I have never owned a GoPro, but started 360 photography in 2005 with a mirror-ball add on for a digital camera. I’ve owned 360 cams from Giroptic, RICOH, Kodak and now have Insta360 and DJI.
While my RICOH had better photos than the ONE X2, I got a ONE X2 because it had better software and was more fun. I instantly used a "worse" camera more than any of the other models I had.
As I moved from X2 to X3 to X4 to X5, each comparison always had some things I thought the earlier model did better. With my DJI Osmo 360, I got it specifically for low light, hoping it might be my "go to" for low light situations, and the X5 for everything else.
I’ve already seen alot of footage comparing it to other cameras, and some things look better on the Max 2, and other things look worse. Personal preference is a b-tch ;)
What do you expect the niche of the Max 2 to be? What are the things that GoPro does better?
I have a pocket, action 4 and 360. Each have their purpose. Where any will help over an iPhone the most is audio quality with a DJI mic. In terms of what to buy both the 360 and action can shoot without wide angle distortion. So it’s choosing gimbal and easier selfie recording with the pocket vs waterproof and tough but needing to aim and accessorize more with the action.
What do you actually want from the camera? If it’s to be used as a dash cam, then neither, get a proper system fitted.
If it’s for socials or your own enjoyment then option 1, however don’t press record as soon as you sit on the bike, if you’re riding locally you’ll know the good bits, hit record just before then, if you’re out somewhere new, use the road signs to your advantage and hit record when you need to.
I record a few of my rides every now and then, either on DJI Action 6, or Osmo 360, depending on what I can be bothered to set up and what I want to capture. The batteries last a long time, I’m not recording the dull section of single carriage way national that’s got solid whites along it and it’s clogged with traffic.
I've been a Pocket 3 user for a while and overall a DJI fan. Once I started looking into 360 cameras though, it was tougher to make up my mind. I ended up buying both the Insta360 X5 and the DJI osmo 360 with the idea of living with them for a bit and eventually giving one of them away to my brother.
Both were fun in the initial "honeymoon phase". I’d just shoot everything and figure it out later. But after a few weeks, once the novelty wore off, some stuff I didn’t initially consider started to matter more. Lens protection was a bigger deal than I expected. Since the osmo 360 doesn’t have replaceable lenses, that became a point of concern. I bought lens covers for it. That gave me peace of mind as far as protection, but definitely affected the image quality. This is a major oversight by DJI. Since replaceable lenses became a thing, it's a must-have on 360 cams.
What pushed me toward keeping the X5 in the end was the overall experience. Shooting 360 means dealing with a lot of clips, and with the X5, reviewing, reframing, and exporting is easier and less annoying. I had assumed DJI would be stronger on software, but Insta360’s experience with 360 really shows. Desktop editing on both still isn’t great though.
The Osmo 360 isn't a bad camera, but when putting them head to head, I kept reaching for the X5 more often. I appreciated being able to focus on what I was recording instead of worrying about breaking the lenses or bad image quality from lens guards or how to deal with the footage afterward. I'm curious to know what the community thinks. Have you compared these two models, and what ended up mattering more to you?
allenhuffman
