As an image player, I have my own pursuit of each image subcategory. For videos, I choose the A7S3 that everyone is currently using. For high-resolution photos, I choose the A7R3. For style images, I keep a Leica M. However, I have been reluctant to buy a sports camera because I always feel that it is not extreme enough. I was also excited when DJI Action2 came out, but the 1/1.7 cmos is not as big as my mobile phone cmos. When and were first released, everyone was talking about the overheating problem in shooting. I always felt that it was inferior in terms of momentum. .
Until recently, the insta 360 ONE RS with upgraded performance appeared in front of me again, and I chose the one-inch version without any suspense - this is currently the largest CMOS on an action camera.
In this article, I will compare the one-inch wide-angle version of insta 360 ONE RS that I just bought and my friend’s DJI action2, and try to give you some purchasing suggestions.
Here will first answer the questions of some friends: What exactly has been upgraded to insta 360 ONE RS?
- A stronger host, faster wifi transmission, and can directly play out videos in MP4 format with flowstate anti-shake
- A stronger 4K module, upgraded from 1/2.3 to 1/2 inches, and supports 6K widescreen mode , supports HDR video
- Larger battery module
- Better to use protective case, side-opening design, the one-inch module is very convenient to remove.
Appearance: They are all modular, with different brands of vlog screen solutions
The good impression of the insta 360 ONE RS mainly comes from the modular design inherited from the predecessor insta 360 ONE R. The insta 360 ONE RS still combines the lens, host and battery Made a modular design . And these three modules are all interchangeable with the modules corresponding to the previous generation insta 360 ONE R. Old users can also purchase the new 4K lens module separately to obtain better image quality.
For example, my insta 360 ONE RS one-inch wide-angle version, later, you can choose to purchase a panoramic lens module as needed to transform it into a panoramic camera, making multi-purpose upgrades more cost-effective. The panoramic camera of insta 360 is at the top of the industry, with various ways of playing . I am familiar with the back 1 inch, so I will definitely consider buying it. Of course, I also look forward to the launch of more interesting modules for insta 360 in the future.
In this regard, the modularity of DJI action2 is its younger brother. Just adding a battery or a screen module does not provide the main body with diverse playability and upgrade possibilities. After all, is about modularity. Insta 360 ONE R was released in 2019, and it is the originator of modular action cameras.
With its modular design, insta 360 ONE RS only requires three modules: lens, host and battery. There is no need to purchase additional accessories or modules. The screen can be flipped and transformed into selfie mode, making it a powerful vlogging tool.
DJI action2 obviously also thought of the vlog needs, so it specially developed the "front screen expansion module" - 1,099 yuan. Regarding the selfie vlog ideas of the two products, I personally prefer the insta 360 ONE RS. Summary of the appearance comparison between
:
- Appearance material: insta 360 ONE RS matte texture, not sensitive to small bumps. Action2 has a metallic texture and looks good, but remember to wear a case at all times.
- modular idea: insta 360 ONE RS modularizes the host, camera module, and battery. You can switch different camera modules to transform into a panoramic camera and a high-quality 1-inch Leica co-branded action camera. You can even buy another battery module Increase battery life. The modularity of action2 is to expand the screen and battery life of the host, but does not change or improve the host's functions.
interface and buttons: add quick preset ONE RS vs global touch action2
insta 360 ONE RS adopts TF card + USB-C interface configuration.
and action2 actually only have in the expansion module for the C port. This modularity and comfort surprised me.The C port of both
can be directly connected to the computer to read TF card data.
In addition, the C port of insta360 ONE RS can also be connected to the flash transfer companion. The captured material is directly stored in the flash transfer companion. After shooting, you can directly plug it into your mobile phone to edit the material, achieving high-quality
mobile phone editing. , and does not need to be connected to the wifi of the action camera, which is another good idea of modularity.
In terms of buttons, insta 360, in addition to the power button and shooting button, provides two touch buttons, Q and magnifying glass, on the side of the screen, which can quickly open the preset mode and switch the shooting angle. This is similar to the custom buttons on professional camera impellers, which can quickly enter your own preset mode.
Action2 does not have a preset mode. This is not a big problem for those who only shoot in a single mode on a daily basis. However, if you shoot time-lapse and video, and the video likes to switch between different frame rates and , then it is still insta. The 360's Q button switches commonly used preset modes, which is more convenient.
Protective frame and accessories: Some online reviews ridiculed that the biggest upgrade of insta 360 ONE RS is the protective frame, which uses a side pop-up. The one-inch version can be installed and removed without removing the protective mirror. Joking aside, in actual use, it is really convenient.
In addition, the protective frame of insta 360 ONE RS has a heat dissipation panel built into the front cover, which can help the camera better dissipate heat.
Action2’s magnetic suction system, whether it is a protective case or a magnetic suction method on the chest, is indeed very good. If you want to hang the insta 360 ONE RS on your chest, you have to use a chest strap bracket.
Of course, if you only shoot from the first perspective in daily life, you can actually consider insta 360’s go2. Although the image quality is generally very light, you can learn about this product if you haven’t heard about it yet.
imaging parameters: How much stronger is insta360ONERS?
Regarding the parameters, I organized the table myself to facilitate comparison.
cmos In terms of size, : Let’s give the answer first. To be precise, insta 360 ONE RS has an area of 2.89 times that of the 1/1.7-inch action2.
is actually easy to calculate. The area and diameter are in a square ratio, so 1/(1/1.7) squared is 2.89. Nearly three times the imaging area, this is not a big step. Therefore, in terms of parameters, the imaging of insta 360 ONE RS will be crushing.
Since these two machines cannot be directly disassembled to see the size of cmos, I gave a schematic size comparison.
Aperture size : From the parameters, the aperture of the insta 360 ONE RS one-inch wide-angle version is slightly smaller, but what I need to tell you is that the actual aperture size must be multiplied by the cmos proportion coefficient. The aperture of Action2 converted to 1 inch is f2.8X1.7=f4.76. Of course, this is just an indication.
ISO sensitivity : action2 is one step higher than the one-inch wide-angle version of insta 360 ONE RS, but what is more interesting is that the 4K version of insta 360 ONE RS also has ISO 6400. We still have to look specifically at the real shots of low light and high sensitivity.
pixels: The one-inch wide-angle version of insta 360 ONE RS is 18.8 million pixels, which is higher than action2. Judging from the actual cmos area of 2.89 times, the pixel density of and will exceed that of action2 when the one-inch wide-angle version of insta 360 ONE RS reaches 1200X2.89=34.68 million pixels. So the theoretical conclusion is: the resolution and single-pixel imaging quality of the one-inch wide-angle version of insta 360 ONE RS will surpass action2.
. After the theoretical analysis, let’s take a look at the real-life imaging performance of
: The bottom level is so big that it’s crushing , the low-light image quality directly surpassed
. First, we compared the same scene during the day and saw that under a well-lit environment, the look and feel of both is relatively good.
Zoom in to view the details. The one-inch wide-angle version of insta 360 ONE RS has nearly 3 times the imaging area, lower pixel density, and higher overall pixel count, perfectly fulfilling the promise of being nearly 3 levels larger than the opponent.
- There is no obvious difference in the center of the picture because it is daytime and the light is sufficient. The imaging of the edge part of
- is ahead of action2 in terms of noise and sharpness.
- In the large light ratio part of the picture, the one-inch wide-angle version of insta 360 ONE RS has good highlight detail preservation, and the action is completely overexposed.
The above comparison is based on jpg straight out
In scenarios such as large light ratios that test the HDR algorithm of action cameras, the one-inch wide-angle version of insta 360 ONE RS can enable HDR shooting, but action2 does not have this function.
We saw the actual shooting of dusk scenes. Near the horizon, the highlight details of the one-inch wide-angle version of insta 360 ONE RS were well preserved, while action2 was completely overexposed. In terms of the actual amount of light entering
, both are set to ISO100 and automatically exposed.
insta 360 ONE RS one-inch wide-angle version exposure time: 1/310s, Action2 exposure time: 1//40s
Insta 360 ONE RS one-inch wide-angle version is much larger, and there is less opportunity to use high sensitivity .
In low-light scenes, the one-inch wide-angle version of insta 360 ONE RS did not disappoint me. Both shoot 30-frame video, and the shutter speed is automatically the lowest 1/30s.
insta 360 ONE RS one-inch wide-angle version has a sensitivity ISO of 1000, and Action2 sensitivity ISO is 8120.
It can be seen that in the same low-light scene, the insta 360 ONE RS one-inch wide-angle version will use a lower high sensitivity, which can bring for better imaging.
Let’s take a look at the screenshots and zoom-in comparison of the actual night scene video. We can see that the purity of the picture is really different. There is almost no noise in the characters and background of insta 360, while in action2 it is full of color noise. For shooting, the specific colors can be adjusted later, but the noise in the picture is really irreparable.
video anti-shake performance: both are stable, but slightly different.
insta 360 ONE RS one-inch wide-angle version supports its own flowstate, and action2 supports RockSteady 2.0 super stabilization + HorizonSteady horizon stabilization.
Since Horizon Stabilization does not support 4K, we compared RockSteady 2.0 Super Stabilization with flowstate to test a wave of stable performance in the same scene first.
In order to make the stability test more objective, we fixed both machines to a board and then held them while running and shooting.
Let’s take a look at the anti-shake effect. You can see that both have a very silky anti-shake effect.
However, after action2 turned on super stabilization, this level still fluctuated greatly. Action2 can indeed stabilize the horizon through the horizon stabilization function, but it cannot output 4K video.
video performance: action2 imaging is excellent enough, ONE RS imaging is more like professional equipment
insta 360 ONE RS one-inch wide-angle version supports up to 5.3k non-anti-shake video and 4K60 frame video, DJI action2 supports up to 4096×3072/60 frames and K up to 120fps
For shooting subjects that just require 4K output and require 4x slow motion, DJI action2 is still the only solution among current action cameras.
For users who record their daily lives and pay attention to picture quality, we have already shown the picture advantages of the one-inch wide-angle version of insta 360 ONE RS in the previous picture quality comparison, and this still applies to the video picture. The pictures of the two can clearly feel that the one-inch wide-angle version of the insta 360 ONE RS has richer picture details and almost no noise. As for action2, there is already some picture noise in scenes located in the shade during the day.
Not only that, for users who pay attention to the post-production of videos, the one-inch wide-angle version of the insta 360 ONE RS provides a log option, which allows a larger adjustable space for color correction in the post-production of the video.. action2 also provides D cinelike, which is a color mode between normal color and Dlog that balances the light ratio of the picture. We specifically chose a scene with a larger light ratio, and the picture of the two shot is like this.
can see that the one-inch wide-angle version of insta 360 ONE RS can maintain the normal exposure of the ground and retain the details of the clouds in the sky. The dark part on the right side of the picture is also brighter than Dcinelike. As a castrated version of Dlog, Dcinelike completely loses details in the brightest part of the sky, and the dark parts are also much inferior.
In the final analysis, DJI still does not regard action2 as a professional-level product, so it did not provide Dlog.
In addition to color, for vlogger players, another aspect is radio. The insta 360 ONE RS host has been increased to three microphones, located at the marked locations.
has three-directional sound pickup and noise reduction. The top microphone can also be equipped with windproof cotton when installing the protective case. It can be said that the stack of very strong microphone pickup is possible. And the configuration of windproof cotton is really beyond my expectation.
DJI action2 is not to be outdone, but you need to connect the front screen module to achieve 4-microphone sound collection. And since there is no windproof cotton, the wind noise control will be slightly worse than that of insta 360 ONE RS.
supporting app: ONE RS, which can post-correct distortion and de-shake, beats
Insta 360’s supporting
insta360 app, which can realize FlowState anti-shake loading for 5.3K videos without in-camera anti-shake.
Looking at the comparison before and after the anti-shake, it can be said that the anti-shake effect is as good as the in-camera anti-shake effect. And the cutting is actually a little less.
can choose the viewing angle, including super wide angle, wide angle, linear, narrow viewing angle, 45° horizontal correction, and 360° horizontal correction. Although it is a digital zoom, the linearity in it is a very practical function that can turn a wide-angle deformed picture like an action camera into a picture without lens distortion.
Summary: Both are action cameras, but they are obviously different in the target group.
gives a comparison of all the parameters of the one-inch version of the self-made insta 360 ONE RS compared to the DJI Action2. I hope it can give some reference to those who are entangled between the two.
After the above comparison, my conclusion is:
The subject matter is extreme fast-paced sports , such as: skateboarding, downhill bicycles, high platform diving , skydiving, etc. The output must be 4K and must be in slow motion. It is recommended Choose DJI action2. Its unique 4K 120 frames allow you to output 4K video with 4x slow motion. However, you still need to pay attention to the format selection when recording. Don’t assume that the whole process is 4K 120, as it will overheat very quickly. . or , you can actually change your mind: consider insta 360 ONE RS with panoramic lens module to shoot unique perspective changing pictures.
For users who mainly vlog, record life and travel, and pay attention to image quality , insta 360 ONE RS one-inch wide-angle version, with the higher image quality of , supports anti-shake in-camera 4K 60 frame output , let us High-quality, variable-speed 4K material is obtained that is directly available.
picture quality: picture texture breaks away from the late-stage high-sharpening style of action cameras, and the picture is natural and rich in details. In the city night scene, you can also get a brighter picture. Functional aspects of
: The modular design of allows us to take selfies conveniently without purchasing additional accessories, allowing us to retain some accessories for later upgrades, and the upgrade cost is lower.
After this comparison, I believe everyone has their own answer.
