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00:00Hey guys, I'm Tom the Tech Chap and this is, by far, the most fun I've had making a video
00:04in a long time.
00:05Oh, headshot!
00:06I've been testing the new Insta360 GO 3, the latest iteration of the world's smallest
00:12action camera and thus is last year's go-to.
00:15It shoots high resolution, we get better image quality and colours, the GO 3's battery lasts
00:20up to three times longer, 45 minutes by itself and 170 minutes in the action pod.
00:26And when you mount it in this very nifty new and improved action pod, you can shoot
00:30up to three hours.
00:31And another big upgrade is thanks to the improved heat dissipation, there are no limits on the
00:35max video length.
00:37You can keep shooting until you fill the internal storage, which is either 32, 64 or 128GB,
00:42or until the battery runs out.
00:44So here's the pitch.
00:45It's a tiny camera, about the size of your thumb, with a magnetic mounting design and
00:50together with the bundled accessories and maybe even a bit of your own ingenuity, you
00:54can put this thing anywhere.
00:56Places that regular full-size action cameras simply wouldn't fit.
01:05For example, most cameras can be mounted on top of an RC car, we've all seen that before,
01:09but what about on the inside?
01:11For the driver's POV, normally you can't do this, but the GO 3 is so small it fits
01:15inside the RC car's cabin.
01:18And the flow state stabilisation, together with the 360 horizon lock, which is available
01:22in some of the modes, do a great job at smoothing out the bumpy ride.
01:25I mean, you can see how much the car is shaking as I drive over this dirt track, but the video?
01:30Buttery smooth.
01:32But when you are this small, you have to watch out for things that might want to eat you.
01:39So I've teamed up with Insta360 for this video to show you what the GO 3 is capable
01:44of and why you might want to add one to your camera arsenal.
01:48So before we dive in properly, let me unbox this for you, see what comes bundled, and
01:52then I'll show you how to use it.
01:56Ironically, think big is the slogan of this tiny, tiny action camera.
02:02It really is small.
02:04No screen, just the camera lens, two buttons on the front, and the magnetic mounting strip
02:08on the back, which like the action pod, also now has these more secure clasps.
02:13In the box we have a quick start guide, which is worth having a quick peruse through if
02:17this is your first playthrough.
02:18And then we have the various mounts, including this little clip on, which I found great for
02:22putting on the brim of a cap.
02:27And then one of my favourites, this magnetic pendant that you wear with a retractable cord,
02:31and also this rubbery angle adjustment insert that pops on the back.
02:35Then we have the main action pod, which gives you a more traditional action camera experience.
02:41And then finally, this pivot stand, which has an adhesive on the base you can stick
02:45to pretty much anything, and can also be unscrewed, revealing a screw mount which you
02:48can attach to a tripod, which you can also get from Insta360.
02:52All in, there are four mounts in the box, including the action pod.
02:56To get started, pop the Go 3 into the action pod, turn it on and then download the Insta360
03:01app, which you can get on iPhone or Android, and then simply pair your new device.
03:05After a couple of minutes of setup, including a few software updates, you're good to go.
03:10Now we're up and running, let's start with where you might want to use this, and also
03:13how you might want to use the different mounting options.
03:15So you can use this in a whole bunch of different ways.
03:18You can just actually use the Go 3 itself, you can turn it on and off, press record,
03:22take a photo with it, and then you can place it wherever you like.
03:24You can then of course mount it on the various mounts, and then you can also attach it to
03:30the action pod.
03:31Now this is the biggest redesign versus last year's Go 2, and this action pod not only
03:35charges the camera, but you also get a flip out screen, so you can preview what you're
03:41looking at and also control the settings, and actually my favorite part is once you
03:44take it out, you can actually place this wherever you like, because obviously it doesn't have
03:48a screen, you can put it in the smallest of places, but you can live preview the feed
03:53on this wherever it is, up to 5 meters, or via the Insta360 app on your phone.
03:59I even got some great POV footage of me driving hands-free by mounting the Go 3 between my
04:04teeth.
04:05I was literally biting onto it, and it's so small, it actually works pretty well.
04:10So the Go 3 uses a magnetic mounting system, but you can also just attach it to, I don't
04:14know, your fridge, or your BMX.
04:23Although it's this guy I found myself using most of the time.
04:26You can attach the Go 3 by itself, or in the action pod like I have here, and then we have
04:30a ball head at the top, so you get lots of flexibility.
04:33Now the best bit about the Go 3 is that you really can just mount it anywhere you want.
04:39So I'm going to mount the Go 3 underneath, like so, and you can get some pretty cool
04:45shots from places you wouldn't expect.
04:48Also this is definitely 100% me, I did not switch out for my buddy James, who can't actually
04:52ride a skateboard, that's me.
04:54Look at me go.
04:57So after a little while, the adhesive on the bottom will lose its strength, but you can
05:02just rinse this with water and it'll become sticky again.
05:06This is one of my favourite accessories, it's the magnetic pendant.
05:09So you simply wear it like a necklace around you, and then this is magnetic, as is the
05:15Go 3 obviously, and it simply pops on like so.
05:18And to be a little bit more inconspicuous, if you want to go into town, or into a shop,
05:23or just, you know, not be that obvious that you're filming, pop it onto the pendant.
05:27It's that simple.
05:28And then you can just walk around with a camera strapped to your chest, hands free.
05:33It's great for point of view shots, like if you're driving and you need two hands on the
05:35wheel, or maybe if you're doing a bit of guerrilla shooting, but when you aren't recording it
05:38does have a flashing red light, so people can see if they look at it, but it's a bit
05:43more subtle.
05:44So it's mounted, and I could use the ActionPod to see the live feed, but I'm actually using
05:48the Insta360 app here.
05:50Ready James?
05:52And sometimes, it's okay if your tech gets a little bit dirty.
06:06It's an action cam!
06:08It is worth noting though that both the battery and storage are baked in.
06:11You can't swap out the battery or a microSD card for example.
06:15However, shooting in 2.7K30, I can record just under three hours of footage, and battery
06:20will last around three hours recording at 1080p or about 90 minutes at high resolutions.
06:25So right now my battery is running a little bit low on the Go 3, so I'm just going to
06:28pop it in the ActionPod and keep shooting with it in here while it tops it back up.
06:33Now it varies by mode, but you have two aspect ratios, three resolutions and four frame rate
06:37options to choose from, and also four field of view options.
06:41You've got ultra wide, action view, linear and narrow.
06:44And as you can see, there are a lot of modes to play with here, 10 to be exact.
06:48Now video is, well, regular video.
06:51This lets you shoot in the highest resolution, 2.7K at 30fps or 1440p at 50, and you have
06:56three levels of flow state stabilisation built in.
06:59Now I would use this mode for less action heavy shots where I want the highest resolution,
07:04or if I don't want to edit the footage afterwards.
07:06It's nice and simple.
07:07But then we have free frame video, which is kind of hard to say if you have a lisp, but
07:12this was previously called Pro Mode on the Go 2, and I reckon this is the best all-rounder
07:16and ideal for action, sports or getting POV shots, particularly as it turns on the 360
07:21horizon lock.
07:22So even in the bumpiest conditions, the horizon stays level and crucially, it gives you the
07:26most flexibility in post.
07:28The only downside really is video tops out at 1440p 50 and there is no 2.7K option.
07:35The best part though, is editing all your photos and videos is really easy using the
07:39Insta360 app, which you can get on your phone or tablet, or you can download the studio
07:44app for Windows and Mac.
07:45There you can adjust the flow state stabilisation, the field of view, do you want action view
07:49which compensates for the lens distortion, or do you want linear or a custom field of
07:53view.
07:54And you can also reframe and change the aspect ratios to 16 by 9 for YouTube or 916 for socials.
07:59You can add filters, trim the footage, there's even a handy AI editing tool, and when you're
08:04done you can export it and it's ready to share.
08:08Then we have timelapse, which is pretty straightforward.
08:10Here I am helping Mrs Tech Chap unload the van after her wedding, she is an incredible
08:14florist and timelapses are great if the camera is static.
08:18If you're moving then you'll want to use timeshift, which captures a hyperlapse and
08:22I'm pretty impressed how well it copes in these driving shots.
08:25It handles the changing of exposure and also the pretty shaky diesel van owls driving and
08:29all the bumps that came with it.
08:30Although as is the case with all action cams really, image quality can suffer in lower
08:35light, particularly with noise, so brighter conditions are ideal.
08:39Now for my next trick, let's put it in slow motion mode, which gives us 120 frames per
08:43second at 1080p.
08:56Then we have loop recordings, which record continuously and then when you press the record
08:59button it saves the last segment, between 1 and 30 minutes.
09:03Starlapse gives you a long exposure using multiple photos for a cool star trail effect.
09:07Then there's interval, which is another kind of timelapse but it takes a photo at preset
09:11intervals between 3 seconds and 2 minutes and then stitches it together.
09:14And then we have the two photo modes, with HDR photo, as it says on the tin, taking a
09:19photo with a wider dynamic range, and once you import a photo into the studio app it'll
09:23automatically optimise it for you.
09:25So lots of modes, lots of fun ways to use this and on the whole I'm very impressed
09:29with the design, the accessories, the picture quality, the stabilisation and even the app
09:33and the studio editor are all really easy to use.
09:36However, there are a couple of limitations worth mentioning.
09:39Firstly, the fact that it can't shoot 60fps is a bit frustrating.
09:43I mean 50 is fairly common in European PAL video standards but for most people, including
09:48myself, we want to shoot at 60 on an action cam.
09:51And also, the new 2.7K resolution is only available in the standard video mode and also
09:56only at 30fps.
09:58Not being able to swap out the battery or the storage is a bit of a limitation, especially
10:01for longer shoots.
10:02Also while the Go 3 itself is water resistant to 5m or 16ft so you can take it in the shower
10:08or in the pool with you, the action pod is only IPX4 splash resistant.
10:13So yes, there are some limitations but for a tiny, versatile and infinitely fun action
10:17camera, the Insta360 Go 3 is definitely worth a look at and I'll leave a link in the description
10:22if you want to check it out.
10:23Any questions?
10:24Leave a comment below and also let me know what you make of this.
10:28Thank you so much for watching guys.
10:29If you enjoyed the video, a like and subscribe would be amazing and I'll see you next time
10:32right here on the Tech Chap.