Insta360 Pro 8K 360-Degree Virtual Reality Camera - With Insta360 GPS Module Kit for Pro Camera

2018-11-12T22:29:51

TLDR. In my opinion there is a serious problem with the compressor in this camera that makes it unusable for professional work. View this online here http://phimedia.com/insta360pro/ I have been using the Insta360 Pro since its release. I have used it to commercially shoot more than 400 locations in and around the South West of Australia. I am in no way a novice. I am a visual effects artist with over 25 years experience in post production . IMDB I own and use daily a number of 360 cameras. Since its introduction I have used the Insta360 Pro and the 360RIZE Pro7E about 50/50. 360RIZE Pro7E ( 7 Gopro Hero4 Black ) Insta360 Pro GoPro Fusion Mija sphere. 360Rize Abysss. I even recently purchased a Insta360 One X. I recently made time to do a side by side comparison of a number of cameras to highlight the problem. Insta360 Pro GoPro Hero4 Black Gopro Fusion Sony A7RII with 8mm Sigma ( just for comparison) You can download the original Insta360 Pro footage here https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1fkCAsof2fbX_UhguFAJLm928DJXMv_ad The video below shows progressive zooms of raw video taken from each of the cameras. No sharpening or colour correction. The GoPros are using a protune flat profile ( because that is how I shoot) The A7RII is using a Cine 3 profile. But this is not about colour profiles or sharpness. I have cropped the images from the different cameras to the same area so resolutions of the crop vary. It concerns the way the footage is compressed. Compare the footage. Apart from the the overly aggressive sharpening, notice how the Insta360pro footage pops every 32 frames. Jump to 1:30 for image comparisons https://youtu.be/qoPHTwpzyZY Looking at the output of any single camera from MediaInfo ( https://mediaarea.net/MediaInfo )you can see the GOP value is 32 frames which corresponds to the “pop” I am no technical expert but it seems when the mp4 codec progresses between I frames there is a very large jump as if the P frames are not encoding correctly. Compare this with the Sony, Gopro Hero and Fusion.. There is absolutely no popping but a smooth transition. Here are 360 exports for the cameras Insta360 Pro https://vimeo.com/300151373 Straight out of Insta360 stitcher Fusion https://vimeo.com/300153559 Straight out of fusion studio Hero4 black https://vimeo.com/300157812 From Kolor Autopano video I frankly cannot understand why no one has noticed this before. I do work in broadcast/film where artifacts like this would be picked up and rejected immediately so my standards are quite high. I suppose it is possible I have a faulty unit but since I have had no response from support I can only assume not. I produce content both for viewing on VR headsets and for viewing on large 65" touch screens where the user navigates the scene by swiping. At this size ( but also in a headset ) the effect is very noticeable. I shoot mostly outdoor nature footage where there is a lot of high frequency ( trees, leaves etc) noise. This is where it is most apparent. I sent information about this problem to Insta360 support in August 2017 and received the standard response. That seems all to common for Insta360 support, thank for letting us know, support is looking at it then you never get a solution . I even contacted them prior to posting this to let them respond but as yet they have not. I waited patiently hoping a firmware fix would come. All the time I continued to shoot with my 360RIZE Pro7E alongside the Insta360 pro. Workflow is (slightly) longer of the Gopro Hero 4 Black rig but the results are so much better for cameras with similar data rates. Better dynamic range and better grade-ability with protune. And no 32 frame pop in the codec either. To summarize. I cannot recommend this camera to anyone wanting to get professional results from it. I also fall into the camp of those who feel like I have paid $ to be a beta tester for their product. I really want to like this product and am even thinking about upgrading to the Insta360 Pro 2 as the data rates are so much higher. But I have to break my silence and warn any serious professional about its serious flaws that make is useless for any serious work.

Mike D.