Insta360 Go 3 Camera Review

We received the package quickly after 3 days of ordering on amazon. The camera was delivered in a compact package, including:

Insta360 has always had clever designs, but the Go 3 is perhaps its most attractive yet.
The Go 3’s camera module is smaller than your thumb; it’s a small oval with a lens at one end and a button built into the body.
While the Go 2 attaches to something like an AirPods case, the Go 3 attaches to a case called the Action Pod, which turns the whole thing into something that looks like a GoPro. The Action Pod has a large 2.2-inch touchscreen that flips up vertically, so you can frame yourself in a shot. This is a feature you won’t find on its similarly sized rival, the GoPro Hero11 Mini, making the Go 3 a better choice for vlogging. In our testing, the screen was also very handy for aligning the device when attached to an accessory, to make sure your balance isn’t off, especially when using the included 3×3 leveling grid. When testing on our motorcycle, it was incredibly easy to flip the screen over and double-check everything was still aligned — while we were safely stopped, of course.
The Go 3 can be charged and controlled from the Action Pod’s screen, as well as from the large Record button on the top. The Action Pod also has a power button and quick record button on the left, and a USB-C port on the right. You can also use the Action Pod as a remote control, so you don’t have to pull out your phone if you want to change settings on the camera or see what it’s recording. The Go 3 connects to the Action Pod via a strong magnet and sits with a satisfying thunk. It then locks in place, requiring a press of the unlock button to remove it. One issue we ran into during testing was that to pull the Go 3 out of the Pod, you have to press the release button and tug on the lens cover, as there’s no pull tab of any kind—this may not be a problem, and may be the intended way to remove the camera, but it just feels a little wrong.
The Go 3 with Action Pod weighs 4.65 ounces and measures 2.5 x 1.9 x 1.2 inches, making it smaller and lighter than the similarly priced Hero11 Black (5.4 ounces, 2.8 x 2 x 1.3 inches).
We tested it mounted to the side of a helmet and ran down the highway. Surprisingly, the Action Pod’s magnetic clip was sturdy enough that it didn’t shake the video we shot.
One of the biggest trade-offs of the Go 3 over the GoPro is that the Go 3 doesn’t have any kind of expandable storage, so if you run out of room on your camera, you’re done. In a pinch, though, you can simply export the high-resolution files directly to your phone, then wipe the camera to start over.
Additionally, the Go 3’s camera can only be submerged in water up to 5 meters deep, while the Hero11 Black tops it out at 10 meters. And while the GoPro has a 3.5mm audio jack for connecting a microphone, the Go 3 doesn’t support any external audio, meaning you’ll have to stick with the two built-in mics. Admittedly, this won’t be a big deal for many of the target audience who wear the Go 3 on top of a hat or around their neck while hiking or exploring.

The Insta360 Go 3 has an 11.2mm (full frame equivalent) ultra-wide-angle lens, allowing you to capture a wide field of view. There are four field of view modes (ultra-wide, action, linear, and narrow), each of which essentially reduces the field of view. It can shoot in either landscape or portrait orientation, meaning you can use the camera to shoot YouTube footage or TikTok videos and short social media videos.

Similar to the Hero 11 Black, the Go 3 has a FreeFrame Mode, available at resolutions up to 1440p, that lets you change the aspect ratio of your video after you shoot it. There’s also image stabilization, with an enhanced maximum resolution of 2.7K, which can be shot at 30fps. You can choose from three levels of stabilization, based on the intensity of your activity—the more stabilization you apply, the longer the video preview lag. 1440p can be shot at 50fps for smoother footage. Then there’s 1080p, which lets you shoot more footage and for longer periods of time. In terms of overall resolution, however, the Hero 11 Black can shoot 5.6K video at 30fps.

For fast-paced action, 1440p 50fps is more than enough to give you great video quality. For added smoothness, there’s also 360 Horizon Lock in Free Frame mode to keep the camera level with the horizon, and FlowState image stabilization in General mode to keep footage from shaking when moving over rough terrain.

The camera’s auto exposure does a great job of exposing properly, even on bright days. In our motorcycle test footage, moving from shade to bright light, the camera was still quite fast and accurate. You can use the manual mode available in both the camera and the smartphone app, which allows you to adjust basic camera parameters such as color mode, ISO, shutter and white balance, but we found it performed well enough when left in auto mode.

For shooting in slightly lower light conditions, there is a low-light stabilization mode that helps reduce motion blur caused by the automatic mode slowing down the camera’s shutter speed. However, you won’t want to use this mode when it’s very dark, as it can reduce the brightness of the image too much. Overall, low-light video is poor, even with low-light stabilization. This is to be expected from a camera like this with a small image sensor, but if you’re planning on doing a lot of vlogging at night, the Go 3 isn’t for you.

You can also use the Go 3 to shoot 1080p slow-motion video at 120fps. There are two photo modes—HDR and normal—but they’re pretty basic. You can manually change the exposure settings, but you can’t control where the focus is, so the photo mode is really only for emergencies, since you’re probably better off just using your phone.

The Insta360 Go 3 has dual audio sensors, which capture clearer and stronger audio than previous models. This makes it great for shooting videos in earthquake environments and outdoor activities.
It has good audio balance and has a directional focus mode and stereo mode, allowing you to customize the microphone settings based on your environment and purpose.
However, the lack of an external microphone port takes away a bit of the “action” of the “action cam”, as wearing the Go 3 during fast-paced activities like cycling or riding a motorbike will create a lot of wind noise in the footage. The wind noise reduction mode seems to be ineffective, and it is not possible to capture good voices while riding a motorbike. If you want to record clear spoken audio when using the Go 3 at high speeds, you will need to use a separate external microphone and sync the audio in post-production.

The Spotlight Cam Pro doesn’t have any form of local storage unless you have Ring Alarm Pro. The Alarm Pro has a microSD card slot on the base station that enables the Ring Edge to store and process all video files locally instead of sending them to Ring’s servers. This is expensive for local storage for a security camera, since you have to buy the alarm system and pay a $20 monthly fee for the Ring Protect Pro plan.

If you don’t have Ring Alarm Pro, you have to rely on Ring’s cloud storage, which requires you to sign up for the Ring Protect plan. Plans start at $3.99 a month for a single camera or $10 a month to cover all Ring cameras installed in your home.

Without the Ring Protect plan, you’ll only get motion alerts and live streaming, along with two-way talk for communication.