Insta360 Pro Camera Firmware V2.0 – Improved Image, Manual Framerate Adjustments, Exposure Curves

NewsIndustry

by Graham SheldonDecember 22^nd, 2017

After announcing a formidable looking professional 360 camera at NAB in 2017, Insta360 is making an impressive firmware update to their Pro line. With firmware version 2.0 they’ve promised improved overall image quality, added manual framerate adjustments and much needed exposure curves to the camera — and best yet, it’s free. And, for you stills folks out there, the Insta360Pro now shoots 12K images. Details on the new firmware update below: 

Image Quality: 

Insta360 promises improved dynamic range, white balance, saturation and image contrast with the new firmware update.  The company also says maintaining detail in the darker areas of photos or videos captured with the camera have been a priority with this update.

Stitching Box mode enabled. Picture Credit: Nino Leitner

Manual Framerate Adjustments: 

Firmware v2.0 allows increased control over framerate export. For example, if you shoot a video at 30fps you’ll now be able to double the framerate and export at 60fps thanks to a technology Insta 360 is calling “Optical Flow Interpolation”.  The same goes with any of the framerates the Insta360Pro is capable of shooting. 120fps can become 240fps on export and so on.  I can see this feature being useful for dialing in the best framerate for action sports and other fast moving shots where having the perfect framerate is paramount to reduce shutter. This feature could serve to reduce testing time in the field.

Exposure Curves at work.

Exposure Curves:

One of my main complaints with the overall state of 360 cameras is the seeming inability to gain fine control over the image they shoot. Very often shooting with 360 cameras can be a set it and forget it proposition with all camera settings stuck in fully automatic mode. Insta360 is doing a lot to alleviate that issue with their new Curves feature that promises very detailed control over color and tone across the image (see image left).

High Resolution Stills: 

The firmware update also gives the camera the ability to capture multiple 8K photos in quick succession before intelligently merging the image into a single 12K still. No word on when we might see 12K video coming to the Insta360Pro, but for now we’ll have to live with the still-great 8K video resolution!

One of the most interesting updates added in V2.0 is actually on the post side in my opinion. A feature dubbed “Stitching Box” allows you to connect the camera to your computer and outsource some of the 360 processing to the camera body. This could be a major time saver for you 360 creators out there without the budget for a $5000 – $13,000 iMac Pro.

There aren’t a ton of affordable options out there for high resolution 360 video creators and the Insta360 Pro, with its $3K price point, fills that niche well. Firmware V2.0 promises to make the camera an even more attraction option for shooters looking to break into the 360 realm. Download the firmware update from their website here.

Don’t forget to catch our episode of On The Go (shot in 360 video on the Pro camera) where Nino and I discuss the Insta 360Pro camera with Max Richter from Insta360.

What do you think? Does firmware v2.0 mean you’ll be adding the Insta360 Pro to your kit? Comment below!