Review: The tiny Insta360 GO 3S finally shoots 4K video

The Insta360 GO series has been one of my favourite camera types ever since it first launched. The concept is great. They’re fun, and you can use them in places where a bulky mirrorless camera would be impossible. So far, however, the series has lacked one big feature.

Well, that changes today. Insta360 has announced the new Insta360 GO 3S (buy here), which has been upgraded to shoot 4K resolution video. It also sees a few other improvements, although it sports an almost identical form factor to the Insta360 GO 3 (buy here).

Insta360 GO 3S – Introduction and Specs

The Insta360 GO 3S is the latest in Insta360’s teeny tiny camera lineup. It’s smaller than your thumb (well, most people’s thumbs), weighs next to nothing and is magnetic. This means you can mount it in places where a more traditional camera, or even an action camera, would be impossible.

The headline news on the Insta360 GO 3S is obviously the upgrade to 4K resolution. People have been asking for a 4K version since the original was released. And now it’s finally here. But besides the resolution bump, what else is new?

Well, there’s a new MegaView FOV mode. This is like the Ultrawide mode but with less distortion. So, you can get fairly straight straight lines even on an ultra-wide-angle view now. The camera’s slow-motion capabilities have also seen a nice boost. The Insta360 GO 3S can shoot up to 200fps at 1080p or 100fps at 2.7K.

There’s a new interval video mode. This allows you to record clips for a set period of time at set intervals. This is very handy if you just want a clip montage of your day and aren’t looking to capture a specific thing. It can even use AI to edit a video together for you using the Insta360 App.

The Insta360 GO 3S is now compatible with Apple Find My. So, for Apple users, this will be a valuable new feature. Shooting orientation is now matched to camera orientation when shooting 4K footage. You can still shoot 2.8K square footage, like the GO 3, which you can then crop horizontally or vertically in the app.

Waterproofing has been improved. You’re now able to go all the way down to 10 metres (33ft), double the depth of the Insta360 GO 3. This is just the camera, though, not the Action Pod. That still remains just splash-proof at best. Don’t take it underwater.

Another new feature the Insta360 GO 3S introduces to the GO series is gesture control. We’ve seen this in some of Insta360’s other cameras, like the Insta360 Ace Pro, so it’s nice to see it here, too – even if the camera will be pointed away from you most of the time.

First impressions – Get the black one

My first impressions of the Insta360 GO 3S aren’t really that much different from the Insta360 GO 3. After all, they come with the same accessories, and they’re essentially identical on the outside. There are two exceptions to previous GO cameras I’ve used.

When Insta360 released the Insta360 GO 2, there was only ever a white version. I ended up buying a black silicone cover for the GO 2 so that it was darker on my chest. I typically wear fairly dark clothes, so it helped it blend in.

When the Insta360 GO 3 initially launched, there was also only the white version at launch. A short time later, though, a black unit was released. It was identical to the white version in every respect, other than its colour.

The Insta360 GO 3S is the first black GO series camera I’ve received, and it echoes my experiences of wearing the GO 2 with the black silicone cover. It essentially makes it invisible.

Here’s the issue. White cameras stand out on most of the clothes many people wear and draw attention to themselves. Our eyes are naturally drawn to brighter things. A big white pill-shaped thing on your chest attracts attention, potentially luring thieves or provoking confrontation.

A black one doesn’t because nobody notices it.

If you’re planning to shoot while on vacation or walking around busy cities and such, definitely get the black one rather than the white one. And if you do get the white one, see if there’s a black silicone cover out there for it.

The other exception (you won’t like this)…

The other obvious difference, which will definitely upset those who’ve invested in ND filters for their GO 3, is the lens cover. The thread diameter has changed since the GO 3. This is a shame, as the GO 3 and GO 2 shared the same diameter thread. This meant you could keep using your filters.

The change is likely due to the sensor and lens differences. The GO 2 and GO 3, while significantly different in many ways, both shoot 2.7K footage, likely with the same sensor and lens.

The new lens means a larger diameter lens cover. Hopefully, however, this larger lens cover means we’ll start to see some more useful filters besides NDs. Some close-up filters would be an excellent option for me personally.

After all, one of the biggest advantages of the GO series is how small they are and how you can fit them into small spaces. So, give us something to let us focus on those small spaces up close, please.

Shooting with the Insta360 GO 3S

Shooting with this camera was really no different to shooting with the Insta360 GO 3. The GO 3S is pretty much a drop-in replacement for the GO 3 and you can just shoot as you normally would.

There are some slight dimensional differences between the GO 3 and the GO 3S. The action pods are identical, and the cameras themselves are mostly identical, except for the depth. The GO 3S is about a millimetre thicker than the GO 3.

The interface on the Action Pod also has some slight changes. There’s a new “Tilt Fix” levelling option on the screen that isn’t there in the GO 3. There are also a few more options in the dropdown menu for things like Gesture Mode – a new feature for the GO 3S.

In general, shooting with the Insta360 GO 3S wasn’t really any different to shooting with the Insta360 GO 3. Outside of the Action Pod, it does the same job the GO 3, GO 2 and original GO did. It just does it in 4K.

You’re also able to use the Action Pod as a remote control for the camera. And when you bring the two together, it works like a regular action camera. Except, it has that flip-up display for when you fancy a bit of vlogging.

New Video Options – Interval Video, MegaView FOV

There’s also a new Interval Video option available from the dropdown. This offers a range of presets as well as custom settings to let you record short clips of a given length at set intervals. It starts when the camera is powered off.

The first recording starts at the set interval after shutdown. It shoots its clip and then shuts down for your interval before firing itself up and recording again. Rinse and repeat. This looks like a great way to shoot long journeys or activities.

Some of the terminology has changed, as it often tends to do. The Ultra, Action, Linear and Narrow fields of view options of the GO 3 are now Mega, Ultra, Dewarp and Narrow, respectively, on the Insta360 GO 3S. The new MegaView FOV mode does present a rather pleasing shot. It’s like a straightened version of the regular Ultra.

File Transfer Speeds

Transferring files can be done in a couple of ways. There’s the smartphone app, of course, but many of us like to edit on the desktop. Typically, I edit footage from small cameras like these in DaVinci Resolve. It just gives me the most control.

If I’m using the pro/advanced/freeframe modes, then I’ll want to process it in Insta360 Studio first, but I’ll still ultimately end up editing all the footage together in DaVinci Resolve. But this means transferring it to the PC.

This is done using a USB cable and putting the Insta360 GO 3S into U-Disk mode. This allows your computer to see it as a storage device, like a memory stick or portable SSD.

With the Insta360 GO 3, I would occasionally have troubles with this. Large transfers would sometimes fail, with the camera disconnecting from the computer at some point during the transfer. Usually, all of the individual files would be small enough that I could copy them over a few sessions, but it happens often enough that it sticks out.

I had none of that with the Insta360 GO 3S. The USB connection to my computer was solid. Transferring around 40GB of files from the GO 3S to my computer went without a single hitch. I would probably have to do that in two or three sessions on the GO 3.

While the connection was very stable, its speed wasn’t anything to write home about. It topped out around 38MB/sec but averaged around 35MB/sec for the entire 40GB transfer. I would have hoped for a little more speed than this, but with as stable as it is, I don’t mind the wait too much. I just leave it going while I’m doing other things.

New Quick File Transfer

The Insta360 GO 3S features a new Quick File Transfer for transferring footage to your smartphone. As mentioned above, I edit everything on my desktop. As such, transferring to the smartphone using the new Quick File Transfer feature wasn’t something I tested.

Insta360 says, however, that with a simple tap of the Action Pod’s screen, the footage is sent directly from the camera right to the phone. This should make things a lot easier and faster to transfer.

Sample footage

Before I saw the footage from the Insta360 GO 3S, I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect. I knew it would be better than the GO 3, but would it stand up to 4K on the Insta360 Ace Pro? Well, as you can see from the sample footage above – mostly shot mounted to the magnetic pendant – the footage looks very impressive for such a small camera.

Outdoors, it’s about as good as we can hope to expect from an action camera these days. The colour looks great, and the details are sharp and clear. As we head to lower light environments, like walking through a supermarket, it still holds up quite well.

As an aside, the camera’s anti-flicker was set to auto, and it was shooting at 24fps. I’m not sure what shutter speed it was using, but it did seem to get confused in a couple of shops. Most shops, however, were just fine and didn’t present flicker at all.

Stabilisation

This is something I’m still getting to grips with on this camera. I don’t know if it’s me or the camera.

It features both FlowState stabilisation and horizon levelling, and it’s very good overall. In the sample footage above, you can see pushing the cart through the supermarket; even as the cart turns, the environment moves smoothly.

When walking with it on my chest, it seems to be a bit hit-and-miss, depending on the wider environment. It likes to bounce around quite a bit from side to side as I walk sometimes. I definitely need to experiment more with the stabilisation settings in order to determine the best settings for each situation, but when it worked, it worked extremely well.

Also, do bear in mind, the Insta360 GO 3S I’m using is running a pre-production firmware. This means it’s not the complete and final version. And I don’t recall seeing this side-to-side behaviour to this degree with the Insta360 GO 3 or Insta360 GO 2. So, hopefully it will not be an issue by the time it launches.

Insta360 GO 3S – IP-Rated to IPX8

The Insat360 GO 3S sees an upgrade to its waterproofing. It’s now IPX8 rated, which Insta360 says keeps you safe to a depth of 10 metres (33ft). However, they warn that you need to keep the Lens Guard attached to the camera to retain its waterproofing rating.

This is a nice upgrade from the Insta360 GO 3, which allowed you to go to a depth of 5 metres (16ft). Sure, even 5 metres is deeper than many people will go, but it’s comforting to know that it can handle much more than we’re throwing at it.

As with the Insta360 GO 3 Action Pod, the Insta360 GO 3S Action Pod is IPX4-rated, not IPX8. It’s not waterproof, but it is splashproof. So, it can handle a bit of rain and the occasional splash. If you do want to use the Action Pod underwater, you’ll need the GO 3S Dive Case. This lets you go down to 60m (200ft).

Other things…

I think the above mostly covers it, but there are some other features to mention.

One new feature for Apple users is that the Insta360 GO 3S is compatible with Apple’s “Find My…” feature, allowing you to locate your device should you lose it. This only applies to the camera itself, however, and not the action pod.

The aspect ratio is now defined by camera orientation. If you want to shoot vertically, orient the camera vertically. If you want to shoot landscape, orient it horizontally. The new magnetic pendant lets you attach it in either orientation.

I briefly touched on Gesture Control earlier, but this is a welcome addition to the Insta360 GO 3S. The versatility of the Action Pod makes it easy to film yourself. The addition of gesture control can mean less wasted storage space.

Finally, Insta360 is dropping the 32GB flavour with the Insta360 GO 3S. The GO 3 was available in 32GB, 64GB and 128GB capacities. The GO 3S will only be available in 64GB and 128GB capacities. This is a good move, I think. 32GB is never enough these days!

Final thoughts

The Insta360 GO 3S has immediately become my favourite of the GO series. I’m already thinking about buying a second one. Having another as a backup or for somebody else to wear for behind-the-scenes footage will be very handy.

One thing I haven’t mentioned so far, something which was deemed to be a big deal are its vlogging capabilities. The flip-up screen provides obvious benefits in this regard. But aside from the obvious bump in resolution, the Insta360 GO 3S vlogging capabilities haven’t really changed since the GO 3.

There’s still no microphone socket (or adapter) for the GO 3S or Action Pod, just as there wasn’t with the GO 3. If you’re recording separately with something like the Rode Wireless Pro (buy here), then you can sync up in post. But there’s no way of injecting audio directly into your recording.

If you can live with that one issue, then the Insta360 GO 3S is a fantastic option as a tiny camera that shoots 4K. I’ll still be using my GO 3 alongside this for a while, but only until I can replace it with a second GO 3S.

Price and Availability

The Insta360 GO 3S is available to buy now, starting at $399.99 for the base 64GB model or $429.99 for the 128GB model. It’s available in either Arctic White or Midnight Black. Personally, I say go for the black.

For existing Insta360 GO 3 users who want to upgrade without buying a whole new Action Pod, the camera is available on its own for $239.99 for the 64GB model and $269.99 for the 128GB model.