This is my first time using an Insta360 camera, so I can only trust what the company tells me when they talk about improved encoding. Footage taken with the X5 should spit out around 1.5 GB per minute when shooting in the higher resolution modes. So 8K or 5.7K\/60fps. That is apparently 20% more efficient than the previous model.<\/p>\n

\"Insta360\"The Insta360 X5\u2019s double-ended design now comes with replaceable lenses (photo: Chris Singh).
\nContent creation as wellness<\/p>\n

I wouldn\u2019t consider myself a content creator. I always wanted to be a music video director when I was growing up, so I use my Instagram reels to make little mini music videos from my travels, with the song as the focus. The algorithm hates it. I\u2019m a writer by trade, and I\u2019m one of those cynics \u2013 maybe even dinosaurs \u2013 who can\u2019t stand content made for social media algorithms.<\/p>\n

But in this increasingly distracted world, you can still get some use out of the content creator mindset. Number one rule: get the perfect shot. And for that, you need to constantly be thinking about how you\u2019re going to present what\u2019s in front of you. You\u2019re focused; present.<\/p>\n

I find it\u2019s a great way to lessen anxiety when I\u2019m travelling. And so having a new tool that opens up an even wider well of creative shots takes that idea to the next level. Perhaps a bit too far.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not overthinking when capturing footage with my phone. My preferred style is that achingly still, immersive video style that\u2019s emerged in the past few years. I\u2019m definitely overthinking with the X5, simply because it can give you so many options in post-production.<\/p>\n

\"Insta360The Insta360 X5 is slick and easy to move around. Photo taken after 4 weeks of travelling around with it (photo: Chris Singh).
\nDesign<\/p>\n

The Insta360 X5 is a simple-looking, beige beast. The most notable thing is the head, with two fisheye cameras on each and a rubber cap that fixes snugly over the lenses. The X5 is seen as a step up for the brand because the lenses are now replaceable, and a replacement kit is only around $50. This ups the value for the camera considerably, especially with how easy it is to replace these lenses should you get a stray scratch through your use.<\/p>\n

And this is one of those cameras you\u2019d want with you at all times. Because it\u2019s so versatile, you\u2019ll likely be putting it through the wringer, so it\u2019s much more likely that you\u2019ll need a replacement kit eventually.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s also a microphone windscreen cover for improved audio capture. I never tested the X4, so I can\u2019t speak to how the audio was, but here it\u2019s crispy and seems to smartly cancel out too much wind noise. Footage still sounds natural.<\/p>\n

On board, the rubber buttons are thick and unpleasant to press with very little tactility. But thankfully, most of your interaction with the device is via the fluid 2.5-inch touch screen, which swipes through resolutions and modes in an instant. When it comes to action-adjacent cameras like this, the real art is removing as much friction as possible so there\u2019s less lag between vision and capture. I think Insta360 has nailed it here, although I would like to see better tactility in the next iteration.<\/p>\n

This widely viewed video<\/a> by Brandon Li does a better job at showing off the X5\u2019s capabilities than my nascent editing would.<\/p>\n

The battery case is also well-made. It comes with its own included USB-C cable, which tucks into the unit, and fits two batteries that can be charged at the same time. Battery life on the camera is reasonable, with around 200 minutes of recording. On my testing, I would end up with around 220 most of the time, but I\u2019m also a much less intensive user.<\/p>\n

There are a few content creators online who\u2019ve spent much more time with action cameras than I have. Eat Sleep 360 has one of the better \u201csample\u201d videos out there, where you can see the range of possibilities this camera brings to content creation.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Editing becomes the product<\/p>\n

Capturing footage is important, of course, but editing has emerged as the number one skill for content creators, or just hobbyists wanting to take videos they are proud of.<\/p>\n

At its most basic, reframing is just dragging your finger across the screen. You move through the footage like you\u2019re choosing what to look at, not building a timeline. And so it\u2019s exceptionally intuitive, with the companion app cleaner than popular video editing tools like CapCut. Add a few keyframes, and suddenly you\u2019ve got smooth pans, tracking shots, even something that looks vaguely like a drone move. No real technical skill required.<\/p>\n

If you want to go deeper, you can. But the point is you don\u2019t have to. I haven\u2019t yet, rather testing the basics before I take this thing over to New York City and really go wild with it later this month. As above, I was overthinking it a lot, but after two or three plays with the Insta360 app, it\u2019s stupidly simple.<\/p>\n

Or you can just always select templates. There seems to be new ones coming through regularly,<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a surprising amount of automation baked in. The app\u2019s AI can identify subjects, suggest framing, even cut together highlights on its own, pulling clips, matching them to music and stitching together something coherent with almost no input.<\/p>\n

I just ignore CapCut\u2019s templates, but the Insta360 ones actually look intriguing, making the app\u2019s \u201cShot Lab\u201d as seamless as possible. Drop footage into a template, and the app does the rest. But it\u2019s much better if you learn how to edit manually so you have tighter control, especially if you\u2019re choosing specific songs.<\/p>\n

The device is good enough itself. Almost every review across the internet has pitched it as the best 360 camera to date, and I\u2019m inclined to agree. Again, I\u2019m nowhere near a content creator, but being able to properly execute a vision and share it seamlessly via social media removes a great deal of friction from the entire process.<\/p>\n

And it\u2019s a reminder that content creation, as generic as it\u2019s become, is here to stay, especially now we can get drone-like shots simply from having a really tall selfie stick, or whip pans in a second.<\/p>\n

\"Insta360With more attachments being released regularly, the Insta360 X5 is easily one of the most versatile action cameras I\u2019ve tested (photo supplied).
\nA few caveats to an otherwise perfect gadget<\/p>\n

For all its flexibility, there are a few trade-offs that are worth understanding before you buy into the idea completely.<\/p>\n

Image quality is the most obvious one. The X5 can shoot in 8K, but that resolution is spread across a full 360-degree sphere. Once you crop into that footage to create a standard frame, you\u2019re effectively zooming in, and that means losing detail. It still looks good, often very good, but it doesn\u2019t quite match the crisp, ready-to-use output you\u2019d get from a dedicated action camera like a GoPro.<\/p>\n

Then there\u2019s the reliance on editing. This isn\u2019t a camera you can just point, shoot and post. You can, technically, but you\u2019d be missing the point of it entirely. The X5 only really comes to life once you start reframing, keyframing and shaping your footage in the app. That\u2019s where the magic is, but it also means there\u2019s an extra step baked into every piece of content you create. If you don\u2019t enjoy that process, or simply don\u2019t have the time for it, the camera quickly starts to feel like overkill.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s also a subtle mental shift that comes with using it. Because you\u2019re capturing everything, you\u2019re constantly aware that every angle is available to you later. That sounds freeing, and it is, but it can also pull you out of the moment. Instead of reacting instinctively, you start thinking about possibilities. Shots become decisions deferred rather than decisions made. For some, that\u2019s the appeal. For others, it adds a layer of friction that a simpler camera avoids entirely.<\/p>\n

None of this undermines what the X5 does well. It just reframes it. This isn\u2019t the best camera for every situation. It\u2019s the most flexible one. And that distinction matters.<\/p>\n

Verdict & Value<\/p>\n

The Insta360 X5 is a revolution. We don\u2019t get much of those anymore in the tech space, and it\u2019s not quiet about its prowess either. It\u2019s durable, consistent and versatile, but the real magic happens with the Insta360 app, which is also available for less expensive models.<\/p>\n

Insta360 now have a tremendous amount of styles out there, but the X5 is the one getting top marks. On my travels, I always spot at least a few creators with one of those long, bendy selfie sticks, and this bad boy is screwed onto the top. It\u2019s become more ubiquitous than DJI\u2019s Osmo cameras, but I\u2019m not really surprised there.<\/p>\n

That said, you are looking at circa $1,000 if you want to take this one for a whirl. Is it worth it? Well, that depends on how much content you create. But certain shots and styles are only possible with a double-ended camera like this. And for that, Insta360 deserves the applause.<\/p>\n

FOUR AND A HALF STARS (OUT OF FIVE)<\/p>\n

Highlights: Video quality is outstanding, can shoot up to 8k, batteries are sufficient (and come in a pair), and the app is very comprehensive and intuitive.
Lowlights: Poor tactility, editing is a steep learning curve if you want really creative shots and full control, and expensive.<\/p>\n

insta360.com<\/a><\/p>\n


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