After making a number of vacation videos using
- my phone (Google Pixel 8)
- my action camera (Insta360 Ace Pro)
- my two 360 cameras (Insta360 X3)
I’ve found the following works best for depending on the scenario.
Driving
- If HDR is necessary and you only want to film in one direction, mount the Ace Pro on the windshield facing the front of the vehicle (FPV)
- If you want to film both the vehicle occupants and the road, mount the Insta360 X3 on the windshield
- Shoot either a regular video or a Timeshift video
Walking (Daytime)
- Mount one Insta360 X3 on your chest (FPV). The Ace Pro isn’t a 360 camera, so it will not allow you to reframe later on to get subjects that are not directly in front of the camera.
- Hold a second Insta360 X3 or X4 on an extended selfie stick such that the camera is at eye level to film yourself
Walking (Nighttime)
- For good image quality, mount the Ace Pro either on your chest or on a selfie stick and use “Pure Video” mode to get good night shots.
- If you use the Insta360 X3/X4, the image quality will be much worse.
Hotel Room Tour
- Mount the Ace Pro on a selfie stick and film as FPV or film with the screen flipped up so you can film yourself (selfie)
- Use “Pure Video” mode because you will be indoors and with unnatural (low) light.
- I tried using my phone with a gimbal, but I preferred the simplicity and the results of using the Ace Pro.
Here’s a comparison of the picture quality from taking a snapshot of a video taken by both the X3 and the Ace Pro. As you can see, the Ace Pro picture quality is way better. Click on each image to open the original files.
Here’s another comparison.
Eating
- Use X3
Airplane Take-off and Landing
When filming a take-off/landing from a window seat of an airplane, the difficult is keeping the horizon level. Also, with HDR technology, the sky can look overexposed, white, and washed out. If you use a 360 camera, you can adjust the horizon in post, but that’s a hassle. Ideally, use a gimbal, like the one integrated with the DJI Osmo Pocket.