Insta360 - Ace Pro 2

Your choices are basically the ace pro 2 vs action 4/5/6. Go pro is worse in basically every element compared to DJI&insta360. Get the ace pro 2 if you want the “best” quality (as in sharpness, color & detail) but it’s subjective bc some ppl prefer the colors of the action pro and vice versa. Also the quality is basically the same between the 2 cameras but if you nit pick every detail, the ace pro is maybe 5% better (I can’t really tell tbh). Ace pro also has flip able back panel so if you want to blog, you can see yourself better. Action pro has a small screen on the camera side but harder to see. The ace pro is also bigger and heavier than the action pro. And the batteries & battery charger cost more. Battery is also weaker/ doesn’t last as long be the action. Action pro has much better battery & auto integration with DJI mic. Low light recording (night time) is about the same when I see it. Colors are subjective, I think I like the ace pro more than the DJI but if you compare videos from both cameras without telling me which camera recorded which video, I wouldn’t know which is which lol Default mic on the action pro is much better than the ace pro, but get a DJI mic 2/3 and that solves that problem At the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter which one you get. I personally got the action pro 5 with the easier mic compatibility & longer battery life & lighter camera. I was also annoyed 360 was charging $60 for the battery case

We have been testing an insta360 Ace pro 2 for about a month in different lighting and dive conditions. I have to say that we are very impressed with the quality that allows us to go beyond what the GOPro range of cameras have allowed us in post production. We also have an assortment of phone dive cases from Sealife sport diver, Ocenic +, and Divevolk. They are great also, but the Ace Pro 2 has far exceeded the quality any of our phones have been able to provide. We have used IPhones 15 Pro Max, Samsung S24 and S25 Ultra, in the different cases with different software.

Basic summary is the X5 is out for obvious reasons (curved lenses don't work great underwater), the Action 5 tends to overdo the "blue" correction and isn't always accurate to the real colors, and sometimes loses sharpness in some scenarios. The AcePro's colors are better, but the highlights tend to be quite soft which removes some of the punch from the image. It also loses sharpness in some scenarios. The GoPro tends to have the most accurate colors and the best overall sharpness in these tests.

Get the original Ace Pro. It’s probably less expensive than OA5 Pro and is a fantastic camera.

Avoid GoPro. Terrible reliability. They’ve rested on their laurels far too long and don’t deserved your business. I’ve heard a DJI account is required to use the OA5. If true, absolutely avoid them as well. I’ve been very happy with my Insta360 Ace Pro. 100% reliability after 2 years. It has literally never not turned on, overheated, or otherwise malfunctioned in any way. Image quality is fantastic and it absolutely destroys GoPro in low light. If you plan to record at night, Ace Pro/Ace Pro 2 is the way.

TLDR: Stop believing Tiktok "influencers" who get paid to shill for products. Use the right tool for the right job. I have Ace Pro and Go 3S and I use them for different things. The majority of Tiktok "reviewers" are people being paid to promote a product and so they use their photography/video skill to make the output look really good. Ace Pro is a decent action camera - so it is good for action camera type things (vlogging, stabilizing large camera shake if you are running/moving, being water/impact resistant, being very small and mountable). I have the Ace Pro (which is the same sensor as the Ace Pro 2). Ace Pro is primarily for video in daylight, but is ok for indoors or night time if you aren't shaking too much. I don't like Ace Pro for photography in general. If you want superior still image quality and zoom, the Canon is going to be way better for that. Video quality is good if you are standing still (the image stabilization is worse, so it's less good if you are walking/running around). However, again - it is just a tool... just like getting a really nice pan, oven, and kitchen knife isn't going to mean you automatically are going to be making top tier food... getting a nice camera isn't automatically going to give you good content. Go 3S is a POV camera. You are trading image quality (video will look a little bleached/washed out in bright midday sun, and dark/blurry at night) and stabilization (there is only tilt correction of 10 degree) for compactness to be able to easily and discretely mount to your heat/chest or on a pole/fence. So it will only really look go if you are doing something interesting in your POV (playing sports, cooking, eat, walking with your attractive travel partner, etc). Go3S can also be snuck into small spaces (on a cat's collar, in a cat food bowl, in your backpack, on a fishing pole, etc) - even more so than an Ace Pro (although both as better than the Canon for this).

I don't know about gimbal mode for X4 Air. I think it depends on what you want to do with the camera. I have an Ace Pro and an X4 and I use my X4 a lot more in general because of the convenience of having a 360 pespective that allow reframing after the fact. I also have the X2 awhich was 150g and I notice the weight of the X4 (200g) at the end of a 100cm pole (a long lever) while snowboarding as I like to keep the stick horizontal and at waist height. The X5 is 200g as well so it will be a bit heavier than the 165g X4 Air. Last I checked the X4 Air is like $150 cheaper for a slight reducing in low-light image quality (the sensors are smaller) and like 15 minutes less battery life. So I would pick the X4 Air for action sports usage (handheld out in sunny weather) as well as to save some money. But if money is not an issue and you want the absolute best image quality available on a Insta360 right now and you are mostly not long-lever handholding (e.g. head, chest or object mounted) than I would got with X5.

I have a X2/X4 and a Ace Pro. X5 is a 360 camera. So when you crop it down from 8K 360 to a 16:9 viewport with say a 90 degree field of view... you are at something around 2.7K resolution (note you can shoot single lens in 4K, but it is an ultra, ultra wide field of view... so it's not going to be as good as a normal 4K as well). Personally, if I have to have only one camera with me, I always take my X4... it is just much more versatile as I think the convenient of framing and tracking almost always outweigh the loss in quality. Some times I have both an a magnetic-quick mount stick and just swap between the two depending on whether I need the reframing ability of the 360 camera or not.

Sealife cameras seem to give pretty good results for the price so this is certainly something too look at. Not sure how well it will work as an action cam tho. I have a buddy that is using his smartphone with a decent housing which also works nicely. If you have a smartphone with a decent camera, even better. Lastly, if you want an action cam, I saw some good results and better battery life with the Insta360 Ace Pro 2 then the Go Pros. Go Pro is out after about 1 hour of filming. Good luck, and have fun diving ;)

Yeah, the Ace Pro 2 had that as well. But it came off the mount and smashed on a rock as it fell, going straight through the protective glass and damaging the lens itself.

I have an Ace Pro, X3 and just got an X5. Remember that the X5 resolution is spread out over the entire sphere so you’re nowhere near 4k if you crop your field to a typical 16:9 action cam focal length/POV. So it’s horses for courses, if you want a conventional hi res camera, Ace Pro 2 is the right tool, but if you want an infinitely reframe-able, stabilised view then X5 is amazing

I just returned my Ace Pro 2 yesterday. We will see.

I had the Ace Pro 2 and returned it. Capture button was uncomfortably hard to press and I wasn’t thrilled with the picture quality either. Love the photo quality from my Pocket 3 and DJI drone, so would think their action cam would be likewise good.

You’re on the gopro subreddit. Of course anyone saying anything other than gopro are getting downvoted. Go ask that question on a diving sub and the asnwer will be Insta360 and DJI. Personally i had issues at night with weird reflections on the edges of my Ace Pro 2, but a friend that was with me had no isues with his DJI action 5.