00:00I'm headed to China for the next few weeks and need to pack a small travel camera.
00:03The Insta360 X5 just dropped, but I've also got my trusty DJI Osmo Pocket 3 to pick between.
00:09So which one am I taking with me?
00:11Both, of course. What kind of question is that?
00:13Welcome to Chengdu China and another episode in my replacement series where I pit new gear
00:18against the stuff I already use and love to see if it can earn a place in my kit.
00:22The Osmo Pocket 3 has been my go-to travel camera for years, so the X5 has a lot to
00:26prove.
00:29Okay, if 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, but most importantly,
00:36it has to be fun and easy to use.
00:38Something that makes me want to keep shooting, not something that gets in the way.
00:42Let's start by looking at design.
00:43While both of these are super compact cameras, they take a totally different approach.
00:47The X5 is a sealed unit, no moving parts, no gimbal, and that means it's IP68 waterproof,
00:53dustproof, and much better suited for taking on an adventure.
00:56Meanwhile, the Pocket 3 is more delicate and something I wouldn't take to the beach or pool.
01:01I'm not going any further with the Osmo Pocket.
01:04Now, I thought the Pocket 3's 2-inch rotatable touchscreen was already great,
01:08but the X5's larger 2.5-inch screen is even better, making it easier to check for framing
01:13and incredible for filming vertical content, which in my book is a big plus.
01:18Now, I can't talk about cameras without getting into video quality.
01:22On one hand, the Insta360 X5 captures way more, but with the Osmo Pocket 3, it's much tighter.
01:29So, filming videos like 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.
01:34And then, it's a lot easier to use the Insta360 X5 because it's not just capturing me,
01:39it's capturing what'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 between
01:55getting or missing the shot.
01:57But the benefit, and one of the biggest reasons I love the Osmo Pocket 3 so much,
02:01is that one-inch sensor.
02:02And that one-inch sensor unlocks this really nice depth of field.
02:05Especially when you get closer to your subject, it blurs out the background really nicely.
02:09The X5, though, everything is in focus all the time, no matter how close I get.
02:13And 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.
02:24So, really, you're looking at something closer to 4K.
02:27And even though the Pocket 3 tops out at just 4K, I found that it produces sharper
02:31and more natural images straight out of the camera.
02:34You guys work way too hard.
02:37So, when it comes to vlogging with these two cameras, they trade blows.
02:40But if you add a selfie stick to the mix, the X5 pulls off one of its greatest invisible
02:45party tricks, literally.
02:46In a few seconds, you can go from a simple handheld shot to making it look like you have
02:50a drone or even a personal camera operator following you with no selfie stick in frame.
02:55And this feature unlocks some of the most fun shots I captured on the trip, especially
03:00when I was finding creative angles to move the X5 through.
03:04It's also great to have a small, pocketable camera that offers decent zoom range.
03:09Now, unfortunately, with the Insta360 X5, you're pretty limited in what you can do.
03:14On the other hand, with the DJI Osmo Pocket 3, we got a recent software update, which brought
03:20medium tele-zoom.
03:21So, that's been great for getting closer to the action without losing quality or portability.
03:26But when I'm doing these day-long video shoots, battery life is another really big concern.
03:31With the Insta360, you do have hot, swappable batteries.
03:33So, when one dies and you need to quickly recharge, you're ready to go.
03:36With the Osmo Pocket 3, I do get longer battery life at about two hours, but the internal
03:40battery 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
03:48less pocketable.
03:51Okay.
03:51It was this next day that I really wished the X5 had some kind of similar extended battery
03:56grip.
03:57Yeah, it's only 3 p.m.
03:58I've only been shooting a mix of shorter to medium length clips, and the battery on this
04:04is already pretty low.
04:05I have to plug it in in order to get more charge.
04:08So, I had the X5 plugged into that power bank that you just saw, and everything was going
04:12fine until the charging cable got onto something, and then this happened.
04:16Did I break?
04:17No.
04:17Oh, thank God.
04:18I think it may have scratched a little bit, but...
04:20Oh, Lord.
04:21Yeah.
04:21It 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 concrete from, like, five feet up, but, amazingly, it
04:32only got scratched up a little bit.
04:35Yeah, you hate to see it, but that little scratch was enough to show up on video.
04:39Not too noticeable, but maybe enough that it's worth swapping this out.
04:43Hey, it's featured me back from the trip, and it's time to get this lens cover fixed.
04:47Since the 360's credit, the new X5's cover is more durable and scratch-resistant, but
04:51if you're ever unlucky and you do need to have one replaced, they sell these kits for $30
04:55that do include one replacement lens.
04:58We've got the lens guard off now.
05:01Hiya.
05:01I'm going to take the replacement lens.
05:04Carefully place it in the middle here.
05:07Boop.
05:09Yeah, 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 sensor,
05:20which is 140% larger than its predecessor.
05:22But as I found out, at night, it still can struggle.
05:25Even with lots of light coming from the buildings, the fountain, the video quality on the X5 just
05:33doesn't hold a torch to the Osmo Pocket 1 inch sensor.
05:37With the X5, Insta360 has introduced a new pure video mode, which is basically their version of
05:43night mode that boosts exposure without making the image grainy.
05:46But overall, there's a lot of smoothing and denoising that I don't really like.
05:50Especially in the details of the sky, the trees, things start to look a little bit mushy.
05:56You can tell that there's a lot of processing happening to clean up the image.
06:00Don't get me wrong, the Insta360 can still get you good shots when you're in a pinch.
06:04But if I have the choice between these two cameras, I'm always going to pick the Osmo Pocket 3.
06:09Now, here's the part I was really dreading, editing this video.
06:13Getting those cool reframing shots is a chore, even when using the app.
06:17Now, for my editing workflow specifically, I first have to import all the footage into the Insta360 app,
06:23export it as a flat video, which, even with my powerful M1 Max MacBook Pro, takes a lot of time.
06:28So by the time everything's processed and ready for me to finally start editing, I've already checked out.
06:33For shorter videos with just a few 360 clips, yeah, not a big deal.
06:37But for something longer like this, it adds up fast and makes me think twice about shooting in 360.
06:43So let's address the elephant in the room.
06:46Pricing.
06:46The Insta360 X5 starts at $550.
06:49Not bad given all its upgrades and everything that it can do.
06:52The Pocket 3, it used to start at $520.
06:54But thanks to tariffs, it now costs $800.
06:58That's a 54% price hike.
07:01And when you jump up to the creator combo that you've seen me use with the battery grip and the
07:05mic,
07:05that's $950.
07:07Yikes!
07:08If you're in a country like China where the price bump hasn't hit you,
07:11Pocket 3 is a killer value.
07:12But for everyone else, it makes this camera much 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 wasn't like my usual replacement videos,
07:26where one device clearly outshines the other.
07:29Both of these are super compact, travel cameras,
07:31but with a totally different twist on things.
07:33The X5 unlocked the creative freedom I was looking for,
07:36especially for just being able to hit record
07:38and figure out how I wanted the shot to look later.
07:40But like I said, it comes with that extra cost.
07:43With the Pocket 3, I'm still getting that high-quality footage I know and love.
07:46But it doesn't always deliver that wow factor that I'm craving.
07:49And so getting to use these two cameras for the past couple weeks,
07:52what I ultimately found is that they complement each other really well,
07:54and I'm super glad that I brought both with me.
07:56But what do you guys think?
07:58If you like these kinds of no-fluff side-by-side comparisons,
08:01be sure to subscribe for my other replacement series style videos.
08:04And until the next one, I'll catch you later.
08:12Pandas!
08:13Boop!
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