Insta360 Go is an incredibly small wearable camera with big image stabilization
Smaller than your thumb, the camera is ready to record shareable video clips with a single button tap.
- More than two decades experience writing about PCs and accessories, and 15 years writing about cameras of all kinds.
The Insta360 Go is a tiny wearable camera for capturing life's little moments and then easily sharing them with family, friends and followers. It's a camera category that hasn't really caught on like its counterpart the action cam, though, and while I don't think the Go will be any different, it's certainly an interesting entry.
One of the biggest things the Go has in its favor is the company behind it. Insta360, though not a household name, has made innovative 360-degree cameras for years (another camera category that's struggled to catch on in a big way). The video processing and strong electronic image stabilization it developed for those cams have seemingly trickled down to the Go.
The camera is unbelievably small, too. The white, oblong camera -- it looks like a jumbo Tic Tac with a camera lens on it -- has a magnetic back, so you can quickly snap it onto one of its included mounts or attach it to a metal surface to expand the creative possibilities.
Along with the camera, you get a magnetic lanyard that works through a shirt; a tripod mount that works with an included sticky mount; a magnetic sticky mount; and a magnetic clip mount. The camera charges in a little AirPod-like case that also has a Lightning connector on the bottom for transferring images to your
iPhone
. A Micro-USB port on the case handles charging, while an included Micro-USB-to-USB-C cable lets you send content to Android devices. The whole package will set you back $200.
The resolution maxes out at full HD at 25 frames per second for standard video and 1080p at 30fps for hyperlapse and time-lapse videos. Recording slow-motion clips drops the resolution to 1,600x900 pixels at 100fps. It'll also snap 5-megapixel photos. The only control is a button on the back that can be activated by pressing on the logo on the camera's front when mounted.
Its companion app can be used for changing settings and controlling the camera over Bluetooth. It's also where you'll find Insta360's FlashCut autoediting feature. Load in some clips and AI takes over to beat-match edits to music, which can result in a lot of fast cuts, breaking up an entire day into a short video for sharing. The AI can also sort content by themes and the quality of shot compositions.
The main things the Insta360 Go gets right are size, stability and overall simplicity. I've only just started testing the Go, and the firmware and app I'm using aren't final. I don't quite have a complete picture on image quality and performance just yet. The photos and video likely won't outdo your phone, but the app's editing capabilities might be what makes the difference.
Does a small wearable camera like this make sense in a world where even entry-level
phones
have good cameras? Let me know in the comments.
