First Look: Insta360's X5 Is the Best Camera for Travel and Outdoor Adventure

When 360-degree video first debuted, it wasn’t much more than a neat party trick. But Insta360’s latest flagship camera, the X5, has leveled up the game so much that it now isn’t just the best 360 camera out there—it’s one of the best adventure travel cameras available, period.

That’s because the X5 is a serious storytelling tool, perfect for travelers who want to capture their adventures with more depth than a traditional camera allows. Capturing 360 degrees of action and scenery means you never miss a moment: You get that gorgeous sunset and your reaction to it. The hike and the hikers. The big blue barrel you’re shredding and yourself on the surfboard. I’ve used Insta360 cameras for years, and while I’m familiar with and love the older models, the X5 is more capable, more durable, and even easier to use.

New Features for Filming Your Adventures

Let’s start with the basics: The X5 is an 8K camera that uses two lenses—one on each side of its rectangular body—to capture 360 degrees of footage all around the user. That gives you the ability to go back and reframe or pick the best angles from your footage while editing—huge if you’re a mountain biker or skier and need to focus on hitting your line rather than perfectly framing your shot. It also means you can choose and adjust the perspective of each clip while editing, creating a multicamera edit from just a single camera, so you’ll never miss the perfect moment.

Even better, a new feature called Twist to Shoot helps make sure you always get the shot. For instance, if you’re skiing or on another fast-paced, action-packed adventure, you can simply swipe down on the screen to access the Shortcut menu, swipe left, and then select Twist to Shoot to enable the mode before you get off the lift. Once you find a line you want to film, you simply twist the camera back and forth twice and it starts recording—that way you can focus on sending it.

Like its predecessors, the X5 is intuitive to use and still has that awesome Invisible Selfie Stick effect, which removes the handheld stick from your shot seemingly by magic. That translates to wild third-person perspectives and awesome dronelike follow shots without the need for a drone. One of the best new features for travelers is called Bullet Time. You can spin your X5 and get those classic, amazing slo-mo shots in 5.7K 120fps, which is perfect for highlighting epic locations and creating incredible travel montages.

The X5 also includes a new Active HDR mode that helps you capture smooth, super-high-quality video during fast-paced adventures like skiing, trail running, or mountain biking. It films in 5.7K 60fps, so you can get great slow-motion shots. It’s especially helpful in high-contrast environments, like filming a ride or ski run at midday.

Other upgrades include a larger sensor, a more robust build, and, perhaps most exciting to adventure travelers, powerful new in-app editing tools that make it easier than ever to craft and share content.

Better Image Quality

The X5 now uses 1/1.28″ sensors that are 144 percent larger than those of previous models, helping to give the camera significantly better image quality. The sensors capture more light and boast 13.5 stops of dynamic range, taking the camera’s low-light performance to the next level. The real magic comes from a new dedicated low-light video mode called PureVideo, plus a new Triple AI processing chip that helps dramatically reduce noise and ensure a clear, vivid image in darker environments. Trying to film an evening mountain bike ride in fading light was always a challenge in the past, but PureVideo now makes that and other low-light adventures look better than ever.

Increased Durability and Longer Filming Times

Insta360 has addressed one of our chief complaints with other action cameras: They’re meant to be put in harm’s way and take a beating, but become useless when you scratch a lens. The X5 features stronger lenses that are also now easily replaceable—a first for 360 cameras. So, while the glass lenses are sturdier than ever, if you do manage to break one, you can quickly swap in a new lens in the field and get right back to filming.

The X5’s storage and battery capabilities have also been seriously improved. The X5 can record for up to 185 minutes when shooting in the power-saving 5.7K 24fps Endurance mode, meaning you’ll need fewer breaks for charging and swapping cards and can film more of your adventure. Bonus: The camera is now IP68 waterproof up to 49 feet, so you don’t need a case while kayaking, paddleboarding, or shooting in the rain.

AI Editing and Sharing

I’d love to know how much unedited awesome footage lives on SD cards and hard drives around the world, simply because video editing is hard. You know the scenario: You go on an epic trip, shoot tons of footage, and then never do anything with it once you get home. Insta360 has put a lot of work into making the editing and sharing process a more seamless experience. The mobile app’s AI can now automatically identify highlights from your clips and edit them into a Reel or TikTok that’s ready to be shared on your social channels—all in under a minute.

Insta360+, the company’s new cloud service, will automatically back up files to the cloud and can then auto-delete them from your SD card, so you won’t need to pack as many cards with you—a major boon while traveling. You can even edit footage and share clips directly from the cloud through the Insta360 app.

Finally, a new in-camera tool called InstaFrame mode can record a full 360-degree file along with clips that keep you in frame the whole time you’re shooting and can be shared to social media straight from your camera. How’s that for a party trick?

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With a “think bold” mindset, Insta360 empowers people to capture and share their lives in extraordinary ways. Recognized as a market leader and innovator, Insta360’s vast lineup includes the world’s bestselling 360-degree cameras in the X Series, the thumb-sized GO Series for everyday captures, as well as an extensive range of action cameras, gimbals, webcams, and professional photography solutions. With intuitive, AI-powered software, Insta360 simplifies the creative process, allowing users to focus on storytelling without technical barriers. Insta360 is dedicated to helping a new generation of athletes, creatives, travelers, and professionals bring their ideas to life.