Insta360 X6 Review: Without Question, the Best 360 Camera

 Geoffrey Morrison/CNET 

 Insta360 X6 

 9.0  $700 at Insta360 

 Pros & Cons 

•  Excellent image quality 

•  Tons of modes and features 

•  New compact size 

•  Learning curve getting better, but still there 

•  Highest resolutions, fastest frame rates out of reach for many phones 

•  Only slightly better than the X5 

I've reviewed nearly every consumer 360 camera ever made, so I can confidently say the X6 is the best ever. I can also say that, for most people, it's not going to be significantly better than the X5 or, for many people, even the far cheaper X4 Air . 

There's a lot to like about the X6, including its smaller size, larger image sensors and faster processing. The image quality is excellent, even in low light. Video maxes out at 8K50 and images at 120 megapixels (15,520×7,760), and both improved over the X5. 

Despite all that, it's only an incremental improvement to the X5. Also, most phones can't edit 8K video and struggle to create some content out of the 120-megapixel images. So, is the X6 the best consumer 360 camera you can buy? Yes, but unless you're an enthusiast with a deep wallet (the camera starts at $700 ), the X5 and perhaps X4 Air are better options.

Specs and hardware

• Photo resolution: 120 megapixels (15,520×7,760)

• Video resolution: 8K50 (spherical)

• Sensor size: 1/1.1-inch (x2)

• Lens: 7.78mm (35mm equivalent) f/2 

• Image stabilization: Electronic

• Screen type: 2.3-inch OLED touchscreen

• Storage: 47 gigabytes (internal), microSD

• Weight: 197g (0.43lbs)

• App: iOS/Android, PC/Mac

After several iterations of almost identical candy-bar-shaped cameras, Insta360 changed things up with… a slightly stubbier candy bar shape. While slightly wider, the X6 is noticeably shorter. The end result is a camera that seems even smaller and more manageable. It's not quite action camera-size, but it's getting there. If you put the GoPro Hero13 Black on its side, the X6 is the same width and depth but about 40% taller. I've found the shapes of Insta360 cameras easier to use in the real world compared to the more boxy shapes of the GoPro Max 2 and DJI Osmo 360 . Being slightly smaller overall makes it even easier to live with.

Cleverly, despite the smaller body, the screen is close to the same size. It managed this by removing the two physical buttons below the screen found on previous models and replacing them with pressure-sensitive, on-screen buttons. The interface includes haptic feedback, aka vibrations, that not only help when using the screen, but also during shutter countdowns when the camera is at the end of a selfie stick. As someone who regularly takes photos with the camera high above my head, often near an eyeline with the sun behind the camera, getting a subtle vibration that it's about to take a picture, and then another that it did take a picture, is great. All that, paired with faster processing, makes the X6 feel faster and easier to use than the X5, which already felt plenty fast. It still takes a moment to save images, but not quite as slow as the X5 occasionally felt.

Insta360 says the X6's new, custom, 1.1-inch square Sony sensors absorb "300% more light per pixel" compared with the X5's 1.28-inch sensors. Low-light performance is indeed improved and impressive for a small camera, but more on that in the next section. Insta360 calls these sensors "1-inch equivalent," which is some serious marketing fluff, but camera sensor sizes are weird anyway and don't tell as much of a story as the numbers suggest.

Other hardware improvements include a larger battery for longer use, better microphones with built-in wind guards, better waterproofing that's now down to 65 feet (20 meters) without a case, 10-bit color depth and Dolby Vision HDR.

The Insta360 app is… a lot. As Insta360 has branched out into more and more categories, the app has become rather bloated. Once you dig past the house ads and social media aspects, there's a surprisingly robust video editor that lets you combine clips, add music and adjust image parameters like contrast and color. Then there are all the standard 360 video aspects like subject tracking, field of view, camera direction and so on. There's understandably a learning curve with 360 editing, and Insta360 tries to help with tutorials and an AI-assisted Auto Edit feature. That all helps for sure, but if you're new to this, give yourself some time to figure it all out. 

New with the X6, and now also available for the X5, is the AI Director feature. This is similar to GoPro's Auto Highlight videos in that it automatically generates a video based on your day's footage. Simply plug your camera in at the end of the day to charge, and by the next day you'll have an edited, shareable video complete with transitions, music and titles. You can choose between different templates or dive in and tweak the edits yourself using the AI version as a base.

GoPro locks this feature behind a subscription and requires uploading the videos to the cloud. Insta360 does it in-camera. You'd get better results doing the editing yourself, not to mention being able to post something without waiting overnight, but this is a good step in flattening the learning curve inherent in making videos from 360 captures.

Usability and photo quality

Overall image quality, in a word — OK, two words — is very good. This is likely due, at least in part, to the new, larger sensors. They also likely improve the low-light performance compared with the X5, which itself was a notable jump from the X4. Still, these are relatively small sensors, so don't expect miracles. In extremely low light, you might be able to, for example, get soft-but-usable footage of someone's face where on the X5 it'd be too dark to make out any details. Insta360 may claim "300% more light," but I'd say subjectively it's more like 20% to 30% better. That's still a worthy improvement and better than the vast majority of compact cameras of any type.

While the stock Insta360 aesthetic is still overexposed (in my opinion), during the day, images and videos are vibrant, detailed and relatively noise-free with excellent contrast. It's easy enough to dial back the exposure without messing with other settings, or just switching to the Pro mode and being able to adjust shutter speed, ISO, white balance and sharpness. 

The headline resolution specs — 8K at 50 frames per second and 120 megapixels — are a little misleading. Most phones can't edit 8K video. You'll need a computer for that, and a relatively powerful one at that. You can crop/edit 120 megapixel images on a wider range of phones, but most phones can't make videos out of them like they can with lower-resolution images. So, if you want to edit on your phone, you end up being "limited" to 6K60 video and 30MP photos (7,776×3,888). This is enough for most things, but not as big an improvement over the X5 as the headline specs imply (5.7K60 and 18MP photos).

Also, 50 is a rather strange number, at least for North America, where 60 is the more common frame rate. In other parts of the world, notably China, Europe and elsewhere, TVs are 50 Hz or some multiple of it due to the mains frequency. Given what I mentioned in the last paragraph, I'm not sure how many people are really expecting or needing 8K video at 60fps. All 360 footage has to be edited in some way, and the app can output whatever frame rate you want. I see 50 as a way to get a little slow-motion if desired for standard 30fps content.

That said, both Instagram and TikTok can show 60fps videos, and some fast-moving content like sports could use the extra motion detail possible with higher framerates. So it's a little disappointing that at the highest resolution, and you can never have enough pixels with 360 content, you're "limited" to 50fps. I don't think this will be a big deal for most people in most situations, but for some people in some situations, it will be a bummer. Also, some artificial lighting might strobe oddly in the video since it's 60Hz. In that case, you'd need to drop to 30fps while shooting. So really, for people in North America and other 60Hz countries, this camera maxes out at 8K30 with the ability to slow down action slightly when needed by bumping up to 50.

While the on-screen buttons work decently enough, they're never as simple to use as actual, physical buttons. All design decisions are trade-offs. Despite the on-screen buttons being a little less user-friendly, I'll accept occasionally missing a button push on the first try for the larger screen size and smaller camera that losing the real buttons provides.

This review would be 10,000 words long if I dove into all the various modes of the camera, but suffice it to say, the useful options from previous Insta360 cameras are here as well. PureVideo does an impressive job capturing usable footage in low light. StarLapse combines multiple long-exposure images into a short video with stars creating streaks of light on the night sky.

You can switch to Flat mode and capture regular 16:9, 1:1 or 9:16 photos and videos using either the front or rear sensor. In this mode, you're limited to 5K60 video and 24MP images, which is understandable since you're only using one of the image sensors. The X6 can also double as a decent wide-angle point-and-shoot camera in this mode, with a significantly larger image sensor than your phone. You also have the option of the InstaFrame 2.0 mode that tracks a subject (you, for example) while recording, generating a 16:9 or 9:16 video immediately, but also saving the full 360 video if you want to edit it differently later.

The full 360

I've owned or tested basically every consumer 360 camera. I take one with me on every adventure. As an enthusiast and someone who loves 360 cameras, the X6 is great. It's a solid improvement over the X5. It's a little easier to use, the images and videos are a little better, and while it doesn't seem that much smaller, it feels a little more manageable compared with a camera that was already quite manageable. 

"Little" is an apt descriptor for a lot of the aspects of the X6. Is this the best 360 camera? Yes, but it's only a little bit better than the X5. If the price isn't a concern to you, sure, get this one. It is so impressively versatile. If you're not so well-heeled, and this is your first 360 camera, the X6 is a lot of money for a camera that you're probably not going to use to its fullest. 

There's also the elephant in the room: The DJI Osmo 360 . Its specs are nearly identical to the X6, with the same size image sensors, same photo resolution, and they both even max out at 8K50 video. From a hardware standpoint, these are extremely similar cameras. There are, however, two big issues.

The first is the app. You can't get DJI's app on the Google Play Store; you need to disable security features on your phone and download it from DJI directly. Not great. The other is, I think, a bigger issue: no replaceable lenses. The lenses on all 360 cameras stick out from the body, making them extremely prone to scratches. Even small scratches can ruin your photos/videos. The X6, like the X5 before it, has user-replaceable lenses. And they're even easier to replace on the X6. As someone who has wrecked several 360 cameras over the years, I would never buy a 360 camera that didn't have user-replaceable lenses, full stop. That said, the Osmo 360 is cheaper than the X6, so maybe that's a gamble worth considering.

The cropped 360

OK, here's the TL:DR: If you're looking to get your first 360 camera, awesome! I'd recommend whatever older Insta360 fits your budget. Alternatively, the images/videos out of the GoPro Max 2 have a different look than what you can get with the stock settings of the X6, one that I think is a little more pleasing, but that's subjective. That said, it's not quite as easy to get as much out of the Max 2 as you can with Insta360 cameras and its app.

If you already own an X4 or X5, the X6 is only worth considering if you know for sure what it can do that your current camera can't. If you shoot at night or indoors, or want to, the X6 is a solid improvement, especially over the X4 and older. If you want it to double more as a high-ish-end 16:9 or 9:16 camera, it can do that better than the others, too. Otherwise, it's probably not worth upgrading until the price drops. 

Lastly, if you're an enthusiast about 360 cameras and especially if you have an older camera (X3, original GoPro Max or older), the X6 is excellent and worth the price.

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