Turn your iPhone into a 360° camera—an all encompassing view for your pocket.
As you unpack the Insta360 camera, you can see that smart minds were even called upon to design the packaging. The sturdy white box doubles as a virtual reality headset. Also included in the package are a short yet detailed and easy to follow QuickStart Guide, a small soft pouch with a draw cord, a USB charging cable, and the slim silver coloured camera itself. All components look and feel well manufactured.As you unpack the Insta360 camera, you can see that smart minds were even called upon to design the packaging. The sturdy white box doubles as a virtual reality headset. Also included in the package are a short yet detailed and easy to follow QuickStart Guide, a small soft pouch with a draw cord, a USB charging cable, and the slim silver coloured camera itself. All components look and feel well manufactured.
The camera alone weighs a mere 70 g and, due to its compact dimensions (110 x 33 x 21 mm) slips easily into most pockets. The two lenses are slightly off centre to one another, each covering a 210° radius. The on/off switch also serves as the release button if you decide to use the camera without an iPhone. The iPhone connector (from iPhone 6 onwards) and a slot for a MicroSD card complete the picture.
The first time you connect the camera to your iPhone, a message pops up asking you to install the app. Not a problem as it is free and intuitive to use. You can use the Insta360 with or without the iPhone, but with the iPhone and the app you have access to more features: you can see what you are filming or photographing; the shots are stored directly in the app and can be sent as a link on social media for example. Photo and video quality are good (3040×1520 pixels @ 30 fps)—I wouldn’t expect a 4K resolution in this price bracket.
Each panorama shot is processed INSTAntly in the camera to create a 360° frame; lengthy processing on a PC is no longer necessary. In fact, the recordings are processed so quickly, you can livestream straight from the app to YouTube. Even the seams in a 360° picture are virtually unnoticeable making the Nano camera comparable to equipment many times its price.
The camera is not visible in the picture so that the hand you are holding it with appears empty—which is a bit freaky. You can however cover up the spot using the app to import a logo or something similar.
Unfortunately, the camera does not have a thread for a tripod, but with a little creativity you can make your own stand. A stand and a small tripod are available as optional accessories. The 800 mAh battery is good for up to one hour of continual use. If you’re on the road, you can recharge the camera using a power bank. All in all, the Insta360 Nano is a highly practical and portable alternative to more common 360° cameras—this is a value for money piece of equipment which has me convinced.
