Insta360 ONE R gets a big update with Horizon Lock, Loop Recording and more

(Image credit: Jon Devo)

We reckon the Insta360 ONE R Twin Edition is already one of the best 360 cameras out there, but its interchangeable lens modules, or 'Mods', mean it's also one of the best action cameras too.

More cameras like this

• Best 360 cameras
• Best action cameras
• Best GoPro cameras
• Insta360 ONE R Twin Edition
• Insta360 ONE R 1-inch Edition

This new update builds on the ONE R’s already formidable features and adds even more, via a free firmware update you can install via the mobile app or the Insta360 Studio desktop software.

Insta360 ONE R new features

One of the big new features in this update is a Horizon Lock mode for the 4K (action camera) Mod and the separately available 1-inch Mod. It’s for when you’re filming in situations where it’s difficult to keep the camera steady – Horizon Lock will do this for you, keeping your footage upright and level in Pro video mode with Insta360’s remarkable FlowState stabilisation system. It even operates over a full 360 degrees for full rotations along a single camera axis.

Also new is a Loop Recording function which gets round the problem of knowing when to start filming – and when to stop! With Loop Recording you can now set up any of the lens Mods for continuous loop recording of up to 30 minutes – this means you could even use the One R as a dashcam. It also sounds ideal for situations where you know something is going to happen, but you don’t know when.

Insta360 One R Twin Edition — The Insta360 One R's modular design means that you can quickly swap out different lens modules. The Twin Edition comes with a 360 Mod and 4K (action camera) mods, and you can get a 1-inch Mod for ultimate quality too. (Image credit: Jamie Carter/Digital Camera World)

Insta360 says it’s also improved image quality, where the 4K Mod and 1-inch Mod now offer 4K 50fps shooting in Pro video mode for content creators with a 25fps workflow. The 1-inch Mod gets an improved Vivid color profile and all the Mods now offer four different in-camera sharpness settings.

The Insta360 mobile app has two new Shot Lab templates including

“Horizon Flip” to automatically mirror your surroundings in the sky for a futuristic effect., and “Overtaker”, which can overlay the number of cars you pass as if in a video game.

A new AquaVision 2.0 underwater color correction algorithm improves underwater colors, and Car MultiView works with the 360 Mod to show a split screen of the road ahead and the car’s interior.

TimeShift videos are now sped up to 6x before being saved so that they take up less space and external mic audio quality has been improved. Finally, a new Roadie Remote wireless remote will attaches to your car’s steering wheel for safer camera control while driving..

(The Insta360 ONE X2 will also receive the updates for Shot Lab, AquaVision 2.0, and Car MultiView.)

Rod is an independent photography journalist and editor, and a long-standing Digital Camera World contributor, having previously worked as DCW's Group Reviews editor. Before that he has been technique editor on N-Photo, Head of Testing for the photography division and Camera Channel editor on TechRadar, as well as contributing to many other publications. He has been writing about photography technique, photo editing and digital cameras since they first appeared, and before that began his career writing about film photography. He has used and reviewed practically every interchangeable lens camera launched in the past 20 years, from entry-level DSLRs to medium format cameras, together with lenses, tripods, gimbals, light meters, camera bags and more. Rod has his own camera gear blog at fotovolo.com but also writes about photo-editing applications and techniques at lifeafterphotoshop.com

Insta360 ONE R new features

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