The best small 360° action cam on the market
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(Image credit: Sam Kieldsen)
(Image credit: Sam Kieldsen)
T3 Verdict
Reasons to buy+AI-powered in-app image editing+Solid image performance+Waterproof and rugged design+Allows you to create horizontal and vertical videos of the same footage+Can be used as a webcamReasons to avoid-Stitching still not perfect
Reasons to buy+AI-powered in-app image editing+Solid image performance+Waterproof and rugged design+Allows you to create horizontal and vertical videos of the same footage+Can be used as a webcam
AI-powered in-app image editing
Solid image performance
Waterproof and rugged design
Allows you to create horizontal and vertical videos of the same footage
Can be used as a webcam
Reasons to avoid-Stitching still not perfect
Stitching still not perfect
Why you can trust T3Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you.Find out more about how we test.
Why you can trust T3Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you.Find out more about how we test.
Insta360 X3 deals
760 Amazon customer reviews☆☆☆☆☆
760 Amazon customer reviews☆☆☆☆☆
☆☆☆☆☆
$379.99View$426.99$379.99View$399.99View
$379.99View
$379.99View
$379.99View
$379.99
$379.99
$426.99$379.99View
$426.99$379.99View
$426.99$379.99View
$426.99$379.99
$379.99
$399.99View
$399.99View
$399.99View
$399.99
$399.99
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Insta360 X3 review in a sentence: The Insta360 X3 is the best 360 action camera to buy today, thanks to the small but significant improvements over the X2.
Insta360 has firmly established itself as the king of a particular niche: 360-degree action cameras. With its X and One range, the Chinese company specialises in small, lightweight two-lensed cameras that film or photograph everything around them, allowing the user to reframe later.
With the new X3, Insta360’s mainline 360 camera range just got its first generational update since 2020’sInsta360 One X2. Let’s see how this fresh arrival shakes things up and where it sits in relation to thebest action camerascurrently available.
[First reviewed Oct 2022]
[Update April 2024: Insta360 launched the successor of the X3, which we reviewed here:Insta360 X4 review. You can see how the two compare here:Insta360 X4 vs Insta360 X3.]
Insta360 X3 review: specifications
(Image credit: Sam Kieldsen)
(Image credit: Sam Kieldsen)
Insta360 X3 review: design and setup
The X3 also features a removable battery which, when taken out, reveals a slot for a Micro SD card. Another flap gives access to the USB-C port that the X3 uses for charging and file transfer purposes. Both these doors are waterproof, and like its predecessor, the camera can be submerged to a depth of 10m without the need for a separate case. The basic X3 kit does come with a soft protective case, though, and this will keep the lenses covered and scratch-free while the camera is in your pocket or bag.
The X3 is lightweight and compact enough to fit in a small jacket pocket, but its design and grippy rubberised exterior make it fit nicely and securely in your hand. You’ll often be using it mounted on a selfie stick or other accessory, though, and it features a standard tripod thread on the bottom for that purpose.
The setup is simple. While you can use the camera without one, you’ll need a smartphone running the Insta360 app if you want to get the best out of it. To get them paired up, open the app and choose the option to connect with a new camera, then tap the X3 when it appears. This will then ensure the firmware is up to date and allow you to quickly reconnect the devices via Wi-Fi in future.
Insta360 X3 in the Insta360 X3 Invisible Dive Case(Image credit: Matt Kollat/T3)
Insta360 X3 in the Insta360 X3 Invisible Dive Case
Insta360 X3 in the Insta360 X3 Invisible Dive Case
(Image credit: Matt Kollat/T3)
Insta360 X3 review: features and usability
The X3 comes with a range of handy features, although not a huge amount of new stuff compared with the X2. The X3 retains superb auto-levelling and image stabilisation technology, which uses gyroscope data to keep your footage smooth, lined up with the horizon and far less likely to make a viewer queasy. It also keeps the ability to remove a selfie stick from footage and photos, giving the impression that the camera is self-suspended in mid-air, drone-like, rather than attached to a pole.
The huge range of shooting modes remains, too, giving users the ability to capture Matrix-like bullet-time sequences; time-, star- and hyper-lapses; HDR photos and videos; looped recordings (aka dashcam mode); and videos in vivid, standard and log picture profiles. If you’re happy to splash some cash on accessories, such as theInsta360 X3 Invisible Dive Case, you can even shoot unobstructed 360-degree footage underwater!
There have been slight improvements made to some of the above though, as well as new additions. Perhaps the most significant new feature is the 4K single-lens mode, which turns off one of the two camera modules to provide a more traditional action cam field of view. Here, video can be recorded in 4K quality at up to 30fps or at lower 3.6K, 2.7K and 1080p resolutions at up to 60fps. There’s also a new vlogging-centric “Me Mode” shooting setting, which keeps the user automatically centred (and selfie stick hidden) in a 180-degree video – it makes things a bit simpler than on previous X cameras, where you’d have to shoot in 360 and reframe these videos to keep yourself centred.
(Image credit: Sam Kieldsen)
(Image credit: Sam Kieldsen)
In terms of usability, things are solid. The physical buttons on the camera don’t have a lot of travel, so it might be a bit tricky to use them if you’re gloved up while skiing or similar, but with bare fingers, they work a treat – and vibration feedback helps to let you know that your presses have been registered.
Finally, the Insta360 smartphone app works well. While not as slick and solid as some imaging apps, it’s improved a lot over the last couple of years and offers users a huge range of hints, guides and effects to use in order to create and share interesting sequences shot with the X3. I personally preferred editing my 360 videos on the Insta360 Studio desktop app to using the mobile app, but as a method for controlling the camera remotely, the mobile app is more than up to the job.
(Image credit: Sam Kieldsen)
(Image credit: Sam Kieldsen)
Insta360 X3 review: image quality
With the X3 packing new sensors and improved lenses (they go from the X2’s f/2.0 aperture to a slightly brighter f/1.9 here), we were hoping for a generational leap in image quality over the X2.
The bad news? We don’t get that. While the X3 is certainly an improvement on its predecessor in terms of dynamic range, it retains the same 5.7K maximum resolution and frame rates for general 360 video. These videos look crisp and punchy when shot in bright daytime lighting, but in trickier conditions, there’s a softness and smear to them (which, to be fair, is something we’ve seen with all of these types of small 360 cameras).
When viewing footage on small smartphone screens, this isn’t bad at all, but pixel-peepers will notice it plenty on larger screens, and if you’re a ‘serious’ videographer trying to shoot 360 footage to integrate into your lush-looking films shot mostly on mirrorless cameras, the difference in quality will be quite stark. Perhaps expecting too much from a pocket-sized camera is unfair, and as we say, the X3 does improve on the X2. 360-degree stills, for instance, can now be shot at 72MP resolution rather than the X2’s 18MP, and the new Active HDR video mode allows it to capture detail and highlights and shadows with image stabilisation applied.
(Image credit: Sam Kieldsen)
(Image credit: Sam Kieldsen)
Insta360 X3 review: verdict
While the Insta360 X3 isn’t a great leap forward over its predecessor (and we wouldn’t advocate buying it if you already own an X2), it’s definitely a marked improvement in many areas, particularly the screen, while retaining the great features and rugged, compact design that made the X2 so likeable and fun to use. If you’re looking for a first foray into the world of 360-degree video and photos, the X3 is the ideal entry point.
Insta360 X3: Price Comparison
760 Amazon customer reviews☆☆☆☆☆
760 Amazon customer reviews☆☆☆☆☆
☆☆☆☆☆
$299.99View$379.99View$426.99$379.99View$399.99ViewLow Stock$698$469.95View
$299.99View
$299.99View
$299.99View
$299.99
$299.99
$379.99View
$379.99View
$379.99View
$379.99
$379.99
$426.99$379.99View
$426.99$379.99View
$426.99$379.99View
$426.99$379.99
$379.99
$399.99View
$399.99View
$399.99View
$399.99
$399.99
Low Stock$698$469.95View
Low Stock
Low Stock
Low Stock
Low Stock
Low Stock
$698$469.95View
$698$469.95View
$698$469.95
$469.95
Show More Deals
Show More Deals
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