I Took A 360-degree Camera Underwater In Hawaii, And The Shots I Got Blew Me Away

Insta360 X5 waterproof action camera

ZDNET's cardinal takeaways

• The Insta360 is nan premier camera for shooting underwater footage, for $549 connected Amazon.
• Diving accessories specified arsenic nan Invisible Dive Case and Floating Hand Grip guarantee your X5 stays safe successful nan water.
• I had immoderate pairing issues while connected a dive.

I precocious spent a week successful Hawaii for my daughter's wedding, and captured immoderate awesome underwater video pinch nan Insta360 X5. I went snorkeling pinch manta rays, explored nan shoreline afloat of tropical fish, and swam alongside oversea turtles pinch nan action cam, past shared these astonishing experiences pinch family and friends backmost location viewing my contented from nan information of their couch. 

ZDNET's Ant Pruitt reviewed nan Insta360 X5 a mates of months ago, and he praised its performance, truthful I had to effort 1 retired for myself. Although it had been respective years since I utilized an Insta360 X bid camera, I was thrilled to get nan opportunity to trial it retired successful nan clear waters of Hawaii and couldn't person timed it amended pinch nan merchandise of an update that provided caller underwater seizure features.

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What's caller now is Insta360's diving update, bringing AquaVision 3.0 support to nan Insta360 smartphone app and desktop Studio program. In addition, a diving stats dashboard is now disposable for Suunto watches, including nan Suunto Race 2 that I precocious reviewed.

The Insta360 X5 connects to either your smartphone pinch nan Insta360 app aliases your machine via Wi-Fi aliases a nonstop aliases USB-C connection. You tin besides subscribe to Insta360 Plus and person each of your contented synced to nan unreality and past accessible from nan Insta360 app connected each of your devices. 

With nan captured contented now disposable successful nan Insta360 app, plaything complete to nan correct broadside to entree nan Media Processing options and you should spot nan AquaVision 3.0 toggle successful nan Color Restoration conception of nan app.

With nan invisible dive lawsuit and a floating manus grip, nan camera stayed barren while snorkeling astir nan large land of Hawaii, but it did get lukewarm while I was swimming successful nan sun. Regardless, I was capable to seizure awesome footage of manta rays, oversea turtles, and a ample assortment of food whose Hawaiian names I cannot pronounce.   

Matthew Miller/ZDNET

Family and friends were blown distant by nan footage I showed them connected my Z Fold 7. The AquaVision 3.0 paper action offers 4 colour profiles that activity pinch nan AquaVision feature, and nan Insta360 AI algorithm does nan rest. The waters of Hawaii are already clear, but nan AquaVision profiles decidedly enhanced nan footage while besides letting you take nan image's somesthesia and saturation levels.

Also: One of nan astir underrated smartwatches I've tested conscionable group a 55-hour artillery life record

I highly urge nan evening snorkeling escapade pinch manta rays disconnected nan seashore of Kona. We had 15 ample rays swimming and feeding connected plankton beneath our ray boards, and acknowledgment to nan Insta360 X5 I was capable to stock this acquisition pinch group who were incapable to make nan travel retired pinch us. 

We moreover had a Galapagos shark show up, and without nan footage captured by nan X5 I don't deliberation group would person believed nan eight-foot predator was swimming conscionable beneath us.

Matthew Miller/ZDNET

Insta360 besides supports syncing metrics from a ample assortment of information sources, including Garmin, Strava, Coros, and more. My Suunto Race 2 smartwatch has a snorkeling mode and diving mode, and precocious added support for nan Insta360, giving maine nan cleanable opportunity to trial it out. 

One morning, I took nan Insta360 X5 retired pinch me, launched snorkeling mode connected my Suunto Race 2 smartwatch, and was capable to grounds 2 abstracted sessions -- but it wasn't until I returned location that I saw it ne'er acquired nan GPS signal. The video was fine, but it conscionable didn't seizure each nan wellness metrics to sync pinch nan video. I promote you to trial retired nan smartwatch pairing successful beforehand if you want those metrics to look connected your video clips.

Also: I took this 360-degree camera astir nan world - why it's still nan astir versatile cogwheel I own

When you do person a reliable GPS signal, metrics for depth, duration, bosom rate, and h2o somesthesia are disposable to overlay connected your video. I moreover dove down to nan bottommost a fewer times and nan Race 2 captured these dives, but for immoderate logic I was incapable to get nan stats to show up connected nan video and deliberation it whitethorn person thing to do pinch nan clip area alteration that whitethorn not person matched betwixt nan camera and nan smartwatch. I conjecture I'll person to return different travel to Hawaii to trial retired this functionality.

Matthew Miller/ZDNET

In summation to nan astonishing underwater video and photos I changeable pinch nan Insta360 X5, I captured impermanent speeches astatine nan rehearsal dinner, nan sunset meet and shake hands cruise connected a catamaran, and greetings from guests truthful I now person memories that will beryllium enjoyed for decades acknowledgment to Insta360. The video output is outstanding and nan camera moreover picked up audio pinch inheritance euphony playing.