00:00I'm headed to China for the next few weeks and need to pack a small travel camera.
00:03The Insta360 X-
00:055 just dropped, but I've also got my trusty DJI Osmo Pocket 3 to pick between.
00:10So which one am I taking with me?
00:12Both, of course.
00:12What kind of question is that?
00:13Welcome to Chengdu, China.
00:15And another episode in my replacement series where I pit new gear against the stuff I
00:19already use and love.
00:20To see if it can earn a place in my kit.
00:22The Osmo Pocket 3 has been my go-to travel camera for years.
00:25So the X-5 has a lot to prove.
00:29Okay.
00:30If I had to narrow it down, here's what my perfect travel camera needs.
00:32It's got to be lightweight and deliver great video quality.
00:35But most importantly, it has to be fun and easy to use.
00:38Something that makes me want to-
00:40Keep shooting, not something that gets in the way.
00:42Let's start by looking at design.
00:43While both of these are super-
00:45compact cameras, they take a totally different approach.
00:47The X-5 is a sealed unit.
00:49No movie.
00:50And that means it's IP68 waterproof, dustproof, and much better suited.
00:55For taking on an adventure.
00:56Meanwhile, the Pocket 3 is more delicate.
00:59And something I wouldn't take to-
01:00I'm not going any further with the Osmo Pocket.
01:04Now, I-
01:05I thought the Pocket 3's 2-inch rotatable touchscreen was already great.
01:08But the X-5's larger 2.5-inch
01:10screen is even better, making it easier to check for framing and incredible for filming vertical
01:15content, which my book is a big plus.
01:18Now, I can't talk about-
01:20I can't talk about the camera's without getting into video quality.
01:22On one hand, the Insta360 X-5 captures-
01:25way more.
01:26But with the Osmo Pocket 3, it's much tighter.
01:29So, filming videos-
01:30like this, it can be a little bit difficult.
01:31You have to hold your hand a little bit further out when you want to get more in the scene.
01:35It's a lot easier to use the Insta360 X-5 because it's not just capturing me, it's capturing-
01:40what's in front of me to my size, and of course, I can reframe it later in post.
01:44So, that's really great.
01:45But with the Osmo Pocket 3's one perspective, I have to switch between it facing backwards-
01:50or selfie mode.
01:51And when there's a lot of action happening quickly, that could be the difference-
01:55between getting or missing the shot.
01:57But the benefit, and one of the biggest reasons I love the Osmo-
02:00the Osmo Pocket 3 so much is that one-inch sensor.
02:02And that one-inch sensor unlocks this really nice-
02:05depth of field, especially when you get closer to your subject, it blurs out the background
02:08really nicely.
02:10X5 though, everything is in focus all the time, no matter how close I get.
02:14And that's not very flattering.
02:15The Insta360 X5 can shoot up to 8K 30 frames per second, which sounds impressive.
02:20But the resolution is split between both lenses in 360 mode, so really-
02:25you're looking at something closer to 4K.
02:27And even though the Pocket 3 tops out at just 4K-
02:30I found that it produces sharper and more natural images straight out of the camera.
02:35So when it comes to vlogging with these two cameras, they trade-
02:40blows, but if you add a selfie stick to the mix, the X5 pulls off one of its greatest invis-
02:45visible party tricks.
02:46Literally.
02:47In a few seconds, you can go from a simple handheld shot to make-
02:50it look like you have a drone or even a personal camera operator following you with no cell-
02:55selfie stick in frame.
02:56And this feature unlocks some of the most fun shots I captured on the trail.
03:00Especially when I was finding creative angles to move the X5 through.
03:05It's also great to have a small, pocketable camera that offers decent zoom range.
03:10Now, unfortunately, with the Insta360 X5, you're pretty limited in what you can do.
03:15On the other hand, with the DJI Osmo Pocket 3, we got a recent software update which-
03:20brought medium tele-zoom, so that's been great for getting closer to the action without losing quality.
03:25or portability.
03:26But when I'm doing these day-long video shoots, battery life is another-
03:30really big concern.
03:31With the Insta360, you do have hot swappable batteries, so when one dies, you need to quickly-
03:35recharge, you're ready to go.
03:36With the Osmo Pocket 3, I do get longer battery life at about two hours-
03:40but the internal battery is not swappable.
03:42But, I do have this really nice extended battery grip-
03:45it nearly doubles battery life to about four hours, but it does make things a little bit less pocketable.
03:50Okay.
03:51It was this next day that I really wished the X5 had some-
03:55some kind of similar extended battery grip.
03:57Yeah, it's only 3 p.m.
03:58I've only been shooting-
04:00a bunch of shorter to medium length clips in the battery on this.
04:04It's already-
04:05pretty low.
04:06I have to plug it in in order to get more charge.
04:08So, I had the X5 plugged in-
04:10into that power bank that you just saw and everything was going fine-
04:13until the charging cable got onto something.
04:15And-
04:15and then-
04:16this happened.
04:17Did I break?
04:18No?
04:19Oh, thank God.
04:20I think it may have scratched a little bit-
04:20Oh, Lord.
04:21Yeah.
04:22It scratched just a little bit.
04:23I don't know how noticeable that is.
04:25I wish that was recording though.
04:26Yep.
04:27I dropped the camera.
04:28It took a full fall right to the con-
04:30concrete from like five feet up, but amazingly it only got scratched up a little bit.
04:35Yeah, you hate to see it, but that little scratch was enough to show up on video.
04:40a little bit too noticeable, but maybe enough that it's worth swapping this out.
04:44Hey, it's featured me back from-
04:45and it's time to get this lens cover fixed.
04:47Since the 360's credit, the new X5's cover is-
04:50it's more durable and scratch resistant.
04:52But if you're ever unlucky and you do need to have one replaced, they sell the-
04:55these kits for $30 that do include one replacement lens.
04:58We've got the lens guard-
05:00I'm going to start off now.
05:01I am-
05:02I'm going to take the replacement lens-
05:04carefully place it-
05:05in the middle here.
05:06Boop!
05:07Yeah, that-
05:10and that's looking a lot better.
05:11I just need one for the front lens now, but until then, back to the video.
05:15The X5 gets a decent bump to low light quality thanks to its new 1 over 1.28 inch-
05:20sensor, which is 140% larger than its predecessor.
05:23But as I found out, at night it's still-
05:25even with lots of light coming from the buildings, the fountains-
05:30the video quality on the X5 just doesn't hold.
05:35the torch-
05:36to the Osmo Procter's 1 inch sensor.
05:38With the X5, Insta360 has-
05:40introduced a new, pure video mode, which is basically their version of night mode-
05:44that boost exposure-
05:45without making the image grainy.
05:46But overall, there's a lot of smoothing and denoising that I don't really-
05:50especially in the details of the sky, the trees, things-
05:55start to look a little bit mushy.
05:57You can tell that there's a lot of processing happening to clean up-
06:00the image.
06:01Don't get me wrong, the Insta360 can still get you good shots when you're in a pinch,
06:04but if I-
06:05if I have the choice between these two cameras, I'm always going to pick the Osmo Pocket 3.
06:10Now, here's the part I was really dreading-
06:12editing this video.
06:13Getting those cool reframed sh-
06:15shots is a chore, even when using the app.
06:17Now, for my editing workflow specifically, I first-
06:20have to import all the footage into the Insta360 app, export it as a flat video, which-
06:25even with my powerful M1 Max MacBook Pro takes a lot of time.
06:28So, by the time everything's processed-
06:30and ready for me to finally start editing, I've already checked out.
06:33For shorter videos with just a-
06:35a few 360 clips, yeah, not a big deal.
06:37But for something longer like this, it adds up fast and makes-
06:40makes me think twice about shooting in 360.
06:43So, let's address the other-
06:45the elephant in the room.
06:46Pricing.
06:47The Insta360 X5 starts at $550.
06:49Not bad.
06:50Given all its upgrades and everything that it can do.
06:52The Pocket 3?
06:53It used to start at $520.
06:55But thanks to tariffs, it now costs $800.
06:58That's a $54.
07:00price hike.
07:01And when you jump out to the creator combo that you've seen me use with the battery grip-
07:05and the mic, that's $950.
07:07Yikes!
07:08If you're in a country like China where the price-
07:10bump hasn't hit you, Pocket 3 is a killer value.
07:13But for everyone else, it makes this camera-
07:15much harder to recommend.
07:16And suddenly, the X5 is looking like it could be the smarter buy for a lot of people.
07:20Especially if you're on a tighter budget.
07:24So, this is-
07:25This wasn't like my usual replacement videos where one device clearly outshines the other.
07:29Both of these are-
07:30super compact travel cameras, but with a totally different twist on things.
07:34The X5 unlocked the-
07:35creative freedom I was looking for.
07:36Especially for just being able to hit record and figure out how I wanted the shot to look-
07:40later.
07:41But like I said, it comes with that extra cost.
07:43With the Pocket 3, I'm still getting that high quality-
07:45footage I know and love.
07:46But it doesn't always deliver that wow factor that I'm craving.
07:49And so-
07:50Getting to use these two cameras for the past couple of weeks, what I ultimately found
07:53is that they complement each other really well.
07:55And I'm super glad that I brought both with me.
07:57But what do you guys think?
07:58If you like these kinds of no-fluff side-by-
08:00side comparisons, be sure to subscribe for my other replacement series style videos.
08:04And until next-
08:05See you next one.
08:06I'll catch you later.
08:10Penis!
08:11Boop!
08:12Penis!
08:13Boop!
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