Come for the promise of game-changing 8K action cam footage, stay for the genuinely great-looking, great-sounding 4K footage. That’s the top-line story with Insta360’s new flagship action camera, the Ace Pro 2, which makes a big deal of its class-leading 8K video resolution – even if it’s a feature very few owners will end up using due to its file sizes and various limitations.

What they’ll quickly discover instead is that the Ace Pro 2 excels at delivering smooth, stabilized and crisp-looking 4K footage, which it can capture at up to 60fps in regular video modes and 120fps for slow motion playback purposes. It’s particularly impressive in low light conditions (at least by action camera standards) and offers log recording to support post-production tweaking to color and exposure settings.

It does all of the above while offering the usual action cam advantages: it’s small, lightweight, waterproof, rugged, simple to operate, blessed with long battery life and able to be fixed onto all manner of first- and third-party accessories like selfie sticks, mini tripods, bike mounts and helmet mounts.

With all that being said, there’s not a lot between any of the main three action camera flagships at this point (the other two being the DJI Osmo Action 5 Pro and GoPro Hero 13 Black). The Insta360 Ace Pro 2 does distinguish itself from its rivals not only with the 8K recording option but its single flip screen, which offers a larger display than the camera’s dual-screened competitors.

Put simply, the Ace Pro 2 warrants careful consideration for anyone shopping for a fully featured flagship action camera, and fully deserves its place as an alternative to its DJI and GoPro competitors.

Insta360 Ace Pro 2: price and release date

• Priced from $399.99 / £389.99 / AU$689.99
• Available from October 22 2024
• Sold in Standard and Dual Battery Bundles

The Ace Pro 2 is available to order from October 22 2024, and sold via the Insta360 web store and a host of other online retailers.

There are two packages available at launch. The Standard Bundle ($399.99 / £389.99 / AU$689.99) contains the camera, a wind guard, a microphone cap, one battery, one standard mount and one USB-C cable. The Dual Battery Bundle ($419.99 / £409.99 / AU$719.99), as its name suggests, features two batteries rather than one, but is otherwise the same.

Note that neither of Insta360’s bundles come with a memory card which, given the Ace Pro 2’s lack of built-in storage, is something you’ll need. So, if you don’t already have a microSD card, make sure to obtain one at the same time as the camera. It accepts cards up to 1TB in capacity.

The Ace Pro 2’s pricing is in the same ballpark as its closest action camera competitors such as the GoPro Hero 13 Black and DJI Osmo Action 5 Pro (although, at around $50 cheaper, the latter would leave you a little extra money left over for accessories).

• Price score: 4/5

Insta360 Ace Pro 2: key specs

Insta360 Ace Pro 2: design and handling

• Integrated microphone wind guard
• Waterproof to 12m/39ft
• Flip-up touchscreen
• Quick-release magnetic mount system

The Ace Pro 2 looks a lot like the original Ace Pro. A quick side-by-side comparison reveals a few minor differences in styling and size, but it shares the same standard action camera look – blocky, squat and with as few buttons as possible – and red and black color scheme. The detachable, replaceable lens guard has been upgraded according to Insta360, giving a small boost to its protection and dive capabilities.

Probably the biggest difference of note is the new microphone wind guard, a removeable metal grille, lined with acoustic foam, that protects the front mic port from wind noise. It’s inconspicuous and adds virtually nothing size-wise, so can be left in place most of the time while the camera is in use.

The only time it needs to be removed and replaced by the standard mic cap is during underwater use. On that note, the Ace Pro 2 can dive to a depth of 39ft / 12m without additional protection (a slight improvement on the 33ft / 10m of the Ace Pro). Bolder swimmers can fit the optional dive case accessory and take it all the way down to 197ft / 60m.

The control system is simple and straightforward, with only two physical buttons on the Ace Pro 2 itself: one on the side to power it on and off, which doubles as a shooting mode switcher; and a shutter button on top. Everything else is taken care of via touchscreen controls or, if you prefer, the Insta360 mobile app (more on that in the next section of this review). I found the touchscreen controls generally simple: you swipe down to open the main settings menu; right to open the gallery; left to open settings for the current shooting mode; or up to open yet more settings for the current shooting mode.

The screen itself is a major differentiator between Insta360’s action cameras and those of its main rivals GoPro and DJI. The Ace Pro 2, like the Ace Pro, uses only one screen where its competitors put one at the back and one at the front (that front screen you see is just for menus). The screen here, a nicely crisp and colorful 2.5-incher, can flip up 180º to face forwards, which has its plus and minus points for me. The plus is that it’s a lot bigger than the front-facing screens you get on those rival cameras, giving you a clearer view and more space for touchscreen tapping (it also doubles as a t-shirt clip or bite adapter for POV shots). The minus is that you have to physically flip it back and forth every time you switch from front to back shooting, which is more effort than simply spinning the camera round and continuing to shoot.

One thing I do like a lot is the magnet- and clip-based mounting system, which allows for fast fixing and unfixing of the Ace Pro 2 to mounts and accessories. This is similar to the systems used by the DJI Osmo Action series and latterly the GoPro Hero 13 Black, however, so I can’t say the Ace Pro 2 does any better than its rivals here.

The Ace Pro 2 has two secure flaps on its body, which lock in place when closed and require a button press to open. One flap protects the microSD card slot and USB-C port, while the other protects the removable battery.

• Design score: 4.5/5

Insta360 Ace Pro 2: features and performance

• 1800mAh battery and Endurance Mode
• Compatible with Insta360 Android/iOS app
• Two levels of electronic image stabilization

The Ace Pro 2’s removable batteries boast a larger capacity than the Ace Pro’s (1800mAh opposed to 1650mAh). Insta360 claims it can record for longer as a result, providing a figure of 180 minutes of 4K/30p recording on a full charge – a lot better than the 100 minutes offered by the original camera. Keen to find out if these claims hold water, I performed my own tests. I found that I could get 69 minutes of stabilized HDR footage at 4K/60p. Switching the camera into Endurance Mode, which limits video resolution and frame rate and turns off certain functions, I was able to record about 140 minutes at 4K/30p before the battery died. So, not quite as high as Insta360 claim, but impressive nonetheless.

The battery also supports reverse charging via USB-C, so in a pinch you can use the Ace Pro 2 as a portable power bank for your phone or other portable gear. The USB also supports a webcam function when plugged into a computer.

Overheating can be an issue, if not a major one. When recording at 8K resolution, the Ace Pro 2 will eventually get too warm to function and shut itself down as a result. I tested it at room temperature conditions, finding it was able to record 8K/30p footage for 43 minutes before overheating, and think that’s fine. 8K recording is probably something you’ll use situationally rather than all the time, after all.

As mentioned above, one way to control the Ace Pro 2 is using the Insta360 smartphone app. Connecting via Wi-Fi, it allows users to change the camera settings (and update its firmware), take photos and videos, browse through photos and videos they’ve taken, edit together content and share it on social media. I’ve always found the app an intuitive and stable method of remotely controlling Insta360’s various cameras, and as is customary in 2024 it also features an AI-powered auto editor to swiftly assemble and score short videos from your captured content.

Image stabilization is a vital feature for any self-respecting action camera, and the Ace Pro 2 is well-served in this area. There are two levels of ‘normal’ image stabilization (Standard and High) plus two horizon levelling options (45º and 360º). I found all to be very effective. Being electronic-based, all apply a crop (of varying degrees) to the image.

Other video-centric features include gesture and voice controls, timecode for multi-cam synching, a new dashcam mode and a pre-recording video mode, which records up to 120 seconds before the shutter button is pressed. All useful in certain situations.

The Ace Pro 2 is also compatible with several types of Bluetooth-based wireless microphones (including the DJI Mic and Mic 2, Rode Wireless series and Hollyland Lark series) and several Bluetooth motorcycle headsets (for hands-free camera control while riding).

• Features and performance score: 4.5/5

Insta360 Ace Pro 2: image and video quality

• Upgraded 1/1.3-inch 50MP sensor
• F2.6 lens with 157º field of view
• Video up to 8K/30p, 4K/120p or FHD/240p

The original Ace Pro’s headline feature was 8K/24p video recording, and the Ace Pro 2 takes things further, if only ever so slightly; you can now record 8K footage in 25 and 30fps as well. The image sensor, while remaining the same 1/1.3-inch size, has been upgraded to also allow for 13.5 stops of dynamic range and 4K/60p Active HDR recording, and is bolstered by the addition of a new 5nm AI Chip that sits alongside the image processing Pro Imaging Chip. Insta360 say this doubles the computing power of the Ace Pro 2 compared to the original Ace Pro. The lens, made by Leica, has also been slightly improved and now offers a wider field of view: 157º opposed to 151º.

Personally, I find 8K to be a bit of a gimmick, especially on a camera so small. The vast majority of us watch videos on devices with 4K or smaller resolutions, so 8K capture feels like massive overkill unless you’re planning on cropping down the video later on. I should point out here that the field of view when capturing 8K is smaller than with 4K, 2.7K or Full HD recordings. 8K also doesn’t support the best level of image stabilization, doesn’t allow you to use the flat I-log color profile and, despite the bump up to 30fps, still limits frame rate compared to the lower resolution modes.

As a consequence, I found myself much more drawn to 4K which, as on the Ace Pro, is excellent. Most of the vlogging footage you see in the embedded sample video here was shot using the I-log profile and color graded and corrected in post, but the night time footage uses the low light PureVideo mode, while the cycling footage below uses the standard color profile with the Active HDR turned on.

Low light footage is strong by action camera standards but still a weakness compared to even a modestly priced mirrorless camera. Insta360 can throw all manner of algorithms at the footage to sharpen, denoise and bring out the detail in gloomy areas, but it’s still coming from a small sensor with limited light-gathering potential. When viewed on a smartphone screen PureVideo footage looks clean and clear, but on a larger monitor or TV strange artefacts and effects become much more prominent. Still, the Ace Pro 2 is much better at low-light video than a GoPro Hero 13 Black and on a par with the DJI Osmo Action 5 Pro, although their characteristics are quite different. I've created a short comparison video of the Ace Pro 2 and Osmo Action 5 Pro so you can see for yourself how they fare.

All in all, it’s a very impressive showing. In general, I still think straight-out-of-the-camera videos from a GoPro Hero 13 Black taken in good lighting look slightly more appealing, but for those who like to put in a bit of work in post-processing the Ace Pro 2 is every bit as capable as the Hero 13 Black and DJI Osmo Action 5 Pro.

Audio is unexpectedly clear when using the built-in microphones. The wind guard seems to do its job admirably and voices are picked up well. The camera comes with three AI-assisted audio modes: standard stereo, wind reduction and voice enhancement. Living by the sea, I kept my Ace Pro 2 set to wind reduction at all times and was pleasantly surprised by the results.

The Ace Pro 2 can also take photos (in JPEG and/or DNG RAW) at 12.5MP or 50MP resolution, and while I’ve personally never been a fan of using action cameras for still photography, it does as good a job at it as any of its major rivals. The JPEGs tend to look over-processing and over-sharpened; when I shot images in RAW and processed them myself in Lightroom I was able to achieve much more natural-looking results.

• Image quality score: 4.5/5

DJI Osmo Action 5 Pro: testing scorecard

Should I buy the Insta360 Ace Pro 2

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

Insta360 Ace Pro 2: also consider

How I tested the Insta360 Ace Pro 2

• A week of vlogging and biking
• Various weather conditions and times of day
• Footage edited using Davinci Resolve Studio 19

I spent a week using a pre-release version of the Insta360 Ace Pro 2, capturing vlog-style and cycling videos at different times of the day and in different weather conditions. I also tested battery life and heat management by allowing the camera to continuously record until the battery died or the camera overheated and shut down.

I recorded video at different resolutions and frame rates, using different color profiles and video modes and with the various forms of stabilization on or off. Footage was later edited on my MacBook Air using Davinci Resolve Studio 19 software, which I used to color grade and correct some clips.

First reviewed October 2024

SeaLife ReefMaster RM-4K: one-minute review

For taking photos underwater, or at the beach or in other situations where your camera could get wet, a dedicated waterproof and toughened compact camera has typically been the preferred solution, at least for consumers. Pro photographers and videographers who own a DSLR or mirrorless camera will alternatively look for specialist underwater housing for their camera, and these tend to be both bulky and pricey.

Falling somewhere in between these options is the small yet outwardly robust SeaLife ReefMaster RM-4K. At its core is a tiny, rectangular GoPro-like digital camera that’s no bigger than a matchbox, which, if used standalone, is not waterproof – though you can use it on land. To use the camera in water you have to secure it inside the provided rubber-sealed, screw-fastened plastic housing. The tiny camera-operation buttons are mirrored on the outer casing with much larger ones, which when pressed essentially operate the smaller buttons within.

While this doesn’t make for the fastest or most responsive of setups, it works. The camera’s 140-degree fisheye lens enables the capture of up to 14MP stills and 4K video, and the combo is conveniently portable and amazingly lightweight at just 7oz / 200g. The price is comparable to that of a toughened, waterproofed point-and-shoot camera. While this is very much a specific tool for a specific job, you might also want to check out the SeaLife Micro 3.0, which in my opinion this is a slightly neater solution, in that it doesn’t require an external housing for the camera.

SeaLife ReefMaster RM-4K: price and availability

The SeaLife ReefMaster RM-4K is available to buy now, priced at $349.95 / £349.99 / AU$599 – so US buyers are getting a better deal than their British counterparts.

Though the palm-sized camera plus underwater housing combination may appear a little toy-like, its price suggests this is a direct competitor to the all-in-one toughened and waterproofed cameras that are available from the likes of Ricoh, Nikon and Fujifilm, which don’t require a separate waterproof housing. 

The waterproof rating of those compact competitors varies from model to model, and some are more ‘jack-of-all-trades’ devices than dedicated underwater cameras. That being said, if they get covered in sand they can be simply rinsed clean under a tap, as can the housing of the SeaLife ReefMaster RM-4K; however, the camera element needs to stay protected at all times.

Viewed standalone, the SeaLife ReefMaster RM-4K may appear pricey for a matchbox-sized camera with a plastic-y outer housing, but its price is in part justified by its ability to capture 14MP stills and 4K resolution video down to depths of 40 meters. This allows you to capture underwater images and footage in situations where you wouldn’t dare to take your precious DSLR or mirrorless camera. 

SeaLife ReefMaster RM-4K: design

The SeaLife ReefMaster RM-4K comprises a tiny matchbox-sized camera unit that forms the ‘brains’ of the setup, while the rugged plastic outer housing with oversized buttons provides the brawn. 

Once you’ve placed the camera inside the cavity of the housing, you need to screw the unit tightly shut using a red plastic cog to make it waterproof. You’ll need to remove the camera from its housing to recharge its built-in battery via the  supplied USB cable, or to insert or remove the microSD card. Slots for the memory card plus USB and HDMI ports are hidden under a plastic flap on one side of the camera, while two lozenge-shaped buttons on the opposite side are provided for tabbing through on-screen menu options. So far so intuitive.

Because the camera’s LCD screen is a tiny two inches in size, menu icons are necessarily large and obvious. The mode button that also doubles as the power on/off button brings up a brief array of options, while pressing the ‘OK’ button next to it confirms settings changes. This button also has a second use, acting as a shutter release / record button, depending on whether photo or video mode is selected. The buttons need to be pressed quite hard, and sometimes a couple of times, before they do what they’re supposed to, which – to look at it from a more positive angle – at least prevents accidental shots or menu activations. It’s not, though, as quick and responsive as a DSLR or mirrorless camera, so deciding on your settings before going shooting rather than making changes on the fly is recommended.

SeaLife ReefMaster RM-4K: performance

While the 2-inch rear screen on the SeaLife ReefMaster RM-4K is tiny and features a low-ish 230k-dot resolution, it’s bright enough to be able to be viewed clearly through the translucent back of the housing. The small size does make it difficult to assess detail, however, and to tell exactly which parts of your scene or subject are or aren’t in focus. Essentially it’s a case of pointing the camera, pressing the button, and hoping for the best.

While the SeaLife ReefMaster RM-4K is a cute and compact solution for anyone seeking to go diving or snorkeling and capture stills and videos, we’d have preferred a clamp-like fastening mechanism as a belt-and-braces solution alongside the hand-turned plastic cog that screws the back into place, mainly as extra reassurance that the setup is going to stay watertight at all times. 

Most toughened compacts that don’t require extra housing feature the two-step mechanism of a sliding latch and another that turns to make sure their rubber insulated battery/card compartments are doubly protected, and I’d like to have seen something similar here. While the back of the SeaLife’s housing can be screwed tightly shut, and the housing itself feels robust, there still remains room for possible user error.

As for image quality, selecting the maximum 14MP setting delivers images approximately 5MB in size, which exhibit the familiar fisheye-like distortion that’s to be expected the closer you get to your subject. You can alter the field of view from the default 140 degrees to a narrower 100-degree setting that reduces distortion. 

Image quality is generally okay, however, and of a snapshot-like standard, with whatever’s in the center of the frame appearing sharper than detail at the edges. This camera is all about capturing a moment rather than producing gallery-quality results, though, so griping about pixel fringing and the like feels like nitpicking here.

Should I buy the SeaLife ReefMaster RM-4K?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

SeaLife ReefMaster RM-4K: also consider

How I tested the SeaLife ReefMaster RM-4K

As I was unable to scuba dive with the camera during my test period and don’t live near the sea, the camera was instead dunked in a river and the local pond, with the resulting images not offering much in the way of enlightenment, save for demonstrating the fact that the controls are large and obvious enough to operate even in poor visibility, or at the end of an extended arm. It also demonstrated that it’s best to configure shooting settings in advance, rather than in the moment.

I also delved into the camera’s shooting menu to adjust its field of view from the default 140 degrees of its fisheye lens to menu-selectable 156-degree and 100-degree settings, as well as trying out the exposure options, which range from the catch-all of auto to manually selectable dedicated settings for deeper water shooting and recording. I also kept a close eye on battery life – SeaLife claims that a fully charged battery is good for a generous 500 shots or around two hours of video, and over the course of a couple of days of use the battery icon on the rear screen had only dipped down by a third.

First reviewed June 2024

Two-minute review

The Akaso Brave 8 Lite is a stripped-back version of the Brave 8. No surprises there. For a saving of $90 / £50, you'll have to trade in the 1/2-inch sensor for a 1/2.3-inch alternative, and accept a drop in resolution from 48MP to 20MP. 

As a result, this camera's video and image quality are inferior to not only the Brave 8's but that of other flagships such as the GoPro Hero 12 Black and the Insta360 Ace Pro. This is particularly noticeable in low-light conditions, a scenario that introduces so much noise that the footage oftentimes becomes unusable.

Before you rule out the Brave 8 Lite, though, you'll actually get a range of features that are not available on the more expensive Brave 8, including HDR video, a longer runtime, and Hindsight. The last of these enables additional recording time prior to pressing the record button, just in case you were too late to start shooting.

I love the rubber casing on the body, something that not only makes the camera easy to grip but is also pleasant to handle. This finish is let down, though, by the cheap plastic port hatches, which feel like they're going to break every time you open them. You'll also have to be especially dexterous to figure out a way to open the microSD card hatch with only one hand.

The Brave 8 Lite is one of the smallest action cameras available, and will fit neatly into any bag or pocket. The abundance of additional cases means you can mount the camera on any surface, including a tripod, bike, or helmet. The metal case is particularly handy when you know you're going to struggle to keep the camera free from knocks, although you can't replace the battery when using this case.

There's no shortage of creative shooting modes, such as timelapse, hyperlapse, slow motion, and HDR video. Not all of these are available at 4K, though, and the resolution must be dropped to get extreme editing capabilities with regards to slowing down and speeding up the footage.

All in all, the Brave 8 Lite is a very capable action camera that performs as well as most flagships did two or three years ago, and at a more affordable price than the Brave 8 it's a great entry level choice.

Akaso Brave 8 Lite: price and release date

The Akaso Brave 8 Lite is available for $199.99 in the US or £189.99 in the UK. This makes it $90 / £50 cheaper than the fully fledged Brave 8. 

The Lite version has a smaller resolution, a slightly smaller sensor, and inferior slow-motion capabilities. On the flip side, over and above the full version you'll get longer runtime, and HDR video functionality. If you're happy with 20MP photo resolution and inferior low-light performance, the Brave 8 Lite is well worth the savings.

Akaso Brave 8 Lite: design

The Akaso Brave 8 Lite looks much like most other action cams, and the fact that it's almost identical to the Brave 8 is to be expected.

The body measures 2.5 x 1.75 x 1.4 inches / 64 x 45 x 35mm. This makes it smaller than the likes of GoPro Hero 12 and Insta 360 Ace Pro, both of which are around 6mm larger in both width and height. The small body results in a very light overall weight of 4oz / 114g (including battery).

This lightweight body is wrapped in grippy gray rubber, which ensure that it stays securely in the hand, and also affords a reasonable degree of protection from knocks and scrapes. 

Unfortunately, the hatches are of plastic construction, and they're very flimsy. Even in the short amount of time that I was testing the camera I noticed that I was visibly damaging these parts, even with careful handling. The microSD card hatch is also incredibly difficult to open, and despite trying numerous times I couldn't find a way to open this hatch with one hand. 

The front of the unit is taken up by the lens and front-facing screen. The lens is prominent and aesthetically pleasing, with a removable guard that provides access to the lens itself for cleaning purposes.  The 1.22-inch front screen is perfect for vlogging, but it isn't large enough to provide much feedback on images beyond basic composition. It also lacks touchscreen functionality.

The rear 2-inch touch screen is adequate enough for cycling through settings and getting a rough idea of what the sensor is picking up. There's room for a larger screen, though, which would really help, especially for reviewing footage and photos. For comparison, the GoPro Hero 12 has a 2.27-inch screen, which provides a much more pleasing experience.

Every action camera needs to be waterproof, and the Brave 8 Lite is rated to a depth of 33ft / 10m. That's fairly typical, with the main outlier here being the Osmo Action 4, which is rated down to 60ft.

The camera's interface is very easy to use, with the responsive touchscreen making it a joy to move through the menus. You're not able to zoom into photos in review mode, however, which is a shame given the small screen size.

Akaso Brave 8 Lite: performance

The Akaso Brave 8 Lite performs as you'd expect for a sub-$200 action camera with a 1/2.3-inch sensor, and despite the inclusion of the aforementioned additional features over and above the Brave 8, in terms of video and image quality, the Brave 8 Lite doesn't match up to more expensive models.

Its 4K video footage looks pretty good when captured in ideal lighting conditions. Colors are vividly and accurately reproduced, although images are unnecessarily high in contrast. The lens and sensor begin to struggle when filming scenes that have extreme light and darkness, and the camera fails to capture the full dynamic range of such challenging scenarios.

This is not a camera that's made for filming in low-light conditions. An abundance of noise is introduced to dark areas, and while much of this can be removed in post without affecting image quality, the added step is a little annoying. 

The wide-angle lens keeps distortions to a minimum, although as soon as you begin using the digital zoom you'll notice a reduction in the image quality, especially in terms of noise levels. The maximum zoom setting, named 'narrow angle' in the camera introduces so much noise that, in my opinion, the footage becomes unusable.

The Brave 8 Lite offers a range of other shooting modes, including timelapse, hyperlapse, slow motion, and HDR video. The slow motion functionality is only available at 2.7K resolution and below, and the fact that it's not available at 4K is disappointing. At 2.7K it's possible to slow footage down by 4x, while reducing the resolution to 1080p makes it 8x slower.

Like several other action cameras, the Akaso Brave 8 Lite features a hyperlapse mode that enables you to create high-speed timelapse sequences. Footage can be sped up by up to 30 times, which allows for a flexible level of creativity.

Photo resolutions of 20MP and 12MP give users the ability to manage their storage space, but the larger size option falls some way short of the 27MP of the GoPro Hero 12 Black.

Stabilization of footage is where the Brave 8 Lite really struggles, as can be seen in the clip below. The clip was shot a bumpy road, and the camera seems unable to provide anywhere near enough stabilization to make the footage usable. This is less of a problem with slow-motion or hyperlapse footage, but if you want a more reliable setup then you'll need to opt for something like the DJI Osmo Action 4.

Almost every action camera struggles to maintain a meaningful runtime, especially at 4K, and the Brave 8 Lite is no different, with the advertised runtime of 150 minutes only being available at 1080p. The battery is the same as the one in the Brave 8, so if you have both cameras, you'll be able to swap batteries between them.

The Akaso app is far easier to use than the on-board interface. The menus are more streamlined, and the higher resolution video display makes it possible to get a clearer idea of what you're filming. I prefer not to rely on an app when capturing footage, but for this camera, it became something of a necessity.

Should I buy the Akaso Brave 8 Lite?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

How I tested the Akaso Brave 8 Lite

I tested the Akaso Brave 8 Lite during a range of activities, including walking, running, and biking, capturing both stills and video in a variety of locations.

The Brave 8 Lite comes with a wide range of different shooting features, and I made sure to test every single one of them. This took a fair amount of time, but it was interesting to see where this camera excels and where it struggles. 

One of the things that sets action cameras apart is their ability to handle low light, so I was also keen to put it through its paces when faced with both ideal and less-that-ideal lighting conditions. 

First reviewed April 2024

Action cameras are a great option for capturing sport, travel and a whole host of subjects; they're small, lightweight, and in most cases designed to withstand the rough and tumble these cameras typically endure. The Kandao QooCam 3 is a 360-degree action camera that provides an alternative to the likes of Insta360 One R and X3, as well as the GoPro Max, which are all among the best 360 degree cameras currently available.

360-degree cameras are becoming increasingly common, providing users with the ability to capture 360-degree photos and videos that can be scrolled around, as well as to reframe 360-degree video into a traditional 2D perspective where you can pan, zoom and change camera direction to create the illusion of being filmed by someone else. 360-degree camera manufacturers often describe this as like having a personal camera person filming you, and in many ways it is.

The QooCam 3 fits this profile well, and while it’s not the kind of action camera you’d want to drop due to the two fisheye lenses, one on each side, it is dust and waterproof to IP68. This opens up more possibilities for a camera that can capture 360-degree photos at 62MP in JPEG and DNG formats, alongside the ability to capture up to 5.7K 30 fps 360-degree video. Low-light performance is also a key feature thanks to the 1/1.55-inch sensors and large f/1.6 apertures for each of the two fisheye lenses.

QooCam 3: Release date and price

• Launched in September 2023
• Several kit options
• Additional accessories available

The QooCam 3 was launched in September 2023, and is the second consumer 360-degree camera produced by Kandao. The QooCam 3 standalone kit includes the camera, a battery, a USB-C cable, and a soft case, and costs $349 / £278 / AU$531. The Travel Kit is the best option for most people – this includes all of the above plus an additional battery, a 64GB microSD card and a 120cm invisible selfie stick for just a bit more at $370 / £295 / AU$563. The Motorcycle Kit includes all of the above, plus a plethora of mounting accessories for $400 / £319 / AU$609.

Alongside the kits, you can also purchase additional batteries, the invisible 120cm selfie stick, and a Marsace x Kandao co-branded mini tripod. When the camera was sent to me for review it arrived with a car suction mount, which is a great accessory that works exceptionally well, but which unfortunately is not available on the Kandao website at the time of writing – hopefully it will be soon.

• Price score: 4/5

QooCam 3: Design

• Near square design
• 1.9-inch LCD screen
• Weighty at 7.76oz / 220g

The QooCam 3 is almost square at 2.8 x 3.3 x 1.0 inches / 71.5 x 82.7 x 26.6mm and weighs 7.76oz / 220g including a battery and microSD card. To say it looks familiar to the GoPro Max is an understatement, although the QooCam 3 is slightly larger and heavier. Controls are minimal, with just a power and record button on the top and a 1.9-inch rectangular touchscreen on which settings can be accessed easily by swiping from the sides and using the customizable Q menu.

The LCD screen isn’t the highest-resolution when compared to other action cameras, but it’s clear and bright enough, and provides a single camera view, which can be switched from front to back when capturing photos and videos. This is better than the phone app view, which shows a stretched-out 360-degree view and feels strange to use for composing, but the app does provide wireless control of the camera, which is useful.

Build quality is impressive, especially considering this is one of the less expensive 360-degree cameras available, and the dark grey and black body has an undoubtedly high-quality look. The two fisheye lenses are positioned on opposite sides of the camera, and as on any camera of this type feel vulnerable, but they're protected when not in use by a soft case, which can be attached to the camera even when the selfie stick is inserted into the tripod mount on the bottom of the camera. There are four microphones, one on each side of the camera, that work well to record 360-degree sound in videos.

• Design score: 4/5

QooCam 3: Features and performance

• 1/1.55 in sensors and f/1.6 apertures
• 6-axis gyro for image stabilization
• 360-degree ambisonic audio

With the ability to shoot photos and videos in several capture modes, the QooCam 3 follows a fairly standard approach to 360-degree cameras and what they’re capable of. Operation of the camera using the camera itself and the touchscreen, where you swipe from the sides of the screen to access various settings and features, is incredibly easy and intuitive, as on most modern action cameras. The phone app is just as simple and intuitive in this regard, while also providing wireless control and Live View.

The headline features of the QooCam 3 have to be the 1/1.55-inch sensors with a 2μm pixel size and 4-in-1 pixel merging, alongside the fast f/1.6 apertures. These make the camera a solid performer in low-light conditions, although with such fast apertures, shutter speeds need to be fast in brighter light, so it’s impossible to use the correct shutter speed for capturing more cinematic motion in videos. That said, even if the aperture was f/2.8 you would still have this problem, so the low-light performance is a huge bonus.

The camera uses a 6-axis gyro, which works well overall, and when I tested this while running the bobbing of the camera was minimized, although not completely eliminated. The same goes for walking, although with most action cameras you do have to walk with slightly bent knees while keeping the camera steady for the smoothest results. This is easiest when using the invisible selfie stick, which also allows you to maneuver the camera into interesting positions and apply sweeping movements for more dynamic videos.

One point to note is that image stabilization isn’t applied to the image viewed on the camera screen or in the app when connected, so this will appear unsteady during filming. Stabilization is applied during editing using the gyro data, where you can use Horizon Steady to lock the camera angle while maintaining the ability to add keyframes, or View Lock Steady to simply apply stabilization.

Sound can often be a secondary consideration for action cameras, but the QooCam 3’s four microphones capture 360-degree ambisonic audio (full-sphere surround sound) and do a reasonable job of recording sound. However, wind noise can be an issue when it’s windy or if the QooCam 3 is attached to a car using a suction mount – it has to be said that attaching the camera to a car to create faster and more dynamic timelapse videos, 360-degree videos, and reframed videos is a lot of fun.

The smartphone app and desktop app are both reasonably easy to use, but both lack the range of features and finesse of Insta360’s comparable apps for Insta360 cameras. The QooCam 3 phone app offers more functionality than the desktop version, including the ability to use templates to make faster edits, add one of five music tracks, and remove the original sound, although these options take some getting used to before you can confidently create the video effects you’re aiming for. It’s not rocket science by any means, but expect a small learning curve here – and the functionality is limited to just about what you need, rather than something slightly more impressive.

• Features and performance score: 3/5

QooCam 3: Image and video quality

• Up to 5.7K 30fps video
• 62MP 360-degree photos
• Decent low-light performance

The image quality produced by 360-degree cameras is never as good as that from standard action cameras, and the QooCam 3 is no exception here in general. It does, however, perform well in low-light conditions such as night scenes, thanks to the fast aperture. For example, when walking through Chinatown in London at night I only needed to increase the ISO to 640 while maintaining the correct 1/60 sec shutter speed for 5.7K 30fps video, and image quality was impressive.

The dual cameras on the QooCam 3 use fisheye lenses that provide a full-frame equivalent focal length of 9.36mm, with the images combined to create panoramic and 360-degree photos and videos. Camera control can be set to Auto, with control over exposure compensation and the ability to manually adjust exposure compensation and white balance, or Manual, which gives you full control over all settings except for aperture, which is fixed. Auto is best for situations where you’re moving from light to dark areas and vice versa, while Manual is generally best for everything else.

Photo modes include Standard panoramic photo (360-degree), Interval Photo, DNG8 and AEB. DNG8 is where eight DNG files are captured and merged in the RawPlus software for increased detail and lower noise with HDR results. However, when editing photos in QooCamStudio (desktop) and with the RawPlus desktop app, I didn't always feel that I knew exactly what I was doing.

For this to work, you have to merge the eight DNGs with RawPlus and export a single DNG. This can then be processed in Lightroom or Adobe Camera Raw, with no cropping, exported as a JPEG, and then further adjusted in terms of viewpoint in QooCamStudio, before a new JPEG can be exported at up to 4K dimensions. It’s a convoluted process, and I found a tutorial by a third party covering this after I was unable to find a guide on the Kandao website. This is a process that needs to be simplified.

QooCam 3 video

Photo editing is much easier with the QooCam 3 smartphone app, but often still leaves you wondering. That said, the 360-degree photos can be captured up to 62MP, but you have to attach the camera to the selfie stick on a mini tripod and be out of shot to avoid being photographed, or you can reframe photos into a 4K 2D photo. Video can be captured in Standard panoramic video (360-degree) and timelapse, with interval and resolution options for the latter. For video, you can capture 5.7K 30fps, 4K 60fps and 4K 30fps.

Image quality overall is good, and sits within the norm for this type of camera, but photos and videos have an over-sharpened appearance, and there’s no control over the sharpening level in the camera settings; this would be a useful addition via a firmware update. Over three weeks of using and testing the camera, three firmware updates were delivered, so Kandao is working hard to improve what is already a solid yet imperfect 360-degree camera. With a handful of upgrades in terms of the apps and the camera firmware, the QooCam 3 could be greatly improved to make it a highly competitive option, because the hardware is solid.

QooCam 3 360-degree video

• Image and video quality: 3.5/5

QooCam 3: Test scorecard

Should I buy the QooCam 3?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

QooCam 3: Also consider

If our QooCam 3 review has inspired you to think about other options, here are two more 360-degree cameras to consider…

How I tested the Kandao QooCam 3

The QooCam 3 was tested over several weeks in a variety of environments and light conditions, including being attached to a car. This provided enough time to fully explore what the camera is capable of in terms of capture options, editing options, output quality using both the smartphone and desktop apps, and, importantly, overall ease of use while considering the learning curve of the apps.

With nearly 30 years of photographic experience and 15 years working as a photography journalist, I’ve covered almost every conceivable subject and used many of the cameras and lenses that have been released in that time. As a working photographer, I’m also aware of the factors that are most important to photographers, and aim to test cameras and lenses in a way that reflects this.

• Shoot great 360-degree video
• The best action cameras of 2023

First tested November 2023.

Two-minute review

The Insta360 Ace Pro is Insta360’s first out and out wide-angle action camera – and the brand has absolutely nailed it, creating one of the best action cameras to market. Insta360 isn't new to this field though, with a range of 360-degree cameras that includes the low-light champion the Insta360 One R 1-inch, plus mobile gimbals.

The Ace Pro rivals the likes of the GoPro Hero 12 Black and the DJI Action 4, but it is the first of its kind to offer 8K video. Take that, GoPro and DJI. You also get 48MP stills – both of which are probably larger than most people will need. However, the quality of the output is generally great, with the HDR Photo mode particularly good at capturing detail in highlights. 

The highest resolution 8K video is available at 24fps only, so there's definitely room for higher frame rates to be added in future versions of this camera. However, slow motion 4K video is possible up to 120fps.

Insta360 is a long-time partner of Leica, which has engineered the Ace Pro's 1/1.3-inch sensor, and this partnership seems to be paying off. The sensor, backed by the camera's AI-boosted chip, does a great job of capturing excellent video and photo quality, even under more demanding lighting scenarios such as low light and highlights. 

The magnetic mounting system and wide range of mounts makes this camera a highly versatile option for all types of creatives. The multi mount is particularly useful, enabling the camera to be mounted on a tripod or carried around on a selfie-stick, and Insta360 provides mounts that would work with all types of action sports, including cycling, diving, and surfing. 

I really enjoyed the camera, from the excellent build quality to the impressive output of the video and photo. Insta360 has made a great camera, and it’s hard to see what it can improve on in future releases – perhaps slow motion 8K recording? 

It's a pricier alternative to the Hero 12 Black and the Action 4, but there are a number of specs that make the Ace Pro stand out and justify the higher price. The first is the 8K recording functionality. To achieve this inside such a small camera body is to push the boundaries of what was previously possible.

The 1/1.3-inch sensor is another spec that's worth noting. This is bigger than the Hero 12 Black's sensor and the same size as the Action 4's, although not as big as the Osmo Pocket 3. 

There's also a 2.4-inch flip screen that is the largest available on the market, compared to 2.25-inch for the Action 4 and 2.27-inch for the Hero 12 Black. The screens of those cameras are fixed, too, while the Ace Pro's can flip up for selfies.

Overall, Insta360 has done a breathtaking job of pushing the boundaries of what it's possible to pack into a small-form action camera.

Insta360 Ace Pro: release date and price

• Available to buy now for $449.99 / £429 / AU$729
• Mounts available from $14.99 / £15.99 / AU$29
• Cheaper 'Ace' version of the camera costs $379 / £359.99 / $AU609

The Insta360 Ace Pro is available now, with the lowest-priced Standard Combo package costing $449.99 / £429 / AU$729, which is a little pricier than the GoPro Hero 12 Black, which retails at $400 / £400 / AU$650, or the Hero 11 Black at $350 / £350 / AU$579.

To extend your mounting options you can get the Standard Mount for $14.99 / £15.99 / AU$29, and the Vertical-Horizontal Mount for $19.99 / £19.99 / AU$39.

To get waterproofing down to 16m rather than the standard 10m you can buy the Dive Case for $59.99 / £59.99 / AU$109.

An extra battery to extend shooting times costs $34.99 / £35.99 / AU$65, and if you're needing to charge your batteries quickly then the Fast Charge Hub is a great option, and costs $49.99 / £51.99 / AU$89.

The Insta360 Ace Pro doesn't come with GPS as standard, but if you pair it with the GPS Preview Remote you can track your location. The remote can be worn on your wrist or mounted on your bike, for example. It costs $149.99 / £149.99 / AU$269.

If you want a cheaper alternative to the Pro version there's an Insta360 Ace which retails at $379 / £359.99 / $AU609.

• Price score: 4/5

Insta360 Ace Pro: design

• Easy magnetic mount
• Versatile multi mount
• 2.4-inch flip screen for selfies

The Ace Pro is really nicely engineered, from quality materials. As soon as you take it out the box you can tell that it's both heavier and bigger than other cameras on the market, such as the Hero 12 Black. It weighs in at 179.8g, compared to 154g for the Hero 12 Black and 145g for the Action 4.

The benefit of this is that it feels more substantial in the hand, while still feeling very much like an action camera. It also allows for much better heat dissipation, something that is the single biggest problem facing action camera designers. If you want a smaller Insta360 camera the brand does offer smaller consumer alternatives. 

One area where the Ace Pro diverges from other action cameras, in a good way, is in the implementation of its screens. I find DJI and GoPro screens often a little unresponsive, and their front screens never seem to deliver what's required when shooting in selfie-mode. The Ace Pro, on the other hand, includes a fantastic 2.4-inch rear flip screen that hinges from the top. The screen is big and responsive, and the hinge is perfectly engineered, enabling the screen to perch securely at any angle. I love it.

In terms of mounting, you have a plethora of options available to you. The camera itself has a magnetic plate at the base to allow for a super-quick snapping of the camera onto different mounts. It follows the Action 4 in this regard, and has left behind the Hero 12 Black, which will hopefully introduce this functionality next time round. Action cameras have to be versatile, and quick to get up and running, and the magnetic mount on the Insta360 Ace Pro enables exactly that.

The standard mount is ideal for cycling, for either mounting the camera onto a helmet or handlebars. It’s lightweight, and includes a quarter-inch screw hole. There's also a quick-release mount, which hooks into the camera and is removable using the quick-release buttons. Unfortunately, I found that the camera didn’t hook into the prongs first time every time, and at times it took a little fiddling to ensure that both prongs were clicked in, which isn't ideal.

The multi mount is a stroke of genius though, serving a whole host of different shooting scenarios. It can serve as a standard tripod, as a selfie-stick of sorts, or just as something to carry the camera around with when you're shooting on the go.

Insta360 has also included a really nice front display, which isn't a touchscreen but updates you on some of the key settings. It’s a nice feature, but I couldn’t really find a use case for it; if I was shooting in selfie mode then I had the settings displayed on the flipped screen anyway.

I personally found the record button too hard to press, which made it difficult to begin recording or take a photo without dislodging the location of the camera in my hand and introducing a wobble into the start of the video. A more responsive button would easily overcome this. 

The camera contains all the ports you would expect, including a USB-C port, microSD slot, and a battery cavity. These are all behind flaps which I found a little fiddly to open and close. The flap to the power port/microSD port also only just opens wide enough to allow the power cable in, while the microSD port is also right next to the power cable, which makes it tricky to remove or insert the SD card while charging.

• Design score: 4.5/5

Insta360 Ace Pro: features and performance

• Excellent FlowState stabilization and Horizon Lock
• Decent waterproofing up to 33ft / 10m
• Handy voice and gesture controls

The Insta360 Ace Pro has been co-engineered with Leica, which means it has a great sensor – it's actually the same size sensor as in the Osmo Action 4 at 1/1.3-inches, and is bigger than the Hero 12 Black's. It does, however, fall short of the new 1-inch sensor in the DJI Osmo Pocket 3; given this camera's larger camera body, I wonder if this bigger sensor will be introduced in a future Ace Pro camera.

The 1/1.3-inch sensor alongside the f/2.6 aperture facilitates impressive low-light performance – more about that later. The 5nm AI chip enables a strong level of noise reduction, which is perfect in those night-time scenes where you can’t get rid of all the noise in-camera. The AI on the chip also means it better handles the opposite extreme, where there are bright light sources in the shot, something that's difficult for any camera to handle, let alone a small action camera. 

The stabilization in the camera centers around FlowState and Horizon Lock, features that are well implemented in pretty much all other action cameras. FlowState, Insta360’s proprietary algorithm, is tried and tested on its other cameras and works well. Horizon Lock does exactly that, and is ideally suited to when the camera is rotated a lot through the shot. 

The video resolution allows for up to 8K at 24 frames per second. This is an industry-leading resolution, with the Hero 12 Black topping out at 5.3K and the Action 4 at 4K. Not many users will need 8K in this type of camera, or have the display to watch it on, but if it's something that's important to your workflow then the Insta360 Ace Pro delivers. 

The camera contains a neat little feature, although not unique, called ‘Photo Grab’, which enables the capturing of 12MP photos mid-video. We’ll look at the quality of the video and photo from this camera later.

The camera is waterproof down to 10m, which will be sufficient for most cases, but if you find yourself shooting at a greater depth the dive case that's available separately allows you to use the camera to depths of to 16m. 

One feature I particularly love is the gesture control. With a simple raising of the palm the camera will start recording video, after a three-second countdown so you can get set up. And if you show the 'peace' sign a photo will be taken after three seconds. I like these types of features, as they minimize the interaction required with the actual camera. 

• Performance score: 4.5/5

Insta360 Ace Pro: image and video quality

• Max photo resolution: 48MP (8064 x 6048)
• Video: 8K 24fps / 4K 120fps / 1080 240fps
• Active HDR

The results produced by the Insta360 Ace Pro are noticeably impressive. Where do we start? How about low-light performance? This is where so many action cameras, over the years, have tripped up. If the lighting conditions are ideal then it's no problem, but creators don’t want to be limited by their tech. 

The image quality across all resolutions is really nice including the 8K option. Colors are represented with clarity and vibrancy giving a punchy image that pops off the screen. Low-lighting conditions are also handled well, with only a small amount of noise noticeable during testing. The AI-boosted chip helps to clear away more of the noise that can’t be removed by the 1/1.3-inch sensor, and this low-light performance is replicated across video and photo. 

The other scenarios these types of cameras often struggle with is highlights. The Ace Pro contains HDR technology when shooting video, and also includes a separate HDR photo mode. The Active HDR in video mode delivers fairly good results, although there is still some detail lost, especially in the highlights. 

The HDR photo mode on the other hand does a much better job of capturing those details. When taking a photo of an overcast sky, for example, the image had definition in the clouds, where the video captured turned the sky completely white. 

Color replication across all modes is excellent, with little to no correction required to replicate real-life colors. GoPro and DJI cameras often struggle with this, so I was pleased to see the Insta360 Ace Pro doing such a good job. This color replication is also noticeable with faces and skin tones which, again, are captured accurately. 

Unfortunately, there isn’t log capture functionality like the GP-Log in the GoPro Hero 12 Black. This limits your color-editing options in post, and it would be a fantastic additional feature to really take this camera to the next level. 

• Image and video quality score: 4.5/5

Should I buy the Insta360 Ace Pro?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

Insta360 Ace Pro: Also consider

Testing scorecard

How I tested the Insta360 Ace Pro

I used the Insta360 Ace Pro as both an action camera and a vlogging camera. Taking it out and about enabled me to properly test all of its features, including its video and photo quality as well as its stabilization. 

Taking the Ace Pro out on my bike provided a great opportunity to see how the camera would cope working at speed and under changing lighting conditions.

Having tested other action cameras I was able to make informed comparisons between the Ace Pro and other popular models.

First reviewed November 2023