Insta360’s Tiny GO 3 Could Be the World’s Most Versatile POV Camera
No camera embodies the phrase “small but mighty” better than the GO 3.
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Since Insta360 tore into the action camera scene in 2015, it's disrupted long-standing players in the niche, namely GoPro. How could a young company break into such an established market and challenge the top brand in just a few years? Innovation is the answer.
If your Instagram Reels feed is full of action sports clips, you’ve already seen the shift to 360-degree footage. And this is down to how good Insta360’s 360-degree cameras are and how intuitive its editing software is.
Now the manufacturer is directing its innovative ideas to give us, potentially, the most versatile POV camera on the market in the form of the GO 3.
The Go 3 is tiny, and I mean tiny. It’s about the size of your thumb and weighs just 35g. Its miniature features, combined with its magnetic mounting system, open up a world of shooting possibilities. Couple the camera with the included magnetic pendant, and you can record POV footage from a day in the life of your pets or put it on your t-shirt and capture the first time you explore a new city.
This is one of the smallest action cameras ever, but it still packs a sizable punch. It records in 2.7K, has 360-degree Horizon Lock, FlowState stabilization, a 45-minute battery life, and is waterproof up to five meters thanks to its IPX8 rating.
Unlike the models Insta360 is best known for, this isn’t a 360-degree camera. It’s intended to record POV action, and the range of included accessories ensures you can capture footage from almost any angle thanks to the magnetic mounting system.
Included in the sale is a magnetic pendant, which can be worn around your neck to give a first-person POV angle from your chest. An Easy Clip is also included and is supposed to be used with hats to give a high-angle POV shot. Finally, you'll get a pivot stand with a reusable sticky mount to help capture tricky angles with ease via its 1/4-inch mounting point, to which you can attach a selfie stick or tripod.
But there’s one more accessory that transforms the versatility of this camera.
The Multifunctional Action Pod acts as a housing, remote control, and charger for the GO3. It features a 2.2-inch touchscreen and connects to the GO 3 via Bluetooth, meaning you can preview your shots before you hit record. It’s compatible with all the same magnetic mounts that are included in the sale, so you don’t lose any of the GO 3’s versatility when you put it in the Action Pod. The added power supply from the Action Pod takes this camera’s battery life from 45 to 170 minutes.
Insta360 aimed to address the pain points of GO 2 users with this latest model. Namely, the brand wanted to give more battery life, and it did. The GO 3 uses a 310mAh battery, and its shooting time of up to 45 minutes is 50% longer than the previous generation. The resolution has been increased from 1440p to 2.7k, and there is no clip length limitation. Audio functionality was also at the forefront of the agenda, as the GO 3 now features dual microphones and comes with the Voice Control 2.0 upgrade, enabling hands-free operation.
The GO 3 also has some new recording modes over its predecessor. It now has pre-recording, loop recording, and timed capture functions. Timed capture could be particularly useful for those who don’t want to wake up early to get good footage of the sunrise. There are also a few more creative modes on offer, like TimeShift for hyper-lapse montages, AI-powered PureShot HDR photos, and slow motion capture up to 120 fps.
There are three pricing options for the GO 3, and all include the accessories listed throughout this article. The three storage options are as follows: 32GB, 64GB, and 128GB, and they’re priced at $379.99, $399.99, and $429.99, respectively.
