Interesting and balanced review. I have the following question. To my feeling - but I could be completely wrong - these cameras fit perfectly with the rather narcissistic time we live in: the self is constantly at the center. I like to make educational mini-documentaries (places of historical interest, etc) on foot, but also regularly on my bicycle. Filming myself is of no importance. It is time to replace my old action cam sony x3000. I hesitate between the osmo action 4 and the insta X4. I wonder: does the X4 walking, but also on a bike have any advantages over the osmo action 4 if you hardly want to picture yourself?
Only that you can reframe X4’s footage after filming it. A 360 camera like X4 isn’t created to be filming yourself. It allows you to capture everything around the camera and then reframe afterwards. If that’s helpful to you then get an X4. If you prefer to frame the shot while filming, then a regular action camera like Action 4 will get you much better image quality than a 360 camera does. Whether you want to point the camera at yourself, or something else, doesn’t really matter.
Thanks for the review from a cycling perspective! I’m interested in the x4, having had fun with the much lower resolution Samsung 360 years ago. Have you considered either the motorcycle mount or the newer stem end cap mount? Wondering if either would be more secure than the bike mount. I believe I read that insta discourage using an extension stick with the bike mount you have linked in the description.
I have the stem mount on test right now. It is much more stable than the bike clamp mount. Insta360 do not recommend using the extended (9’) selfie stick with the bike mount. I am using the standard selfie stick, going forward I just wouldn’t extend it fully. Motorcycle mount is an option but not one I am evaluating.
Julian! Great video! If you don't mind answering a question, how did you mount your camera on your TT bike? I ordered the head mount, but it does not fit perfectly on my TT bike due to the shape of the stem being different than a road bike. Not sure if which of their clamp mounts would work either due to the handlebars being sort of roundish/rectangular rather than circular. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks! I used the insta360 bike clamp for some shots, and hand held the selfie stick for others. It was clamped on the underside of the aero bar. My aero bars are round which helps but they are carbon so I have to be careful when tightening the clamp. Holding the stick is easier on a TT than a road bike. I wouldn’t recommend the bike clamp if you are going to extend the selfie stick, it becomes unstable and does not hold the stick in one place, it starts to drop. If you keep the stick closed up then it’s stable enough. There is a motorcycle clamp that is (I am told) more robust but I have not tested it yet. Hope this helps PS I have the head mount and will test it soon on a road bike, it will not fit a TT as you have discovered!
have you considered using the x4 as a "dash cam" while riding? as advertised it has a run time of a bit over 2 hrs, which for me isn't a problem as I usually take a pit stop around the 2hr mark and my long rides typically don't exceed 4 hrs. I saw a previous video of yours which stated you use a cycliq front cam for "dash cam: purposes. Thank you for your informative videos.
The Cycliq Fly 12ce is on the front of my bike always when riding, it acts as a light and front camera that is always loop recording. I have not considered using the X4 in the same way, you can put the X4 in Loop Recording mode and use it as you describe.
For that I would mount it on a backpack mount with a selfie pole partly extended. That would allow you to get views in front and behind you, as well as some top down view of you cycling. Should be able to see the horizon ahead and get some indication of the steepness of the climb. Stay as central over the bike as you can, if you are swaying left to right while climbing it would be a difficult clip to edit.
I also bought the X4 and it's great for recording cycling footage. Until GoPro upgrades the Hero Max, the X4 is the top-tier 360 camera. I accessorized my X4 with the Utility Rig and standard lens protectors. I have used mine for road and mountain biking. I designed and 3D printed my own third person mount which is approximately 140 mm in length. Even at this distance, you still get the 'detached' front view, but, there is some distortion resulting in convergence of vertical lines at the edges. The distortion could be reduced by decreasing the field of view or even having a longer extension arm. The X4's stabilization worked well despite the X4's bouncing at the end of the arm. One shortcoming: I find the video output is best shown on laptop screens or smaller.
When viewing on UA-cam, go full screen, mouse wheel out, then restore. You get more in the view, helps it look better. According to Hugh Hou the insta360 studio codec is garbage and you need to use premier. I've pulled out the same quality with the Max using gopro cineform codec. I'm a davinci user and not hitting premier. Also watch the qoocam , 10bit .. Hopefully same time as max
Haven’t yet achieved the level of stability I am looking for with X4, the promotional MTB and road cycling videos from Insta360 have better stability than I have seen from real- world users including me. I am not crying foul here, but I am keen to learn how I can smooth it out more without resorting to multiple software packages. Insta360 state that they publish those videos using their own Studio software only. I use Insta360 Studio for Mac to reframe, then import and edit in Final Cut. ….. I could probably secure the selfie pole better, that would help.
Hi Julian. Loved the video. I went through the same thing with the X3 on different handlebar mounts. I first used a combination from Smallrig to set it up and it was ok, but the difference when I stumped up and bought the actual insta360 handlebar bike mount was massive from a stability point of view. I’m not sure it’s an option when you have the tri bars on but on a standard road ride their bike mount is the best I’ve used.
Thanks for your comments. I found it much easier on the TT tri bars to be able to hold the selfie stick in my hands when aero, fingers aren't doing much on a TT bike except changing gears and braking :-) I really didn't like the fully extended standard selfie stick and mount on my road bars but probably my fault for having it fully extended, I will limit the extension in future. I have just got the new Insta360 stem mount which they claim can work with the selfie stick. I will test it in the coming weeks and publish some thoughts on it soon.
@@ThisIsJulianC I hadn’t considered the hands option on the tri bars! In that case I would definitely check out the Insta360 Third Person Bike Handlebar Mount (to give it its full title)
Fair enough. In my experience a screen protector has made no difference to the damage incurred by a screen when the camera or phone has been dropped hard. It might help with surface scuffs and scratches but that’s all. So generally I choose not to use them.
Great video - thank you. Was surprised when the first Garden City popped up after 70 seconds or so!
Thanks …. Glad you liked it 👍
Interesting and balanced review. I have the following question. To my feeling - but I could be completely wrong - these cameras fit perfectly with the rather narcissistic time we live in: the self is constantly at the center. I like to make educational mini-documentaries (places of historical interest, etc) on foot, but also regularly on my bicycle. Filming myself is of no importance. It is time to replace my old action cam sony x3000. I hesitate between the osmo action 4 and the insta X4. I wonder: does the X4 walking, but also on a bike have any advantages over the osmo action 4 if you hardly want to picture yourself?
Only that you can reframe X4’s footage after filming it.
A 360 camera like X4 isn’t created to be filming yourself. It allows you to capture everything around the camera and then reframe afterwards. If that’s helpful to you then get an X4. If you prefer to frame the shot while filming, then a regular action camera like Action 4 will get you much better image quality than a 360 camera does.
Whether you want to point the camera at yourself, or something else, doesn’t really matter.
@@ThisIsJulianC Thanks for the valuable response.
Thanks for the review from a cycling perspective! I’m interested in the x4, having had fun with the much lower resolution Samsung 360 years ago. Have you considered either the motorcycle mount or the newer stem end cap mount? Wondering if either would be more secure than the bike mount. I believe I read that insta discourage using an extension stick with the bike mount you have linked in the description.
I have the stem mount on test right now. It is much more stable than the bike clamp mount. Insta360 do not recommend using the extended (9’) selfie stick with the bike mount. I am using the standard selfie stick, going forward I just wouldn’t extend it fully. Motorcycle mount is an option but not one I am evaluating.
Julian! Great video! If you don't mind answering a question, how did you mount your camera on your TT bike? I ordered the head mount, but it does not fit perfectly on my TT bike due to the shape of the stem being different than a road bike. Not sure if which of their clamp mounts would work either due to the handlebars being sort of roundish/rectangular rather than circular. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks! I used the insta360 bike clamp for some shots, and hand held the selfie stick for others. It was clamped on the underside of the aero bar. My aero bars are round which helps but they are carbon so I have to be careful when tightening the clamp. Holding the stick is easier on a TT than a road bike. I wouldn’t recommend the bike clamp if you are going to extend the selfie stick, it becomes unstable and does not hold the stick in one place, it starts to drop. If you keep the stick closed up then it’s stable enough. There is a motorcycle clamp that is (I am told) more robust but I have not tested it yet. Hope this helps
PS I have the head mount and will test it soon on a road bike, it will not fit a TT as you have discovered!
have you considered using the x4 as a "dash cam" while riding? as advertised it has a run time of a bit over 2 hrs, which for me isn't a problem as I usually take a pit stop around the 2hr mark and my long rides typically don't exceed 4 hrs. I saw a previous video of yours which stated you use a cycliq front cam for "dash cam: purposes. Thank you for your informative videos.
The Cycliq Fly 12ce is on the front of my bike always when riding, it acts as a light and front camera that is always loop recording. I have not considered using the X4 in the same way, you can put the X4 in Loop Recording mode and use it as you describe.
Can you do a video on how to position the Insta360 x4 to climbing up hill or a mountain and show the slop or gradient as you climbing a bike?
For that I would mount it on a backpack mount with a selfie pole partly extended. That would allow you to get views in front and behind you, as well as some top down view of you cycling. Should be able to see the horizon ahead and get some indication of the steepness of the climb. Stay as central over the bike as you can, if you are swaying left to right while climbing it would be a difficult clip to edit.
I also bought the X4 and it's great for recording cycling footage. Until GoPro upgrades the Hero Max, the X4 is the top-tier 360 camera. I accessorized my X4 with the Utility Rig and standard lens protectors. I have used mine for road and mountain biking. I designed and 3D printed my own third person mount which is approximately 140 mm in length. Even at this distance, you still get the 'detached' front view, but, there is some distortion resulting in convergence of vertical lines at the edges. The distortion could be reduced by decreasing the field of view or even having a longer extension arm. The X4's stabilization worked well despite the X4's bouncing at the end of the arm. One shortcoming: I find the video output is best shown on laptop screens or smaller.
When viewing on UA-cam, go full screen, mouse wheel out, then restore. You get more in the view, helps it look better. According to Hugh Hou the insta360 studio codec is garbage and you need to use premier. I've pulled out the same quality with the Max using gopro cineform codec. I'm a davinci user and not hitting premier. Also watch the qoocam , 10bit .. Hopefully same time as max
Haven’t yet achieved the level of stability I am looking for with X4, the promotional MTB and road cycling videos from Insta360 have better stability than I have seen from real- world users including me. I am not crying foul here, but I am keen to learn how I can smooth it out more without resorting to multiple software packages. Insta360 state that they publish those videos using their own Studio software only. I use Insta360 Studio for Mac to reframe, then import and edit in Final Cut.
….. I could probably secure the selfie pole better, that would help.
@ThisIsJulianC I'm seeing 2 mounts when using a pole. Check out @KingKola_ if I remember correctly, he had a video on how he did his ebike.
Hi Julian. Loved the video. I went through the same thing with the X3 on different handlebar mounts. I first used a combination from Smallrig to set it up and it was ok, but the difference when I stumped up and bought the actual insta360 handlebar bike mount was massive from a stability point of view. I’m not sure it’s an option when you have the tri bars on but on a standard road ride their bike mount is the best I’ve used.
Thanks for your comments. I found it much easier on the TT tri bars to be able to hold the selfie stick in my hands when aero, fingers aren't doing much on a TT bike except changing gears and braking :-)
I really didn't like the fully extended standard selfie stick and mount on my road bars but probably my fault for having it fully extended, I will limit the extension in future.
I have just got the new Insta360 stem mount which they claim can work with the selfie stick. I will test it in the coming weeks and publish some thoughts on it soon.
@@ThisIsJulianC I hadn’t considered the hands option on the tri bars! In that case I would definitely check out the Insta360 Third Person Bike Handlebar Mount (to give it its full title)
Cheers, just got my first mountain bike, not ridden a bike in over 20 years 😵
Liked and Subbed!
Thanks… have fun out there on the trails! 👍👍
Ultimate combo is X4 n Osmo pocket 3.
Agree - I'd add in the Hero 12, then that is my perfect combo right now
can I use the bike mount on an aero handle bar? thanks!
I put the bike mount on the aero bar no problem, I had it pointing out to the side so it wouldn’t interfere with my forearm.
Hi! Not sure how to explain this but the slight movement left and right is kinda funky. Like jittery. Makes sense?
Can you be more specific, particular clip or angle? Thanks
That’s caused by the stick that the camera is connected to. It’s avoidable.
How many minutes does the battery last?
Haven’t done a controlled test. I get well over 1.5 hours with 8K recording. Official Insta360 statement is 135 minutes at 5.7K
Great video but the phrase "I don't believe in screen protectors" was a bit silly and made me laugh.
Fair enough. In my experience a screen protector has made no difference to the damage incurred by a screen when the camera or phone has been dropped hard. It might help with surface scuffs and scratches but that’s all. So generally I choose not to use them.
You dont' believe in screen protectors??? You need a video on that. Curious minds want to know.
I do not like the tactile feel of screen protectors and find they offer minimal protection against screen damage when/if I drop it.
@@ThisIsJulianC minimal better than none, no?
This looks like North Carolina.