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Insta360’s ONE R modular action camera has gained a major firmware update today that includes new picture control adjustments and full horizon levelling stabilisation.
Insta360 continues to breathe new life into its existing range of cameras with a new firmware update for the seminal ONE R action camera. It’s great to see gear being supported like this, and so regularly, especially with the features promised here. So, what’s new?
For me the the stand out addition, and it's one that isn't mentioned in the promo below, is the new sharpness setting adjustment. This gives users four different image sharpness settings of very high, high, medium, and low. This should make a lot of creators happy because it’s one area in which the camera has been in need of addressing since its release. Often, particularly with the way in which 360 video is reframed, the digital edge enhancement can play havoc with the quality. Being able to set the enhancement to low means that users will have more control in editing, possibly better upconversion, and the compression system won’t be taxed as hard. It also means that it will be easier to use ONE R footage alongside other cameras more easily. This is a very welcome addition indeed.
Horizon Lock stabilisation for 4K Mod and 1-Inch Mod
This is another major addition, enabling complete horizon levelling stabilisation. As per other FlowState stabilisation settings, this is implemented when the footage is imported into the mobile or desktop apps. Enabling the feature does result in quite a tight crop, making the FOV narrower than the standard narrow setting, but this is to be expected. So whilst it might not suit action camera POV style mounting, it could be very useful for vlogging and B-roll style shots.
New framerate and colour improvements
The 4K and 1-Inch Mod now have an additional frame rate option of 4K 50fps in Pro Video mode. This was to allow a better frame rate selection for users in 50hz countries. Additionally the 1-Inch Mod is receiving improvements to the Vivid colour profile. The company claims that the profile has been given a complete makeover to enable much better and vibrant colours than previously.
Loop recording
The ONE R, whilst an action camera, can actually now be used as a very effective dash cam. The new loop recording function will capture up to a maximum length of 30 minutes for a clip before the previously recorded footage is deleted and the new recording taking its place.
This also acts as a sort of pre-record cache. So you could use it while out doing sports with, say a shorter loop direction set up, and then you only need to stop recording once something interesting has happened, thus saving a lot of card space.
A few other improvements that come with the firmware are improved audio quality with external mics, compatibility with a new Roadie Remote, a wireless remote that allows you to control the camera from a car steering wheel, and TimeShift videos are now automatically sped up to 6x speed before being saved, thus taking up far less space on your SD card.
New editing features
Two new Shot Lab templates have been added to the mobile app. These are Horizon Flip, an effect that mirrors your surroundings in the sky, and Overtaker, which overlays a number count for how many cars you have overtaken on your motorcycle!
The AquaVision colour profile has been improved with a version 2.0. This takes underwater footage and corrects the colour shift that is found in this type of scenario. There’s also a Car multi view option, which takes the footage from the 360 Mod and shows a wide angle view of the front and back of the camera in a spit screen.
Finally, the ONE X2 will also be receiving the Shot Lab updates, AquaVision 2.0 and car MultiView. Although I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see other features such as the sharpness adjustment making it into the camera at a later date.
The new firmware for the ONE R is available now via the mobile app or via download from the Insta360 website.
Tags: Production News
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