The sheer ease of use, tiny format, and clever selection of mounting methods make the Insta360 Go 2 an essential purchase.
- Brand: Insta360
- Sensor Size: 1/2.3-inch
- Video Resolution: 1440p (2560 x 1440) @ 50fps
- Photo Resolution: 1440p (2560 x 1440)
- Battery: 30 minute continuous (2+ hours in case)
- Connection: USB-C, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth
- Size: 2.08 x 0.93 x 0.81in (52.9 x 23.6 x 20.7mm)
- Weight: 0.93 oz (26.5g)
- Water Resistance: Waterproof to 13ft (4m)
- Lens: 170-degree ultra-wide-angle with lens guard
- Plenty of mounting options
- Easy one-button operation
- Charging case doubles (triples?) as a remote control, mini tripod, and selfie-stick mount
- Smooth stabilization
- Poor low-light performance
The first Insta360 Go camera was both a departure from the standard line-up for Insta360 (the clue is in the name: they generally make 360 cameras), and utterly revolutionary. It was a tiny little camera you could clip anywhere, attach to a neck-worn pendant, and shoot short videos with a single button tap. It was my favorite camera—the one I took to every family event and day out. But I think it's fair to say it was a bit of a ... toy camera. The video quality was good enough to capture family moments for Instagram stories or your group chat with nana—but not a sniff on an actual action camera, and no good for professional uses.
The Insta360 Go 2 maintains that same simple to use, tiny package format, whacks up the quality of footage, and adds a ton of new features. The isn't just a little resolution bump to an already fantastic device: it's a whole new device. This could be your new "Go2" camera for every occasion. So if you buy one camera in 2021, make it the Insta360 Go 2.
Insta360 Go 2 Design
Note: I received a prerelease model for testing, which has a matt white coating. The final production model is glossy white. Not a huge difference, but please bear it in mind when you look at the photos. Functionality is otherwise identical.
Measuring 2.08 x 0.93 x 0.81 inches and weighing a mere 0.93 ounces, the Go 2 is no more than the size or weight of a thumb, equipped with 32GB of storage and enough battery power for 30 minutes of continuous shooting.
The entire lower half of the Go 2 is a button, with a one-click operation to shoot short clips, then automatically turn itself off again. The wide-angle lens also now features a removable lens guard. One is fitted already, but you can purchase extras in the event of damage. The Go 2 is waterproof to 13ft/4m (but the charging case isn't!)
The charging case is much as you'd expect, similar to a wireless earbuds case, and equally pocket-sized at 2.24 ounces.
One of the defining aspects of the Go 2 is the sheer versatility of how to mount it. Included in the package is a number of magnetic mounting accessories.
Pendant. Designed to be worn underneath your shirt, the Go 2 then snaps onto the front. The magnetic force is secure enough, but you may still find yourself worrying that someone's flailing arms will knock it to the ground.
Pivot stand and sticky mount. Remove from the base and peel the cover off the sticky tape to secure this mount to any clean, flat surface, like glass. Be sure to replace the film cover when not in use, and slot it back into the base. The base is also indented, so you can pivot it closed with the camera still secure, and protect the lens.
Easy clip. This is great for attaching to a jacket, or a baseball cap, for accurate point of view shots. It ended up being my favorite mounting method, if only for the additional peace of mind compared to the pendant.
Lastly, there's the charging case. That too is an additional mounting point, more on that in a moment.
If all that wasn't enough, you'll find a Mount Adapter bundle sold separately, for use with existing action cam / GoPro mount accessories. I received one of these for testing, which allowed me to securely attach the Go 2 to a dog harness.
This isn't an Insta360 branded dog harness I should add (though it does also have one for sale), it's just something I've been using to test action cams for years. But it's great to know that for use as a professional action camera, you don't need a new mount system, and it'll work with everything you already own.
The Multi-Function Charging Case
The case that came with the original Insta360 Go was no more than a simple battery and USB port adaptor, with a clear plastic lid to protect the camera.
For the Insta360 Go 2, the case has transformed into a mini-tripod, selfie-stick adaptor, and remote control, all in a much more secure clamshell design.
Firstly, its main use is as a charging case. While the Insta360 Go 2 main unit can handle about 30 minutes of continuous shooting by itself, the case adds another two and a half hours to that. A USB-C port on the base allows this, in turn, to be recharged, or can be used to connect to a computer for transferring files. Gone from the original design is the built-in Lighting plug; all communications (with an iPhone anyway) are now done over Wi-Fi.
Second, with two buttons and an LCD screen, the case becomes a remote control. Place the Go 2 into the case and it'll automatically connect. But pull the Go 2 out of the case, press a button to connect, and you'll be wirelessly controlling the Go 2. These buttons allow you to select the shooting mode—including things like TimeLapse and HyperLapse—as well as manually start and stop recording. The only thing it doesn't do is give you a video preview. For that, you'd need to use the app. The monochrome LCD is strictly for menu navigation and displaying status such as battery remaining.
Third, two small legs can be extended from the rear of the case, turning the entire case into a small tripod. This is great for desktop vlogging or setting the camera up for time-lapses, which need longer battery life.
Lastly, a standard thread next to the USB-C port means you can screw in an Insta360 selfie stick, Gorilla tripod, or any other standard camera accessory. That said, I should note that there is no "magical disappearing selfie stick" feature on the Insta360 Go. That's a result of the stitching process that you get when combining two hemispherical videos on a 360-camera, which the Go 2 isn't. It is possible to angle the view of the Go 2 such that you won't see the selfie stick in use, or crop it out of the final video, but it certainly won't magically disappear.
Overall, the new case is clearly where the most innovation has come for this second iteration of the Go camera. It's now an additional mounting point, increasing the versatility of the Go 2 to handle a lot more situations than simple point-of-view shots.
Image Quality, Stabilization, and Horizon Lock
Shooting at up to 2560 x 1440 (otherwise known as 1440p, or more broadly 2.5K), and up to 50fps, the Go 2 performs best in good lighting, as you'd expect from a sensor this small. As well as real-time video, the Go2 can also shoot TimeLapse and HyperLapse (1440p@30fps), or Slow Motion (1080p@120fps).
Most users will be happy with the default modes and onboard stabilization. But for pro users, there is the option of shooting in LOG color, as well as Pro video mode which stores the data from a suite of onboard sensors to inform the FlowState Stabilization algorithm. These must be processed by the smartphone or desktop app. It's hard to describe how buttery smooth this makes footage, so you'll just need to watch the review video to see it in action.
The Horizon Lock feature further enhances stabilization when shooting in Pro mode. It means that no matter how the camera is rotated, the view will remain locked in place around the rotational axis.
As for sound quality, it's obviously not something you're going to use for professional production, but for a bit of vlogging, it was surprisingly good. The review video contains an audio sample.
32GB of onboard storage may not sound like a lot, but I found it was enough for around 30 hours of pro-mode video, and it's easy enough to manage and delete clips through the app. But there is no SD-card slot, so you will need to tidy up your footage at some point.
The Insta360 App
In past iterations, Insta360 opted to create a separate app for each one of its cameras, all with slightly differing feature sets. The concept of auto-edited short stories first came to the original Insta360 Go app, for instance.
Thankfully, all devices have now been unified under a single app. That means you have access to the full range of story templates, shot lab tutorials, and more, in an interface that will quickly become familiar. And if you own more than one Insta360 camera, all the shots can be edited together.
Utilizing Wi-Fi to connect, the Insta360 app can be used to either download clips to the phone, or edit them directly from the camera (the latter being slower, of course). Once downloaded, you can also set them to automatically delete from the camera, freeing up space for your next adventure.
While you can start from scratch, following a story template is the best for beginners. Just tap on a story template to preview (each lasts maybe 10-20 seconds), and if you like the style and music, tap next to start choosing your clips. Choose the clips in the order you want them to appear until you have the required number. The Insta360 app will then attempt to pick out the best bits, and within 30 seconds you should have your personalized video preview. From here you can make edits, such as which part of each clip is being used; or export. It's absurdly simple to make some quick montages for social media, and you can easily change the ratio to suit different formats (1:1 for Instagram, or 16:9 for YouTube).
In general, it's a pretty demanding app, as video editing apps are generally wont to be. The performance was acceptable on my iPhone X, but I dread to think what it would be like on a mid-range Android phone.
The smartphone app isn't your only choice, though. Pro users will find plugins for both major desktop video editing suites, as well as an Insta360 desktop app for Mac or Windows, which can output the best quality of video. The desktop app doesn't feature things like stories though, so it's more suited to professional editors who just want the raw footage for use elsewhere.
The app also allows you to customize the one-button operation modes. If you want it to shoot 30 seconds of pro-mode video by default, you can do that. You can also assign functions to double-pressing the button for an alternate mode.
Repairability of the Insta360 Go 2
It would be unreasonable to expect a device this small, fully sealed for waterproofing, to be easily repaired by the end-user. Taking it apart would break it. The charging case is a similar story, with no exposed screws to suggest a teardown is possible.
However, the single most common breakage in the original Go camera was the lens. As a camera designed to be taken out and about on an adventure, attached by a magnetic pendant, it was often dropped, resulting in a scratched lens. I know because I did that and ended up getting a replacement device.
Thankfully, Insta360 has addressed that aspect in the Go 2, with the introduction of removable lens guards. The device comes with one already attached, and you can purchase a pack of two additional guards when the time comes for $10.
Who Is The Insta360 Go 2 Designed For?
The Insta360 Go 2 isn't just a great action camera for everyday hobbyists. The video is good enough quality and packed full of features for even the most demanding of adventurous types, with superb video stabilization.
The tiny format makes it great for capturing point-of-view videos; from you, kids, or animals. One-button operation makes it a perfect "lifelogging" camera.
It's also small enough to easily mount to toys, such as a remote control car or LEGO train set.
The fact it's so small and discreet also makes it great for capturing life's precious moments with family and friends. Given how these are in such short supply lately, we should really make the most of them.
Should You Buy the Insta360 Go 2?
In a world where smartphones have incredible cameras already built-in, it's getting increasingly difficult to recommend any new camera purchase. As the saying goes: the best camera is the one you have on you.
But the Go 2 is one of the few devices that compliments your smartphone. Shooting video on a modern smartphone isn't exactly hard, either. Pull it out of your pocket, then you're two taps away at most. But it's still a distraction that takes you out of the moment, and puts your focus onto a screen. All it takes to shoot on the Go 2 is a single press on the body of the device. It doesn't detract from anything going on, and there are no awkward pauses or unease for the subject having a phone shoved in their face.
The Insta360 Go 2 isn't perfect, of course. Low light performance is understandably poor: the laws of physics say you can't cram a big sensor into such a tiny package. And for some, the lack of 4K resolution might be a deal-breaker. Personally, I think the jump from 1080p to 1440p makes a huge difference to the quality of the footage, and is worth the upgrade for that alone.
The sheer ease of use, tiny format, and clever selection of mounting methods make the Insta360 Go 2 an essential purchase.
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