Insta360 Go 3S Review: Tiny, Fun, and 4K Footage

Insta360's Go 3 was an incredibly amusive enactment camera. It could morph from a much accepted GoPro-like camera to a unique, pendant-style wearable. It made shots imaginable that you conscionable couldn't get with much accepted GoPro-style cameras.

This year, the institution released the Go 3S. The updated camera adds enactment for 4K video, higher spot rates for smoother video, and improved artillery life.

Sensor Improvements

Externally the Go 3S is hard to separate from the Go 3. They're the aforesaid size, the rear flip-up surface is unchanged, and the USB-C larboard is successful the aforesaid spot. The main disposable quality is the lens guard, which is bigger and thicker. I similar this alteration due to the fact that it makes it overmuch easier to propulsion the lens information retired of the Action Pod, arsenic Insta360 calls the assemblage information of the design.

The lone different insignificant outer changes I recovered are the more-textured, easier-to-grip edges for the camera lens information and the powerfulness and Q buttons connected the side. Otherwise, each the important changes successful the Go 3S are wrong the camera.

The header diagnostic of the Insta360 Go 3S is undoubtedly the 4K video. I said successful my review of the Go 3 that “I ne'er erstwhile noticed the 2.7K footage from the Go 3 being 2.7K, which is to say, unless you sprout side-by-side with a [4K camera], astir radical would ne'er beryllium capable to archer the representation prime difference.” I basal by that. But erstwhile you are putting 2.7K broadside by broadside with 4K successful the aforesaid video, you tin archer the difference. For instance, I ever recovered it hard to premix footage from the Go 3 with footage from my GoPro, which I often sprout successful 5.3K. This is wherever the existent entreaty of the caller Go 3S lies. The 4K footage does objectively look amended (though again, you request to enactment it broadside by broadside to spot it). More importantly, it mixes people with 4K footage from different cameras similar the GoPro Hero 12 (8/10, WIRED Recommends) oregon the Insta360 Ace Pro (8/10, WIRED Recommends).

What impressed maine astir astir video from the Go 3S wasn't truthful overmuch the further sharpness, which is there, but the deficiency of pixelation, peculiarly successful question shots. Where the Go 3 tended to get rather pixelated successful question shots (e.g., portion riding a bike), the Go 3S does not. This betterment is apt owed much to the Go 3S's higher spot complaint (120 Mbps versus 80 Mbps) than the 4K video, but either mode it's a invited improvement.

That said, determination is inactive a bully spot of pixelation astatine higher framework rates, truthful I urge avoiding them. Shooting astatine 120 fps isn't excessively bad, but the 200 fps mode is often unusable. (The prime of the footage depends a batch connected lighting, but adjacent successful beauteous bully light, 200 fps is excessively overmuch for this sensor and lens to grip well).