Insta360 Sphere: The invisible drone 360° camera

Insta360, GoPro’s biggest rival in the action camera market, just announced a new 360° camera specially designed for the DJI Mavic Air 2 and Air 2S drones. Insta360 Sphere is a ‘wearable’ 360-degree drone camera that allows capturing incredible footage in which the quadcopter is totally invisible.

Insta360 Sphere offers immersive footage, without the need to have professional flying or editing skills. Powered by Insta360’s industry-leading software, Sphere unlocks endless ways to create killer content from drone footage.

DJI’s AIR 2 series are safe and powerful flying machines that can lift easily the weight (192g including battery) of the Insta360 Sphere. Equipped with 3 (Air 2) respectively 4 (Air 2S) direction obstacle avoidance sensors, you can focus on what you want to capture.

The Sphere camera system attaches to the drone with an ultra-secure locking mechanism that allows being installed/removed in less than 1 minute. Insta360 claims that there is zero impact on the drone’s structural integrity, and it doesn’t obstruct the GPS signal or the communication system. The camera has 5 main parts:

• Mounting cage
• Lens module 1
• Lens module 2
• Control unit (Power and Record button)
• Power unit (Battery)

The Insta360 Sphere is powered by its own inbuilt battery that provides about 48 minutes of recording time.

Immersive 360 aerial footage without the learning curve

From awe-inspiring landscapes to urban vistas, drone pilots have been capturing stunning aerial footage for years now. But, the key limitation of wide-angle cameras is that they can only capture in one direction. A user’s ability to get the best footage is dependent upon their flying abilities and the maneuvers they are capable of pulling off in real-time.

That’s no longer the case with Insta360 Sphere. By filming in 5.7K@360, users can adjust the angle and camera direction in their video after the fact. Using the easy reframing tools in the Insta360 app and Studio desktop, anyone can add thrilling rolls and turns to their aerial footage in post, achieving FPV-like footage on an easy-to-handle drone.

Shooting with a 360 camera also opens up the option of getting multiple edits from the same flight, in addition to the wide-angle footage from the drone itself.

A truly invisible drone

Many drone users are accustomed to mounting a 360 camera above or below their drone to get 360-degree footage. But since 360 cameras film in all directions, this means that half of the video is often obstructed by the drone itself, requiring tedious post-processing or paid video editing software to remove it.

With Insta360 Sphere, the camera’s lenses are precisely mounted on either side of the drone to ensure the drone is invisible in the resulting footage. Insta360’s proprietary dynamic stitching algorithm makes the whole drone (including the propellers) disappear automatically, leaving the user with glorious, uninterrupted shots.

Smooth flight, smoother shots

Killer image stabilization is crucial to getting immersive aerial footage. Insta360’s proprietary FlowState Stabilization technology has been fine-tuned for Insta360 Sphere to ensure super steady aerial footage, no matter the conditions.

Technical specifications

Price and availability

The Sphere360 drone camera is available from May 24, 2022, in the U.S. and Mainland China at store.insta360.com and retails for $429.99.

Safety recommendations

• Insta360 Sphere is not water-resistant. Do not use the camera in or around the water, including in the rain;
• This camera is only suitable for experienced and highly skilled drone pilots. Users are fully responsible for any issues caused by using this camera during drone operation (unless caused by a product defect);
• Always take off in an open outdoor area, with the drone 5-10 meters (16-32ft) away from the pilot. Do not hand launch or land the drone;
• To ensure flight safety, keep the drone within your visual line of sight. Stay away from obstacles, crowds, and bodies of water. For detailed flying guidance, please strictly follow official instructions/guidelines from the drone manufacturer.
• Check that all parts are firmly connected before use;
• Check the drone’s blades before the take-off;
• Do not fly at an altitude of more than 1000 meters above sea level. High altitude flights will reduce the power redundancy and safety of the aircraft;
• Do not fly in harsh or unpredictable conditions, such as heavy winds or extremely cold conditions.