The Go 3 sports activities the identical 1/2.3-inch sensor and 11-mm f/2.2 lens with a 134-degree area of view. (For reference the GoPro Hero 11 Black’s widest area of view is 122 levels.) Regardless of utilizing the identical sensor, the Go 3 provides fairly just a few new capturing modes, together with stills and time-lapse, in addition to higher-resolution video, which may now be shot at as much as 2.7K at 30 frames per second.
Along with the usual 2.7K video, which is primarily what I ended up capturing, there’s a Freeframe video mode, just like what the Go 2 used. On this mode, you’ll be able to shoot the total area of view, however at a barely decrease 1440p decision, after which crop while you’re modifying. This lets you barely reframe the scene after the actual fact. The reframing functionality is just not as intensive as you’d get on a 360-degree digicam, however you’ll be able to middle or observe belongings you may not have seen while you had been capturing. Freeframe mode additionally means you’ll be able to shoot one video and crop to 9:16, 16:9, 1:1, or no matter video dictates you want to observe. However bear in mind, a kitten dies each time you pollute the world with vertical video.
I notably preferred the time-lapse mode, which has two very good options. First, it may be saved as both a video (for fast importing to the net) or as a sequence of photos (together with RAW recordsdata) for additional processing. Second, there’s additionally a timer choice to show the digicam on at a predetermined time, which is useful if you wish to shoot star trails however don’t need to keep up all night time to do it.
There’s now two microphones on the Go 3 digicam and a brand new wind-suppression setting that really works fairly effectively. Collectively these imply a lot, significantly better sound than what the Go 2 was able to recording.
In one other step up from the Go 2, there at the moment are no limits on clip size. The battery life is the one limiting issue, however it’s fairly good—45 minutes for simply the digicam, extra when it’s within the Pod. The infamous overheating problems with the Go 2 have been solved. Largely. I’ve seen some experiences across the web that the Go 3 overheats, however in months of testing I by no means encountered any warmth points, together with throughout very lengthy (30-minute) movie occasions. That is a stark distinction to the Go 2, which appeared to overheat when you stared at it for too lengthy.
Different new options embody a slew of coloration profiles, with choices custom-made for biking, city landscapes, night time, snow, and so forth. I principally shot in flat as a result of I want to do my very own coloration grading when modifying, however it’s good to have loads of choices while you’re capturing one thing that you simply don’t plan to edit extensively.
Talking of modifying, Insta360’s cell app (iOS, Android) stays the identical, which is an effective factor. It’s nonetheless the simplest, most trouble-free app of all of the motion digicam makers on the market.
Hassle Forward
{Photograph}: Insta360
All of which is to say that the Go 3 is a really succesful digicam. However there are a few issues I did not like. It solely has built-in reminiscence; there is not any SD card slot. I examined the 64-gigabyte mannequin, which proved loads of house, however transferring footage to my laptop computer was notably slower than transferring through a speedy microSD card.
