Over the years, Insta360 has become the "synonym" of panoramic cameras, which can be understood as Apple/Ferrari/Shenzhen Bay No.1 in the field of panoramic cameras. Its position in consumer panoramic cameras is that after seeing the data of 40% of the global market share, the first reaction is "emmm? Why only 40%?" The kind of.
On September 8, two years later, Shadow Stone Insta360 X3 was released, and the price increased by 200 yuan to 2998 yuan. The product is upgraded to a 1/2-inch sensor with a "giant" 2.29-inch screen, more microphones and physical buttons, more reasonable design and better workmanship. The price is getting thicker and heavier. It seems that the choice is not bad, but is it still the most worth buying panoramic motion camera?
Specifications
The core is CMOS, photo and video specifications and screen upgrades:
Dual Sony IMX586, 1/2 inch, 4800W, 1 μ m, F1.9 aperture (the previous generation was 1/2.3 inch+F2.0)
Take up to 72 million pixel photos (1800W in the previous generation)
Dual lens maximum 5.7K 30fps HDR or 4K 60fps video, the maximum bit rate increases from 100Mbps to 120Mbps (the previous generation has no HDR video, the maximum 5.7K 30fps and 4K 50fps)
Single lens maximum 4K 30fps and 3.6K 60fps (previous generation maximum 1440p 50fps)
Bullet time up to 4K 120fps (the previous generation was 3k 100fps), with 8K 30fps delay photography added
2.29 inch screen+4 entity keys, 1800mAh battery (previous generation 1630mAh)
114x46x33.1mm, 180g (previous generation 149g, 29.8mm thick), bare machine 10m waterproof
Price 2998 yuan (previous generation 2798 yuan)
Cold knowledge:
Insta360 officially righted its Chinese name, "Shadow Stone". Previously, Real Me Realme and Huami Jump Me Amazfit operated similarly.
Yingshi's consumer panoramic camera series has been the fourth generation: ONE in 2017 (looks like the large GO 2), ONE X in 2018, ONE X2 in 2020, and X3 in 2022
X3 has no "ONE" prefix. Its name has shrunk the most this year, one character less than that of the early generation.
Use scene of panoramic camera: individual shooting+creative video
The tonality of the company can be seen from the product line of Insta360. These panoramic cameras, modular ONE R/RS, and wearable camera GO/GO 2 are all video creation tools for interesting or special perspectives/shooting methods.
Official one click template
The FlowState anti shake algorithm of Shadowstone, which "no matter how the fuselage rotates, the picture can be kept horizontal by the gyroscope", can adjust the picture proportion in the 360 degree panoramic equipment in the later stage without damage, and theoretically has the most violent digital anti shake effect (the entire field of view is photographed, and it can be digitally cut).
According to the characteristics of the output video, the target users of panoramic cameras are mainly two groups:
Panoramic camera is full field of view recording, that is, it can Shooting before shooting . It has irreplaceable advantages in high-speed or user unavailable scenes, such as racing, cycling, skiing, surfing and other high-speed scenes, or vlog and other single shot scenes. Like part of the car reviews of the super fast partner Wang Jieke, the single person shooting can achieve the effect of being followed by someone without having to pay attention to the composition in the early stage.
Those above are actually derivative uses of panoramic cameras. Panoramic equipment was originally used for shooting Immersive VR photos/videos Used. In addition to the panoramic photos that real estate agents like and can record the entire space with a click of the shutter, ordinary people use the most classic VR material collection to take photos of tourism, festival activities, family gatherings and other scenes. Although the clarity is limited now, it is just like looking back to the digital photos 20 years ago, In the future, you will thank yourself for being the first batch of people to record VR/AR panorama history, recording those wonderful moments in the form of panorama.
Translation is Sports fans, video workers and life recorders Our low-key Shenzhen Bay No. 1 resident is naturally the latter.
In addition, there are panoramic tachographs for bicycles/motorcycles/cars, even hanging on UAVs, or biting the camera in the mouth to create a "strange kind of" effect, or walking through a narrow space, or the exaggerated lens perspective effect that Wong Kar wai likes. Shadowstone App has a large number of operations that can be copied, all of which are one click templates.
Appearance and packaging
Accessories include protective sleeve, mirror wiping cloth, data cable and belief sticker, instructions ↑
Insta360 left shadow stone X2, right shadow stone X3
The thick one is X3 ↑
Insta360 left shadow stone X2, right shadow stone X3
The side material of Shadow Stone X3 becomes hard, the microphone speaker is changed to a more attractive mesh opening, the Type-C port cover is also changed to a more comfortable and convenient rotating shaft, and the mode switching entity button is added below the power key. The lens is decorated with a circle of metal, and the shutter button (still with a raised logo) on the screen side is equipped with a lens switch button.
The weight jumped from 149g to 180g. For the 31g, the difference in body feel is comparable to the change from iPhone 14 to iPhone 14 Pro Max, which is much more obvious than the increase in thickness 。
The most obvious change must be the "giant" screen, whose painting style jumps from the 20th century to the 21st century.
3D curved tempered glass, comfortable side sliding! The content of the system UI has doubled, but the screen area has more than doubled, making the font and icon huge. The 200kg fat people said they could use it well, and the interaction became much more comfortable.
Screen micrograph of shadow stone X3 ↑
The shadow stone X3 screen is a standard RGB arrangement, and the ppi fineness is between 720P and 1080P. The fruit grain is relatively large, and PWM dimming is used, without automatic brightness. The peak brightness of the screen is close to that of the previous generation, very bright, and the visibility in the sun is OK.
When the screen grew up, the volume and sound quality of the speaker (prompt tone and playback) of Shadowstone X3 were greatly improved. This generation has added a vibration motor, which has sufficient vibration force. The body feel makes you feel that it is like a rotor motor and a Z-axis linear motor, but At least the operation feedback is that the previous generation is undoubtedly tortured and killed.
Shadow Stone made the status indicator light extremely bright this time, and even added 2 entity keys. Really, I cried to death, Users who just bought ONE X2 also cried to death.
Interactive: 2.29-inch "giant screen"
The UI and touch response of Shadowstone X3 is fast, but the key word of overall interaction is slow.
The higher definition screen and dual 4800W sensors bring huge pressure, and the speed experience reminds me of the Nokia Lumia 1020, which is also very similar to the Android phone with 2K screen in 2014 and 100 million pixels in 2019: power on (8, 9 seconds), image storage time (4 seconds for taking photos in INSP format, 13 seconds for INSP+RAW or Prueshot), mode and lens switching (another 3, 4 seconds) They are obviously slower than the previous generation, and the duration has almost doubled. Fortunately, the camera doesn't need to interact with each other at ordinary times. It's just a machine guy who struggles with the functions.
During the video recording, the shooting resolution will be reduced by two gears. The quality of the picture back to the 1980s also confirms that the two IMX586 are really good.
In addition to making interaction more comfortable, the new "large screen" is actually a core improvement that can make it easier to adjust the viewfinder (automatically generate keyframes according to the operation) during shooting, which greatly facilitates the later control of lens movement. The added two entity keys (lens and preset mode switching respectively) can be used in underwater/cold/riding environment and other scenes where it is impossible to touch the screen or wear gloves, which is quite practical.
In terms of function, this generation has added the following mode (similar to Apple's automatic character tracking in front camera, which means automatic shooting when rounded off, but the cutting is too fierce, with a maximum of 1080P 60 frames), cyclic video (optional recording interval of 1-30 minutes, and the single car/motorcycle users who use the panoramic camera as the DASH CAM are ecstatic).
The previous generation has: a very loud AirPods connection (can be radio and voice operated, voice triggered video recording/photographing/power-off/marking), remote control with Apple Watch, intelligent speed adjustment, bullet time 2.0 of any axis (in the movie, the picture of "people are still, but the lens rotates around the target") AquaVision underwater color restoration (correcting underwater tone and contrast), PC video chat/panoramic live streaming and so on are all available.
With a few exceptions, this generation has cancelled the support of H.265 format, which may be because most computers can't cut or even broadcast high-resolution H.265 video? But for users like me who only shoot but don't cut, I lost the good method of compressing video capacity.
Comparison of panoramic science popularization and picture quality
When it comes to 360 degree panoramic equipment, we have to pour a basin of cold water on everyone first - the discrimination at this stage is completely inadequate. The panoramic device has too large view and low CMOS utilization.
Fish eye lens imaging ring ↑
The 360 degree picture has several times the field of view of the ultra wide angle lens (each scene has few pixels). The circular imaging circle of the fish eye lens can only use 58.9% of the pixels (the inscribed circle of the rectangle at 4:3) theoretically on the 4:3 CMOS.
In addition, the angle of view of the front and rear two shots must be greater than 180 degrees, so that the seamless 360 degree picture can be synthesized by overlapping a part of the picture, so the actual pixel utilization rate can be 50%, which means that you can snicker. Finally, the edge of the lens itself will be severely compressed, and the algorithm will be used to stretch the edge (which will cause noise amplification).
Therefore, on the 4800W IMX586 Shadow Stone X3, the available pixels on the short side cannot be higher than 6000 pixels:
The actual single lens mode photo of Shadowstone X3 has a maximum of 3200W, accounting for only 67% of 4800W. The maximum dual lens 7200W photo is 11968 * 5984=71616512, which is 74.6% of the dual 4800W pixels (nearly 100 million pixels).
The utilization rate of video is lower. The 8K delay video is 7680 * 3840=29491200 (less than 3000W), which is 31% of the dual 4800W pixels. The highest 5.7K video recording is 5760 * 2880=16588800 (less than 1700W), which is 17.3% of the dual 4800W pixels (probably 4in1 pixels)
Translate it, "four writes and five inputs" is calculated as 6K video, which is distributed to the visual field of the naked eye (70 degrees horizontally+43 degrees vertically). The definition is only 720 degrees, and if the picture is not blurred, there will be ghosts.
For panoramic devices, heap pixels are the first thing. The HMX with 100 million pixels and 1/1.3 inch (the default output is 2700W) of Shangmi 10/Xiaomi 11 may be better than the 1-inch CMOS with 2000W.
Size comparison of sensors of different specifications ↑ (the horizontal and vertical intersection position is the percentage value)
Then I will tell you a cold knowledge. Before 1/2 inch, CMOS sensor is 1 inch corresponding to 18mm, and 1 inch later corresponds to 16mm, So a 1/2 inch sensor is only 5% larger than a 1/2.3 inch sensor.
The image quality of Shadowstone X3 is improved by a larger aperture and higher pixels. Even though the IMX586 is dragged down by the Quad Bayer array, the physical pixels are four times as many as ONE X2 (1200W), nearly half a billion pixels.
Comparison of four modes, overall
Comparison of 4 modes, central magnification of field of vision ↑
First, compare the image quality of different photographing modes. In actual measurement, although the maximum HDR photography is only 18 million pixels, the picture details are not much worse than the ordinary mode of 72 million pixels (equal to multi frame synthesis and Quad Bayer). The INSP files in the normal mode (which can be compared to the normal jpg output) are sharp and smeared violently. The Prueshot (which can be understood as the post-processing of RAW format) does have the most picture details, but the appearance is not as pleasing as the HDR mode. The RAW format selection in HDR can also bring a higher dynamic range.
But the price of PrueShot and HDR-RAW is 10 times the file size and 3 times the waiting time: the previous generation RAW is only 35M, INSP is less than 6M, while the X3 INSP file is more than 10M, and the RAW file is more than 134M. The waiting time also jumped from a few seconds ago to 13 or 14 seconds.
So save flow: Unless you are in a hurry or the target is moving, ordinary HDR photography can save space, speed and effect.
Shadow stone X3, different lighting environments, fish eye perspective of panoramic photos ↑
Shadow stone ONE X2 and X3, HDR-RAW sample comparison
Comparison of shadow stone ONE X2 and X3, HDR-RAW proofs, central magnification of field of vision
Shadow stone ONE X2 and X3, HDR-RAW proofs, light scene comparison
Shadow stone ONE X2 and X3, HDR-RAW proofs, light scene contrast, central magnification of field of vision
Compared with the previous generation, the film and television hurricane said that the improvement was not great, which scared us to retest, but the results were still very different.
No matter day or night, or photos and videos, the picture details of Shadowstone X3 are at least 1 to 2 gears better than those of the previous generation. If it used to be "1 meter high definition, 2 meters anti aliasing, and 3 meters avatar", now it is at least "1 meter anti aliasing, and 2 meters avatar".
Shadow stone ONE X2 and X3, video comparison
Shadow stone ONE X2 and X3, video contrast, central magnification of field of vision
Rival iQOO 10 Pro is a 50 megapixel JN1. With vivo's algorithm, it is not weak in mobile phones
Of course, double 4800W is still not enough for panoramic shots, There is still a huge gap with mobile phones in ultra wide angle ↑。 Panoramic cameras are still more suitable for taking indoor close ups, while outdoor distant views are still taking a contour.
In addition, Shadowstone X3 can finally shoot panoramic HDR video. The images of the two lenses of the panoramic camera need to be merged. Generally, only the exposure can be balanced. Without HDR, it is difficult to give consideration to highlights and dark parts. The dynamic range of HDR video of Shadowstone X3 has been significantly improved, and the intensity is relatively restrained. Large light ratio scenes such as seaside and sunny days are also OK.
Endurance&Heating&Charging
The official endurance of Shadow Stone X3 is 5.7K 30fps video for 81 minutes. Measured 51% of the electricity, 5.7K 30fps recorded 5% of the electricity and automatically paused, 46% of the electricity recorded 39 minutes of video, and conversely, the automatic recording stopped from full power to 5% is 80.5 minutes, which is very close to the official standard.
The charging time of official logo is 90 minutes, and 5V 3A charging. However, the actual "reverse false label" is very serious. The peak power of shadow stone X3 is 13W, which was more than 10W in the first 32 minutes, and dropped to 4W in 45 minutes, ready to close. This power is more than enough for 1800mAh batteries, and it is trickling down in the later period. The power supply head that does not support PD has a peak value of 10W, which is sufficient.
The endurance of Shadow Stone X3 is basically enough for one afternoon off and on. Anyway, it can be connected to the power supply, and the charging is very fast (much faster than some flagship of RMB 10000 20 watt fast charging). It can even be directly connected to the power supply by unplugging the battery, Surprise！
Shadowstone X3, like all sports cameras, heats up quickly, but it has a "big screen" to help dissipate heat. The body feels that the temperature rise is slower than that of the previous generation. The hottest area is the area on the right side of the logo, while the screen is more than 10 degrees lower when working:
The room temperature is 27.5 ° C, 5.7K30 frames of video recording, the highest temperature area, 46 ° C for 5 minutes, nearly 50 ° C for 10 minutes (at this time, the highest temperature is less than 37 ° C on the rear screen), 52.5 ° C for 15 minutes, 53.2 ° C for 20 minutes, 57.5 ° C for 27 minutes, and nearly 59 ° C for 30 minutes (45 ° C on the screen surface).
The normal handheld area is the side of the fuselage, whose temperature is lower than the screen, and the side is only warm 30 minutes later. Screen off can significantly delay the temperature rise, but the temperature is fierce after 10 minutes. After half an hour of continuous shooting, it was still very sour when I accidentally met the front: "Nothing but skilled hands".
Post processing: polarized mobile terminal and PC terminal
Panoramic camera is still the ultimate "instant pleasure, later crematorium". The alchemist of steel is right, they are all equal exchange. There is no need to take pictures easily in the early stage, but it is troublesome to take pictures manually in the later stage.
Two years later, the PC end and file management of Shadowstone still remember its original intention - it is still a big pit. Panorama video is two video files. HDR photography defaults to three stacks. Add RAW files and the automatic file names of dolls. When the memory card is opened, people are silly. The PC terminal is still unstable and poorly optimized. The same operation can make the R5-5600X several gears slower than the Snapdragon 8+mobile phone, can only be exported to Pr, and does not support Leonardo da Vinci. This is a clich é.
Official "Tutorial" ↑
It is strongly recommended to complete rough processing on the mobile phone first, then on the computer, or even on the mobile terminal The gap between PC and mobile client is too big. In addition to processing speed and efficiency, the late view taking experience of mobile touchscreen is also more natural and efficient than that of using the mouse to poke. Long press can trigger deep tracking (frame the target and let the camera follow). The basic editing operation experience such as speed change and transition is better than that of your own PC, which can directly add beauty and music, as well as a large number of one button templates.
The new version of the App (only iOS at the deadline, Android has not yet been updated) has even helped ordinary users with the one click film function. AI has solved the new automatic viewfinder, wonderful picture excerpts, transition effects and background music in a coordinated way, without even looking at the tutorials and templates. If you just go to the circle of friends to collect likes at the first time after outdoor activities, concerts or family gatherings, the mobile terminal can meet all your wishes. Believe me, don't touch the PC terminal.
But as a master of Pr, I must stick to the PC side. So I have become a Buddha. The panorama of the original material is the most interesting. I don't shoot videos for the sake of my circle of friends. The original is true. After a few years, reliable VR/AR glasses became popular. They are the earliest and most precious VR videos. It's not because of laziness. Don't misunderstand me (I wiped my sweat nervously. jpg)
Peripheral accessories
Peripheral accessories, recommended index from high to low:
A 120 cm invisible selfie rod worth 69 yuan. The effect is cool, and the price is not expensive.
129 yuan lens protection cover. The fisheye lens protrudes too much, and the fuselage is heavy. If it falls down, it will kill or injure. This is a must if it is used frequently.
Left flash memory partner, right charging audio adapter
The flash memory companion of 349 yuan is cheap and expensive. In essence, it is a card reader with C+Lightning ports, and its effect is similar to the external recording of a camera. Even if the body has a card inserted, it will default to the card on the flash memory partner (if it is loose, the material will automatically switch back to the card on the body). After shooting, it can be directly connected to the phone to edit, eliminating the process of exporting, and it can be completed in one go. It supports iPhone, but the C port iPad can only use iOS's own file app, resulting in only flat pictures or videos (Cook!).
The 199 yuan battery and the 299 yuan charging steward, the battery is incompatible with the previous generation... Yingshi X3 can play with one battery for an afternoon, and it can also take a video shot, so the urgency is not high.
Bullet time rope box is 99 yuan. It can shoot time slow motion videos that revolve around itself like movies. They are fun and can be used less frequently, but they are better than those of Universal Stud. They can also be moved to other devices.
The 3-meter super long carbon fiber selfie stick (the longest one in the picture above) worth 599 yuan may be the cheapest and largest carbon fiber product that ordinary people can buy. With a 180g camera hanging 3 meters away, it's needless to say that the shooting effect is also first-rate (manual funny. jpg)
29 yuan silicone lens protective sleeve (not expensive, but the factory bag is more practical than it, and there is no extra cost)
The charging audio adapter is 89 yuan (as the name implies, the headset is connected to the headset port, and the C port is charged. But the body microphone is actually OK, and the necessity is not high)
IPX8+50m waterproof waterproof shell is 499 yuan (if the bare machine's 10m waterproof can't satisfy you, you probably won't care about this 500 yuan)
summary
Shadow stone X3 is now below 4000 yuan No panoramic camera worth buying 。
Friendly companies and their own products make the shadow stone X3 of 2998 yuan look cheap: now the official store of ONE X2 is 2448 yuan more, and in two years, Little Sweetie has become Mrs. Niu, but only 350 yuan lower... The market price of the single panoramic module of ONE RS is also close to that of the GoPro MAX in 2000 and 2019, which also sells for 3998 yuan (the official store has a history of 3500 yuan lower).
Go up, QooCam 8k consumer version in 2019, double 1/1.7 inch 2000W CMOS, 4000 in that year (now only the industry version, priced 1.75W), and now the flagship ONE RS1 inch panoramic version Shenghui 4998 yuan.
The price and image quality were improved, which made weight gain, operation circle and blurred video preview suddenly forgivable. Pinch your fingers and figure out that the Shadow Stone X4 will not come out until at least 2 years later, during which time it should not be stabbed by the back.
The most realistic user comment of panoramic camera is.: Before you buy a sports camera, you should know whether you have time to live. The pictures are for reference only, and interesting life needs to be purchased separately. The pain is really too painful.
Panoramic camera is like the periscope telephoto of mobile phone. Its use frequency is absolutely low. However, there is no direct connection between the frequency of use and the importance. As long as they are available, they are important occasions. Even if the current discrimination is not enough, its perspective and effect are irreplaceable. So I have a special compartment in my backpack, where I keep ONE X2 and GO 2 all the time, which is not available in the charging treasure.
Finally, when ONE X2 was just released two years ago, I said that it was the best choice at the same price. Sorry, ONE X2, I'm the one who cheated first in our relationship
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