Insta360 X5 action camera review

Insta360 is turning ten years old! It’s hard to believe they have been creating consumer-friendly 360-degree cameras for a decade now, and, well, their brand name is a testament to that. I recently had the opportunity to test the newly released Insta360 X5 camera on my favorite local trails to see how it holds up.

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Insta360 X5 key specs

• 360° camera with replaceable lens
• 185 minute battery life (claimed)
• Up to 8K video quality
• Weight: 201g
• Price: $549.99
• Buy from Insta360

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These are My preferred settings for mountain bike videos is 4k-5.7k resolution at 24-30 frames per second, Max or Action wide field-of-view, and Active HDR. Stabilization is so good now on these modern action cameras, that I let the camera take care of it automatically.

This is my first time testing the brand’s 360-degree X lineup. I thought there would be a learning curve with the user interface, but to my surprise, it is very similar to the Ace Pro 2 user interface.

The touch-screen UI is buttery smooth. Pairing and viewing files on the app was easy as well. This is surprising as some of these 360° video files can be quite large depending on the settings. Insta360 has really put in the work to make editing and exporting easy for anyone entering the 360° camera world. After all, buggy editing applications can ruin the experience.

The Insta360 phone app and connectivity gets a 9/10 from me as I never dealt with any bugs or crashes, but it does drain the phone battery quickly. I used my iPhone 16 Pro Max and new generation iPad Mini for editing. The wireless connection to the X5 seems to drain the battery more rapidly than a direct USB-C connection.

Mounting the Insta360 X5 camera

At the start of my test, I asked myself, “Where should I mount this camera?” I thought about placing it on my chest with the Chest Mount, but I really wanted to capture a different perspective than the typical chest-POV footage I was used to recording. I tried a third-party handlebar mount, but the constant rattling from bumbling down the trails prevented the camera from staying in place, which I blame on the mount. I even thought about mounting the X5 on top of my helmet, but I don’t like my helmet feeling top-heavy. Heck, I don’t even like placing a light up there.

So, I got creative and wedged the included selfie-stick in my backpack’s water bottle pocket. Luckily, my backpack has a strap there that I was able to wrap around the selfie stick to secure it. It is noteworthy, that the camera magically “deletes” the selfie stick from the recorded footage. Neat!

This setup works surprisingly well. The camera stayed in place and out of the helmet’s way, allowing the lenses to get a good rear and frontal view of the trail. This set-up made me feel like I was in a Sci-Fi movie. It’s a much better look than the so-called Teletubby look if you ask me. While I enjoy this new setup, due to the X5’s added heft and unfavorable helmet mounting options, I rate it 7/10 in these categories.  

For reference, the X5 weighs 201g on my scale with a battery and micro SD card inside. Once I added the dual-lens covers and alloy L-bracket, it weighed 238g. For comparison, my Ace Pro 2 weighs 178g with a battery and SD card inside, 205g with the plastic L-bracket. The DJI Action 5 Pro, with a battery and micro SD card, weighs just 145g. These Insta360 cameras do carry some weight that may not favor helmet-mounting.  

Operation on the trail

Pressing the record button produces an audible beep so you know it’s recording. Now I am not a huge fan of shutter buttons, especially when wearing gloves. I wished they were raised more and gave a better tactile feel when pressed. Fortunately, this camera has voice command features.

Easy commands like “start recording” or “stop recording” make for a hands-free operation. The Ace Pro 2 has this same feature, and while great, at times, I had to speak pretty loudly for the X5 to hear me. For that, the camera operation while-on-the-trail category gets an 8.5/10.

Wind noise filter

In my Insta360 Ace Pro 2 review, I applauded it for its great microphone system with an integrated mesh windshield. While the X5 does have a new “wind guard,” it’s just not as good as the Ace Pro 2. By no means is it bad. The digital algorithms that process and delete wind noise are great, but it’s better paired with a fabric wind guard like the Ace Pro 2. I guess I can just stick one of these on next time or connect an external wireless microphone which the camera allows.

Camera quality and clarity

The quality that comes out of this camera is top-notch. I would even argue that it is better than the Ace Pro 2. Video clarity is superb thanks to the upgraded 1/1.28” dual sensors; the colors are vivid without being too saturated, sharpness is well executed, and the Active HDR does an amazing job at balancing low-lit and bright-lit areas.

The camera lenses are claimed to be more scratch-resistant, which I believe, after hitting a few tree branches. The lenses are also replaceable if you happen to crack them. I’m not a fan of the quality of the optional standard lens guards. They would often get smudged and attract dust. While I mostly recorded in 5.7K resolution, the X5 does allow for 8K resolution recording, but due to the very large file sizes, I would recommend sticking to the mountain biking favorable settings I mentioned above.

Long lasting and fast charging battery

High-resolution video recording typically eats up battery, but the Insta360 X5 never let me down with its claimed 185 minutes of recording using a 2400mAh battery. My kit came with two batteries and never needed to swap them while out riding. When charging the camera at home, I noticed how quickly it would charge. Insta360 claims it can charge from zero to eighty percent in 20 minutes. The battery category gets a 10/10 in my book.

The X5 is rated to be waterproof in up to 15 meters of water. While I typically don’t ride my bike in those depths, I can see how that may come in handy for riders in high precipitation environments.

Why film in 360-degrees?

So you may be asking “what benefits do I get from a dedicated 360° camera?”

For starters, the dual lenses allow for a mount-and-forget set up. This camera is designed to capture, well, a 360-degrees field of vision when not obstructed. Up, down, left, right, and anything in between. You can capture what’s in front of you with a wide-field-of-view and at the same time record your buddy who is following you a little too close behind.

You can also make mind-twisting effects that only 360-degree cameras allow for. I am by no means a 360-degree camera expert, but I have owned many action cameras to record my mountain bike rides, and I was very pleased with the greater range of perspectives I can now record with the Insta360 X5 compared to say, the Ace Pro 2. I think I will favor it over the Ace Pro 2 for now or pair them up like I did on some of my rides.

My first time trying out the X5.

All camera settings will be under the YouTube video description for those who are curious.

Scroll down to the bottom of this review to see some comparisons between the Insta360 X5 and the Ace Pro 2 camera. You can get a lot more creative in the app, but I tried to keep it simple for these samples.

Pros

• Super versatile, all-in-one camera
• Scratch-resistant replaceable lenses
• User friendly camera and app user interface

Cons

• Heavier than most action cameras
• Price quickly climbs when bundling accessories

Bottom line

Insta360 did a great job with the X5. They made a very versatile camera with a starting price of $549.99. Many of the new features may intrigue content creators to venture into the 360-degree camera world. Remember, you can take this camera on any trip, not just mountain biking adventures! Whether you are looking to replace your current action camera or compliment it with something that captures more perspectives, the X5 might be worth checking out.