Action camera maker Insta360 has been hard at work launching new cameras left and right since the company’s start in 2015. Depending on your YouTube viewing habits and/or general interest in action cams, you’ve probably seen motovloggers and others make use of previous Insta360 models by now.
The Insta360 GO 2, which launches on March 9, 2021, takes a bunch of desirable action cam features and crams them into a form factor that the company says is “the world’s smallest.” Additionally, Insta360 makes a lot of claims that, if true, seem like you get an awful lot of bang for your buck. Let’s take a look.
As you can see in the photos, the GO 2 is about the size of your thumb. It weighs just 27 grams, or about 0.95 ounces. It meets waterproofing standard IPX8 to 4 meters, or 13 feet—so riding in the rain or through other wet situations should be zero problem. It also comes with a completely replaceable protective lens, so there’s less to worry about no matter what you put it through in a day of filming.
The GO 2 comes with a bunch of helpful accessories inside the box, to enable you to get the most out of your new cam straight away. The camera itself has a very strong built-in magnet, which can seamlessly hook up to the included Magnetic Pendant in the box. Stick it on your shirt, or your jacket, or any other piece of clothing to mount it instantly. For other situations, there’s an included Easy Clip to help you clip the GO 2 to your hat, helmet, or headband—and plenty of other scenarios, as well.
Of course, when you’re out on a busy day of filming, you’re almost always wishing for more power. The handy GO 2 Charge Case will top your cam up in just half an hour, per Insta360. Onboard battery capacity in the GO 2 is 210mAh, and the Charge Case packs an extra 1100mAh into a small and convenient 63.5g (or 2.24 oz) form factor. In total, you can get up to a claimed 150 minutes before you need to recharge. Since charging is accomplished via USB-C, it doesn’t seem like it would be too difficult to recharge via USB ports on your bike in your downtime, too.
It’s also worth noting that the Charge Case is multifunctional, with remote, tripod, and handheld grip features included. It also has a ¼-inch mounting point so you can easily attach it to a selfie stick. Utilize its Bluetooth connectivity to talk to your GO 2, and you can control the cam via the Charge Case from up to 10 meters (or 33 feet) away.
Now that we’ve talked about the external stuff, what about the specs? It uses a ½.3-inch sensor, the same size as other action cams that are physically larger than the GO 2. As for stabilization, Insta360 uses its FlowState algorithms to keep your action smooth and your horizon level, almost like an electronic gimbal.
Available video resolutions are listed as follows:
- Pro Video (FlowState stabilization): 2560x1440@50fps, 30fps or 1920x1080@50fps, 30fps
- Video (Basic stabilization): 2560x1440@50fps, 30fps or 1920x1080@50fps, 30fps
- HDR: 2560x1440@25fps, 24fps or 1920x1080@25fps, 24fps
- Timelapse: Interval: 0.5s, 1s, 2s, 5s, 10s, 30s, 60s, 120s in your choice of 2560x1440@30fps or 1920x1080@30fps
- TimeShift (Hyperlapse): Speed: Auto (up to 6x) in your choice of 2560x1440@30fps or 1920x1080@30fps
- Slow motion: 1920x1080@120fps
Onboard storage is 32GB, 28 of which is usable. Maximum clip lengths have the following limits:
- Pro Video mode (FlowState stabilization): 10 minutes
- Video mode (Basic stabilization): 15 minutes
- FPV mode: 30 minutes
- Timelapse: Adjustable interval, you can record up to 110 minutes with the Charge Case to make a 7-minute clip.
Gallery: Insta360 GO 2 Action Camera
Claimed charging times for the camera alone are 23 minutes to 80 percent, or 35 minutes to 100 percent. For the Charge Case, it’s 47 minutes to 80 percent, or 65 minutes to 100 percent. That means you could record in the morning, recharge your camera while you’re recharging yourself with lunch, and then be fully charged and ready for more action when you’re done eating. Nice!
While there will undoubtedly be additional accessories sold for the Insta360 GO 2, everything listed above comes in the package, including the Charge Case. It’s available worldwide starting on March 9, 2021, at an MSRP of $299. Insta360 is also making custom, one-of-a-kind skins available for your GO 2 if you order directly from their site.
Finally, if you’re like MotoGP’s Marquez brothers and you just can’t get enough of those Minions, Insta360 is happy to help. Since the GO 2’s design is already pretty reminiscent of the general shape of a Minion, the company is issuing a special Minions Edition GO 2 sometime in Summer 2021. It’s designed in collaboration with animation studio Illumination, and the visual math makes absolute sense. The Minions Edition GO 2 will be available in the U.S., Canada, Japan, China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan at an MSRP of $329.99, sold only on the Insta360 website.
Just Hit Record:
Source: Insta360