Insta360 1R Camera Review

Everyone loves capturing memories of awesome river adventures and we love seeing people’s trips on social media. People always ask me what I am using to capture shots from our trips so this article is going to dive into the Insta360 1R. This 360 degree action camera is designed as an entry level 360 action camera to compete with GoPro. Insta360 redesigned this camera to be more waterproof and shock resistant by incorporating better seals as well as enhanced stabilization.

I found the camera to be a little frustrating to use at first with a steep initial learning curve. Being billed as a GoPro competitor I expected that the user experience would be very similar. I am used to GoPros being largely tough point and shoot cameras that are turn on and go. The insta360 initial experience was not that simple.

It’s important to understand that this is not a GoPro and while it can function like a point and shoot, it is not that. It is a more advanced camera with a slightly different focus to it. Shooting with is also requires a bit different eye for detail which I will explain below. The biggest thing I would say that was frustrating out of the box is the fact that you have to register the camera via the app. My phone was not compatible with the app and thus I had no way to use it until I could get a friend who had a compatible phone to help me register it. After that initial phase and the ensuing learning curve I actually find that I like it better than my hero 8 because of how it captures motion.

The other thing I would say is that if you are a more advanced user you will find that it is nearly impossible to use the raw footage in Premiere Pro or IMovie directly. You have to run the footage through the Insta360 program and export it to a .mp4 or .mov file before you manipulate it further. Most users that I talk to in the outdoors don’t really have a problem using the proprietary software since they just use the GoPro app and upload that straight to social media. If you are used to using Premiere Pro or IMovie then the propriety software is simple albeit a bit basic for how you may be used to processing video.

One of the coolest parts I thought about it is that the camera comes with 2 interchangeable lenses. You can also turn the 1 way lens around for easier selfies or if you have the camera mounted on a raft or kayak you can actually see the screen rather than it being on the back of the camera. If you crack a lens, unlike the new hero 8 and 9, you can actually change out the lens.

Ideal Uses

This camera is built as a do anything outdoor action camera. The mountain bike kit that you can get has a ton of accessories for nearly any sport. I have used it hiking and paddling so far in moderately cold water and generally warm temperatures with no issues. I’d like to do another update once winter rolls around to see how it fares in cold air, cold water, and adverse conditions.

Ideally you will want to either mount this to a boat or a selfie stick on the shore to get in the middle of the action. I have tried it on a helmet mount and it is a little odd. They bill it as being awesome on a helmet with some amazing shots on pump tracks with bikes. You have to alter the position of your helmet mount compared to the traditional top mount to get the best shots with the unicorn boom, though I feel like that is pretty unsafe in the water.

The selfie stick option is great since you can be on the shore and get right in your buddy’s face when you’re creek boating. You can get some killer shots if you know where to properly position yourself. I imagine that it would be just as awesome for climbing, cycling, and skiing as it would be for paddling since you can get in the action similar to a GoPro.  

How is it in the water?

It is waterproof to 16.4 ft (5m) has impressive stabilization. I was worried about the seals on the camera components, but it has held up well underwater. Since whitewater is such a tough environment to shoot in I thought it might have a bit of trouble with white balance and the harsh colors. I also thought that the lens would cause a lot of lens flare on the side away from the sun, but so far it has been pretty good at not blowing the entire image out when you are looking at the sun in your footage. This camera’s ability to cope with harsh lighting is pretty on par with what you get from a Hero 8 or 9.

You also have the option to change the white balance, f-stop, and exposure levels on the camera manually, but I find that auto works great since it sucks to manage that stuff while you are engaged in adventure sports. It is cool when you stop to take a break somewhere on a rock and want to grab a quick panoramic photo. You can switch modes with a swipe and fire off photos, just be sure to check the settings since it functions more like a DSLR in photo mode.

The 360 lens is rather bulbous so I am always afraid that the lens will get scratched. Luckily they come with a clamshell lens cap that is pretty solid. I haven’t run a big rapid with the cap on yet, but typically when I am in a situation that the camp might fall off I am actively using the camera.

The 5k 360 mode is cool but it only gets 30 fps out of the camera so a lot of motion can cause issues. It has a 4k 60 mode which is what I typically use since the shots are a little more buttery and I can get better slow mo on the fly.

I haven’t experienced any fogging issues, but that may be a function of boating in temperate conditions for now. I will update this article as I get into winter and experience some colder conditions.

How tough is it?

My initial thoughts were that the modular design of the camera elements would not hold up well on the water. The camera is a 3 part design held together by both the battery and skeleton housing. The lens and the processor/display are separate units that push together (but do not clip). The camera is held together by a clip on the battery. It makes it super easy to change out the battery, but you do have to take it out of the housing to do so.

The housing is a plastic skeleton housing similar to what the hero 5-7 models used so it feels a little flimsy and suffers from the same problems that those cameras did. Currently there are no metal housings on the market, but that may change in the future. I would feel a lot better about a metal housing for rough adventure sports like rafting, kayaking, or mountain biking.

So far there have been no issues with the structure of the camera and no leakage between the parts as the seals are pretty good. You just have to be careful in boating that you do not expose the internals if you change lenses on the river (which I never do) or if you change batteries, but that concern is the same for GoPros so no surprise there.

Important Considerations

• When we look at the color science is a little less rich compared to a hero 8, but Insta360 just came out with a new firmware update and new LUTs that help mitigate this.

• It does have a 2.7k 100 fps and 1080 200 fps mode, but I rarely use those unless I can really frame the shot well.

• There is a lot with this camera that requires you to think about what you want to capture so like I said previously this is probably better suited to folks who are intermediate users who already regularly use action cameras on the water.

• The housing has a couple points for leashes built into it which is a nice touch as well since boaters are very prone to losing action cameras.

• It uses standard GoPro mounts, clips, and screws so if you already have this hardware you are good to go. Basically all action camera mounts have become pretty standard in the last 5 years so you won’t experience a lack of option for how you want to run this setup.

• Make sure you have a phone that supports the insta360 app. If you don’t have a compatible phone to register your camera then basically you need to call a friend or you have one expensive paperweight.

• The display is about half the size of the Hero 8 or 9 so you have a smaller area to work with and less screen space to review footage with. If you have large fingers like me then it can be a bit cumbersome to change the camera angle when you are reviewing footage in camera.

• The fisheye lenses require stitching which the app or insta360 software does for you. If there is a lot of action and lots of things moving in the foreground, but you have a fixed background the stitching is somewhat noticeable, however that can be cleaned up a bit by changing a few setting. It is also not noticeable when you are viewing footage on social media with a mobile device.

• The 360 lens does hold water in odd places on the lens like right in the middle of the field of view. It is helpful if you can add something like rainx to make it bead off more easily. That being said the lens sheds water better when the camera is bouncing around than a GoPro’s flat lens does so that is a bit of a plus for Insta360.

Is it worth the cost?

Insta360 has a dizzying array of “editions” which are basically just bundles for the 1R. I have the twin edition which of all the bundles seems to be the best balance of options and features, but they have a lot of options and a beginner would get a little lost on this camera. Basically the camera is designed of intermediate users who may not be ready to drop the money on a full DSLR or mirrorless digital camera, but want more features that just a point and shoot action cam like GoPro can offer. At the time of writing it is about $100 more for the Insta360 than the Hero 9 as a standalone ($200 if you opt for the subscription to GoPro’s cloud storage) and they are functionally very similar in monodirectional mode. The Insta360 basically offers the additional 360 mode for 50-150 more when you buy a bundle.

The 3 part design allows you to change out the lens for either the omnidirectional 360 lens or the monodirectional wide-angle lens. The monodirectional lens can also be placed facing forward or backwards so that the display is either on the front or the back of the camera. This is pretty awesome since they are basically offering 2 cameras in one so I find that to be a little better value in my opinion since I prefer to have a wider array of options.

My biggest gripe with Gopro is the fact that unless you’re doing something super epic you just don’t get a true sense of how violent things can be or what it really feels like to be there. The coolest part about the Insta360 is the ability to keep the camera even more stable in post processing while really capturing what it feels like to be there. You can freely rotate, tilt, and pan the camera in any way you want. You can get super creative with the field of view and distance to the subject in post processing. This allows the subject to move and rotate without any of the action getting clipped out due to the aspect ratio cropping parts of the footage. If you are boating and your raft is pitching violently you can keep the camera stable and fixed on the pool at the bottom while allowing the boat to freely rotate in the frame…super cool!

Again, I would reiterate that the camera is not really a beginner camera, but if you previously owned a GoPro you will feel pretty at home on this platform with a lot of advanced features you will enjoy. Overall I think this is a pretty great platform for adventure sports and for intermediate users this is a good camera at a decent price point. I’d probably pick one of these up over a GoPro for the novelty of having more lenses to shoot with on the same camera body and also because I can squeeze a little more epic shots out of it.