Insta360 GO 2 test, the little action-cam that you take everywhere

Presentation

The Insta360 GO 2 is presented as a very small camera with a wide angle lens whose lens can be replaced by other lenses with ND filters for example, always practical if there is too much light as it is often the case in summer. Below the lens is a small indicator LED and a simple button. With this button, we can turn it on or off with a long press and have possible functions depending on the press (single or double press, camera on or camera off).

On the back is a powerful magnet to allow it to be attached to certain accessories such as the neck strap or the control box. Also note the wireless connection to recharge the camera in the box. The link between the box and the camera is via Bluetooth and as soon as they are connected to each other, we can do everything from the box.

Speaking of the case, if it is the size of an AirPods Pro case, it is not only used to recharge since it can also be used as a remote control and a small support to put the camera anywhere. If the camera itself only offers an autonomy of 30 min, coupled with the box, it is a total autonomy of 3:00, which is more than enough on a daily basis. The goal of the GO 2 is not to compete with a GoPro or others that can record long videos. Here, the goal is really to capture moments of life.

And to top it off, the Insta360 GO 2 works with a dedicated application (iOS and Android) that will allow the user to use his smartphone as a remote control but also to access all recorded media. Indeed, the GO 2 only offers an internal memory of 32GB and it is via the application that we can retrieve the recordings. As is often the case now, the connection will be via WiFi for faster transfers and as is often the case, you can do everything from the application, without having to download the files to your smartphone.

The accessories

The Insta360 GO 2 comes with various accessories ranging from the cap adapter to the famous neck strap that fits under his t-shirt or shirt. The latter is magnetized and the GO 2 will clip on it. It’s instant and intuitive. We didn’t have any particular problems since the GO 2 held up pretty well. Be careful though.

And as you might expect, Insta360 offers a plethora of accessories to ensure compatibility with accessories from GoPro and others. We bought additional accessories such as filters or even those that allow the GO 2 to be fixed on GoPro poles.

Technically

With such a small size, we could expect some sacrifices and if we suspected that we weren’t necessarily going to have 4K (which we always regret), we still find a resolution of up to to 2880×2880 in 30fps. Indeed, the GO 2 sensor is square type and we will see that it is super useful in Pro mode. In all cases, by default, the output is Full HD or 1440p either 2560×1440. This allows Insta360 to crop and use the excess pixels around the 1440p format to apply its in-house software stabilization, FlowState.

If we do not compete with some competitors, we can only be pleasantly surprised by the general quality of the Insta360 GO 2. We remind you that these are snapshots of life to end up on social networks. As a result, we weren’t too bothered by the 1440p format. So yes, if we do pixel-peeping, what the GO 2 offers lacks a bit of sharpness, but that doesn’t shock us too much. Otherwise, the stabilization is done in post when using the Insta360 application and it is very effective in absolute terms.

If we can choose automatic modes with default output formats, we can only advise you to record in Video Pro mode. Why ? Simply because the camera will record in 2880×2880. As a result, with the application, you can choose a landscape or portrait format, whether or not to apply FlowState stabilization by cropping in the image. We didn’t say it above but recording in square makes it easy to apply horizon maintenance in post-production. Practice.