Insta360 Ace Pro 2

[Davide DB]

Modesty is my strength

 

 

 

 

[bghazzal]

Wow - modesty, style and all the rest 😅

Surely they need to keep up with the other 2 cameras -
the only thing I see on that, erhm, trailer thing, is the flipscreen... Which is useless underwater, but  likely indicates a desire to court the youtuber (sorry, content creator) market a bit more, as this is a move away from pure immersive / action fovs.
We'll see.
This is purely subjective, but out of the three action cam brands, this one feels a little more chaotic. And not as in iphone-disruption chaotic, more like, a little all over the place chaotic.
But we'll see...

Edited October 19 by bghazzal

[Nando Diver]

Review underwater  Insta360 ace pro 2

 

Almost perfect for underwater, the only drawback is that still filming in 8-bit

 

Image sensor 1/1.3"

8k 30fps 

Pure Video  (for low light)  4K 60fps

HDR 4K 60fps  

Dual AI chip 5nm dedicated for image processing & Noise reduction  

Dual AI chip 5nm dedicated for Processing and camera performance

Field of view  157 degrees

Clarity Zoom x2 (customize power button) 

Customize power button (able to use with underwater housing) 

Underwater Mode Profile (less distortion corners)

1800mAh battery

reverse charging (use has power bank) 

 

Edited October 22 by Nando Diver

[Nando Diver]

Video do evento de Lançamento da ACE PRO 2 

 

 

[Nando Diver]

Mais outra review underwater da ACE PRO 2 

 

 

[Nando Diver]

And another underwater review 

 

 

[bghazzal]

Wow - they're really showering the internets aren't they... Apparently the presskit release included the word "king" 😅
Fun times we're living in, as always.

Anyway, here are some screen captures from the M. Lebo and Aquatic Images (who is a Waterpixel member, if I remember correctly?)

 

Matthias Lebo review, UW footage captures:

"out of camera" useable greatness for people eager to share ASAP

This is with the software to improve the UW image (and give it a bit of an aura as well, apparently)

 

Andreas Fiskeseth / Aquatic images review, UW footage captures:

 

What was the name of that Hendrix tune? You know the one that goes 🎶 tadadeeda, deedadadaaa 🎶 seriously, I wonder where that came from - it looks like lens flare, but at this angle? Glitch in the AI matrix? Should we have taken the blue pill?

 

 

 

 

and round and round it goes...


On UW corner distortion Lebo, compared the three actions cams here:

DJI is abhorrent (compounded with an external wide lens, as previously discussed), and the Insta360 Ace Pro2 might be the Kwisatz Haderach (but then... what happens when an external lens is thrown in the mix?)

***

 

So, all hail the king 👑 or do we bring out the guillotine? (this is the Frenchman in me speaking of course)

As an aside, computational  ("AI" 💻) sharpening (artifacts included free of charge, apparently) and saturation taken to 11 seems to be something of a trend these days - compare with Lebo's latest Iphone16 informercial captures here, showing how good it is, really :

 

Well, similar plus and minuses I'd say - and well, herm, colourful, to say the least 😎

Edited October 23 by bghazzal

[Nando Diver]

@bghazzal Have you considerer to upgraded your computer to 4K 

 

I clearly see diferences between 1080p left and 4K right in 16" MBP M1 

 

Look the details of red fish bottom corner on the left and right side 

 

And also on the top corner on the left, the 1080p is blurry compared with 4K 

 

Even the subtitles, blacks, white, blue, theres more contrast in right 4K 

 

Look at the strange artifact in 1080p  in blue color above the word technology 

 

 

Edited October 23 by Nando Diver

[bghazzal]

Fair enough - the captures were not from 4K, so I'd be reassured if  these artifacts are coming from my aging display!
(but be warned, if you start attacking what's left of my aging eyeballs, I will meet you at dawn to avenge my honor with matched GoPro Selfie Sticks  🧐😉)

 

To compare, what do you get here at 1'46"?

 

 

Edited October 23 by bghazzal

[Nando Diver]

8 minutes ago, bghazzal said:

Fair enough - the captures were not from 4K, so I'd be reassured if  these artifacts are coming from my aging display!

 

What do you get here at 1'56"?
 

 

 

I didn't notice any artifacts.

 

I already test the iPhone 14 and 15 Pro max with Blackmagic Camera app  inside the divevolk case and the image its better than the Gopro, the iphone only lacks stabilisation underwater. 

 

With iPhone you can adjust underwater WB, Zoom etc etc.. 

[Nando Diver]

According to the comment section in the video iPhone PRO MAX 16 the filmmaker uses: 

 

WB Lock while recording. 

Wide Angle shots with Ambient light

Filming HDR then convert to SDR 

1 x Dive light Macro 

2x Dive light for night diving 

 

There a Basic LUT for iPhone in is website  https://courses.matthiaslebo.com/s/matthiaslebo/iPhone-basic-lut-pack

 

Edited October 23 by Nando Diver

[Davide DB]

I will preface this by saying that colors are personal taste but I agree with Ben, the clips shown so far of the new Insta360 and iPhone SOOC are ugly. Artifacts aside, the colors are improbable.

 

I personally prefer colors that are desaturated and otherwise reflect what you see underwater, and don't tell me that underwater we see phosphorescent blue 🙂

Then it is also fine to veer to a creative, more cinematic color palette. But that doesn't seem to be the case.

 

The part of the pseudo review of the new Insta360 Ace Pro 2 that I found most far-fetched is the clip of the turtle descending, shot against the light to show dynamic range. The surface of the water moved by the bubbles looks like real plastic. A sign of heavy image processing by the camera.

Now, I understand that comparing these toys to real mirrorless cameras is an easy target but I don't like not look at things objectively.
IMHO, we have two kinds of problems here:

- These reviews are aimed at an audience that simply wants to press a button and then immediately share clips on social networks or friends. But at this point, in my opinion, anything goes. No point in being nitpick.

 

- Until there is a real filmmaker who takes the trouble to work on settings and post production as one does for any underwater image, we will never understand the real potential of these little cameras.

Final consideration: here we are on an underwater imaging forum, indeed The Forum!
so here we are splitting hairs by definition 😉

 

[Nando Diver]

5 hours ago, Davide DB said:

I will preface this by saying that colors are personal taste but I agree with Ben, the clips shown so far of the new Insta360 and iPhone SOOC are ugly. Artifacts aside, the colors are improbable.

 

I personally prefer colors that are desaturated and otherwise reflect what you see underwater, and don't tell me that underwater we see phosphorescent blue 🙂

Then it is also fine to veer to a creative, more cinematic color palette. But that doesn't seem to be the case.

 

The part of the pseudo review of the new Insta360 Ace Pro 2 that I found most far-fetched is the clip of the turtle descending, shot against the light to show dynamic range. The surface of the water moved by the bubbles looks like real plastic. A sign of heavy image processing by the camera.

Now, I understand that comparing these toys to real mirrorless cameras is an easy target but I don't like not look at things objectively.
IMHO, we have two kinds of problems here:

- These reviews are aimed at an audience that simply wants to press a button and then immediately share clips on social networks or friends. But at this point, in my opinion, anything goes. No point in being nitpick.

 

- Until there is a real filmmaker who takes the trouble to work on settings and post production as one does for any underwater image, we will never understand the real potential of these little cameras.

Final consideration: here we are on an underwater imaging forum, indeed The Forum!
so here we are splitting hairs by definition 😉

 

 

For many years my hobby was home cinema, i still have Ken Kreisel Home cinema speakers with Anthem receiver, but on this house its not possible to have a dedicated cinema room like in the past. 

Ive calibrated my Projector and sound system for the best performance, many many times.

 

Has a video and sound purist at the time, i bought over the years about 300 blurays...yeah copys from the internet sucks...

I still have a server with 14TB with ripped lossless blu-rays for streaming purposes, each ripped bluray has about 50gb each.

A dedicated media player for streaming was the hard part due the lack of "official player" for streaming

The Oppo UDP-203 was the cherry on the top of the cake for the Disks.

 

Objective: Watch the Movie, and listen the HD audio soundtrack has the director intended..

 

Now im on the other side of the camera, i dont have budget, time or experience to get a Red Komodo.

 

Underwater you the Diver, the director, the Producer, cinematographer,  screenwriter, Art Director, Production designer, Line producer, the editor, Music Director, Composer, Gaffer and VXF supervisor.

Just a niche market have their tv, projector and computer screen calibrated for later watch their Clips on post-processing.

 

Like Matthias write at the comments section, he films in HDR and convert to SDR, because the majority of the "audience" dont have HDR displays.

 

Some people are just happy applying a LUT in some action camera Clip to "improve" the limitations of the camera itself.

 

I agree with the part of fake/vivid colours, but the large majority of people buying actions cams are for simplicity to capture some memories in their yearly trip on egypt or thailand.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited October 23 by Nando Diver

[humu9679]

9 hours ago, Davide DB said:

I will preface this by saying that colors are personal taste but I agree with Ben, the clips shown so far of the new Insta360 and iPhone SOOC are ugly. Artifacts aside, the colors are improbable.

 

I personally prefer colors that are desaturated and otherwise reflect what you see underwater, and don't tell me that underwater we see phosphorescent blue 🙂

Then it is also fine to veer to a creative, more cinematic color palette. But that doesn't seem to be the case.

 

 

Agree. Those colors are borderline ridiculous.

[PeterN]

Thanks for posting this topic.  I am currently using a GoPro 11 with two Light and Motion Sola, 3800 lights and the reviews I have seen so far have a lot of examples of natural light clips and auto White Balance.  I would love to see a proper review using a tray and video lights that is more in-depth.  I fully took note of everyone's comments about the "ugly" unnatural colors.  It's those unbiased opions that I love about Waterpixels.  

 

I did notice all the YouTube influencers / reviews dropped on YouTube at exactly the same date and time.  Insta 360's marketing department is working hard!  But they all did seem to be impressed with the new action camera.  But then again they did get a free camera out of the deal - oh my. 

 

It is good to see GoPro being challenged with the newer tech and we as consumers will be the winners after we sort out the good from the bad. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Davide DB]

Another "review"

 

 

 

 

Quoting @bghazzal it's as if all camera reviews were made with the mode dial set to P or Auto.

 

It's now clear to everyone that these reviews are solely targeted at 90% of the typical users in this market segment: users who want to quickly share their clips on social media or with friends without spending time editing or making any corrections. That's perfectly fine, but personally, I'd like this to be made clear in the reviews, right from the title.

Moreover, as I’ve already mentioned, this way of testing them largely undermines the very meaning of a review, unless the title is: 'A vs B – Which of the two cameras has the best SOOC images?'

 

It's a shame because these cameras are often used as crash cameras in high-budget Hollywood productions and even documentary. Of course, they are not set up in this way. So, if there were reviews showing what can be achieved by using the available settings, they would be really useful for everyone, from advanced enthusiasts to professionals.

 

P.S.

New Insta360 Ace Pro 2 has a 157° default FOV like the new DJI (155°). 
I'm afraid that behind a wet lens (AOI or INON) it will have the same problems of DJI... It has a UW mode which supposedly correct corners distortions bu we don't know what happens behind a wet lens.

[Nando Diver]

Gopro 13 VS insta360 Ace Pro 2 VS DJI Osmo Acrion  5 PRO vs Iphone 16pro Max 

 

Part1 

In the video the reviewer say : which of these cameras has the best natural image. 

 

Part2 coming in few weeks 

 

 

[Nando Diver]

In my opinion all the 3 actions cameras for underwater are very close to each other, the iPhone runs in different league.

 

OA5 PRO - the temperature sensor and depth sensor dont work inside the underwater case, its the best camera for snorkeling, its the worse for scuba diving due the Vignette in the corners and low bitrate.

 

ACE PRO 2 - Its "almost" the best for Scuba diving, support 8K30 not 8K60, support 8bit not 10bit, largest sensor for better low light conditions, dedicated preset button for specific setting underwater,  dedicated underwater mode, and dual AI sensor. 

 

GOPRO13 - Support firmware Gopro Labs to squeeze the maximal potencial of the Hardware , support HLG HDR, best with 3rd party acessories for different types of wet lens.

 

iPhone 16pro max - the only one that allow to modify all the settings underwater, supports HDR, but unfortunately it doesn't have SDCARD and to transfers raw file requires more steps , the image stabilisation is the worse overall, its 3x more expensive. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited October 30 by Nando Diver

[Nikolausz]

13 hours ago, Nando Diver said:

Gopro 13 VS insta360 Ace Pro 2 VS DJI Osmo Acrion  5 PRO vs Iphone 16pro Max 

 

Part1 

In the video the reviewer say : which of these cameras has the best natural image. 

 

Part2 coming in few weeks 

 

 

I wrote the following under Matthias Lebo's video, and this is my short opinion: "DJI has really bad corners (otherwise colours look good), iPhone is the most versatile and it has a bit more background separation, Insta clips straight out of the camera are the best, but GoPro is surprisingly good, when there is enough light (but I would use a default -0.5 correction)", which resonated well with the viewers of the channel.

I would add here for more advanced users that due to the accessories and the GP Hero Labs, 10-Bit, and post processing options, GoPro is still a good option, but maybe not the best option. DJI, as a company, has the best potential to grow as the best small camera for content creators but the underwater issues are not properly addressed for advanced users. Somehow AcePro2 handles these issues better (especially the bad corners with underwater mode, compatibility with AOI lens), so if I should choose a new action camera, AcePro2 would be my choice. 

Currently I use a GP Hero 12 and I don't feel the urge to upgrade, because the pure image quality increase is not that big. I still think that a GPHero 12 with an AOI UWL-03 has way better image quality than any of the new generation cameras without such correction lens. Low light issues I can address with external lights and some post processing. Just for curiosity I tried GP 12 during a night dive (it's usually not recommended) and the results were quite OK (still not comparable to my APS-C camera results):

 

 

Edited October 31 by Nikolausz

[Davide DB]

Insta and DJI have a physical obstacle that is the FOV of more than 150°. 
DJI has reduced FOV called “standard” but the reduction is minimal.
Insta seems to have solved it with this software correction of underwater mode.
IMHO the iPhone is terrible. The edges are unacceptable even by my standards which are quite low. I have never seen anyone mount a wet lens. Then even there, the SOOC colors are awful.
Again, until we see a test of someone starting with clips in Log or flat and maybe adding a wet lens we will never know which is better.
I am afraid we will never see such a test.
For HLG/HDR fashion just use our search engine and see the very controversial results on far more expensive FF machines. For now IMHO it is just a useless exercise in style.
 

[Nando Diver]

Gopro 13 VS insta360 Ace Pro 2 VS DJI Osmo Action 5 PRO vs Iphone 16pro Max 

 

Part 2 by Matthias Lebo 

 

 

Edited November 13 by Nando Diver

[Nando Diver]

Winners by categories 

 

Easy to use 

1- Iphone 16 pro max 

2- Ace pro 2

3- Gopro 13 and AO5 pro 

 

Post production possibilities 

1-  Gopro 13 and AO5 pro 

2- Iphone 16 pro max 

3- Ace Pro 2 

 

Low light capabilities 

1- Ace pro 2

2- AO5 pro 

3- Gopro 13 

4- Iphone 16 pro max 

 

General image quality straight out of the camera 

1 - Ace Pro 2 

2- AO5 pro 

3- iPhone 16 pro max 

4- Gopro 13 

 

Unique features

Ace Pro 2 - best results straight out of the camera with no or minimal post productions.

Iphone 16 pro max - maximum shooting flexibility with different focal lengths

Gopro 13 - best to keep using your existing accessories like wet lens

OA5 pro - best compromise between out of the camera and post production 

 

 

[hellhole]

why is an iphone easy to use??  

 

didnt watch the video

[Nando Diver]

On 11/14/2024 at 3:18 AM, hellhole said:

why is an iphone easy to use??  

 

didnt watch the video

The iphone has full accessibility to the settings underwater.

 

I’ve tested the iphone + blackmagic camera app, theres hundreds of settings that we can modify depending de water conditions.

 

My biggest issue was the lack of stability on the iphone.

When they add the stability to the iphone and add external strobes will be a nice travel kit.