Insta360 Ace Pro Diopter 1 +2 +4 distance comparison close focus sharpness bokeh hyperfocal vlogging

Edit:
Without diopter, the camera's pane of focus starts around 80cm away from its lens
With +1 diopter, decent focus starts around 40cm away from the lens until around 90cm.
With +2 diopter, decent focus starts around 25cm until around 55cm.
With the +4 diopter, decent focus starts before 10cm away from the lens until about 25cm.
The usable ranges seem to be a bit larger in both directions, when filming real world scenarios, not pixel-peeped tape measure dashes ;)
I like the +2, because in "selfie mode" it puts ones' eyes at the back end of the focal pane, allowing for greater blur of the background.
And here is a link to the video about how I mounted the diopter to the camera lens protector:
• READ ⬇️ ! Insta360 Ace...

[@MatthewTaylor3]

Thank you for doing this test. I now understood why the +2 is the sweet spot.

[@luminodotcity]

Glad it was helpful, thanks for letting me know!

[@davrider3786]

First video on YT where testing this DIY setup with different lenses.
Nice 👍🏻 I have waited for these.
Thank you !

[@luminodotcity]

Thanks for leaving a comment and "critizism", even if positive ;-) This is the real currency of YT.

[@BennoSattler]

I second that!

[@luminodotcity]

Thx ! @@BennoSattler

[@harrislam]

Hey, thanks for making this video. Possibly the first and only video on UA-cam that does this. This is a great experiment, however I would suggest that you put objects or at least pictures at different distance checkpoints. Maybe a pen at 20cm, a fruit at 40cm and a printed mug at 60cm, with the end of the ruler at 75-ish cm as it is in the video right now. Then we will be able to accurately tell if things at those distances are in focus with each diopter. Right now the video does not have objects of reference.

[@luminodotcity]

Good idea!

[@TechieTard]

Thanks for taking the time. My wife is encouraging me to do some YT instructional for various things I create or work on. These will help in focusing the closeups.

[@luminodotcity]

Glad it was helpful!, thanks for the feedback!

[@TakemesomewhereniceMCR]

Just received all my parts for this project, this is such a useful demo. I also think a +2 is sufficient for vlogging, but all have their uses. Thank you! Great work.

[@luminodotcity]

Good to hear, thanks - hope it turns out great!

[@jayyyishere]

wowww, i never knew i could do this, thx a lot for this man!

[@luminodotcity]

Glad I could help! Bokeh on action cam 🙂

[@potofuus]

At last a real objetive video! Thanks!
What manufacturer are your filters from? the ones I bought turned out horrible

[@luminodotcity]

I believe it was a set of these ones:
"PROfezzion 52 mm Diopter Filter Kit,(+2, 4, 8, 10)"
mixed with one by a brand called 'smardy'.

[@BennoSattler]

Useful - thanks!

[@luminodotcity]

@BennoSattler Someone had to do it :-))

[@BennoSattler]

@@luminodotcity Indeed!

[@markr041]

This is indeed very useful, but it is difficult to read the numbers. Based on your valid test, why don't you write out the distance range of sharpness for each diopter that you found.?

[@luminodotcity]

Excellent idea, thanks! In the meantime, try to zoom into the clip, and you will see better!

[@luminodotcity]

I exported the 4k-frames, and it was most of all difficult to clearly see what is well in focus, due to the shallow angle of my set-up. Any steeper angle would distort my findings of course, so I do not really know how to make this better.
I did put the estimated focal ranges I found in the description though, so you are welcome to check them!

[@BennoSattler]

@@luminodotcity Excellent, thanks!

[@markr041]

@@luminodotcity Thanks.

[@mp7161]

​@@luminodotcitywhy haven't you used more light? The image is pretty dark and doesn't allow to see where exactly the focus is

[@staminizecompany]

how do you increase the zoom of the insta360 acepro?

[@luminodotcity]

Double-tap the rear touch screen ;)

[@staminizecompany]

@@luminodotcity yeah that is right, but if I want more zoom, what I need to do and buy?

[@luminodotcity]

Frankly, a different camera.
Action cams do not have a zoom lens. The 'zoom' is done via using a smaller, inside area part of the image sensor. The same way cropping works, when you cut a photo to emphasize its middle area. You lose pixels then, which in most cases is diminishing picture quality (unless you know exactly what pixel-per-area-ratio='resolution' you need for your purpose.
A zoom lense always uses the full sensor with all pixels, by changing the angle of light directed at it.
Again, action cams do not have this 'optical' zoom capability, so, cropping is your only chance here.
As an aside: The ace pro is unique as it actually usues an 8K sensor.
When not 'cropped in', it uses all pixels on it, but 'mixes' every four pixels into one, giving a very sharp 4K image out.
If you double tap/'crop', the cam uses only the inside !/4th surface area of the sensor, each pixel once, to give you a 2x 'zoomed' image out, which STILL has 4K resolution though ;)

[@sayajohans]

Which diopter is the best for vlogging?

[@luminodotcity]

It depends what you want to achieve :)
A dipoter +2 or +3 even I would use, to have face in focus and backgrounds soft, looks classy to me.
If you have a lot of (sun) light, it can be compensated by the cameras' fast shutter speed. But movement looks more natural if that does not go above double-frame-rate.
So, I keep ND 4 and 8 around.
A polarizer is really pushing it, but if you want the sky as blue as in reality, it needs to go on top (and it needs to be turnable 360 degrees, the fixed one-offs are useless :)

[@harrislam]

@@luminodotcity Seems +1 or +2 is good for family vacation (when camera is at 2-3 ft distance with more than 1 person in frame). +3 or +4 is good for actual UA-camr style of vlog where your face covers half of the screen.

[@andy.underwater.videos]

I'm going to add a +1 or +2 diopter to my DJI Osmo 4 when used in a small underwater dome. The images are all soft at the mo using the dome, this will fix it.