Thinking about upgrading my GoPro to either the new GP 12 that came out this week or the Insta 360 X3. They are obviously both great cameras. Trying to decide on which one. Price is fairly similar.

Once you go 360X3 you will never go back to one direction shooting. Never miss a shot of you or anything else that happens around you. Captures everything behind you,infront of you ,above ,below, left and right of you. Grab any frame from any direction to use as a 4K photo as well. The software that comes with it is super easy to use. They are bloody awesome.

Nice shot! Is that mounted off your back?

I'm using a harness mount.
The insta360 uses some kind of magic to make the mounts invisible.
I don't use the underwater housing and have not had any issues. The housing just adds to the swing weight which puts extra stress on the mounts.I think the under water housing is only necessary for diving.

mast mount




boom head mount




Boom end mount

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Steve Charles said..
Thinking about upgrading my GoPro to either the new GP 12 that came out this week or the Insta 360 X3. They are obviously both great cameras. Trying to decide on which one. Price is fairly similar.

Depends on what you want to use it for. If it's just for filming yourself windsurfing then yes a 360 makes more sense than a GoPro 12. If you want to film others then a GoPro 12 will give you better results.

Also, Insta360 recommends you use the underwater housing with the 360 X3 while doing action sports. Different reports on how waterproof the camera is without housing. Some people have had zero problems, while others had issues.

Never had in issue with flooding on a GoPro but have lost some after the mount snapped off... now I make sure the camera is tethered with a rope.

I hate the way the 360 flattens the chop.
I have the Hero 9 with max lens which gives an extra wide view. It flattens the chop a bit but not as bad as the 360. It shows the whole board and sailor if you mount it on your back ( Whizmount etc).
I imagine the Go Pro 12 is similar to my 9.
I must admit that the 360 works well for freestyle.

I don't think you can compare GoPro 12 to Insta 360. Choice should be whether you want a 360 camera or a regular action camera (or both). i.e. Choice for 360 video is GoPro Max 360 vs Insta 360. Or regular action camera GoPro12 vs 11 vs DJI Osmo action, Akaso Brave 7 etc. Bear in mind Gopro 12 is first Gopro to not have a GPS so you need to have a separate GPS and sync the times if you want to put speed overlays or positional info for the videos/shots. The Gopro 11 offers almost the same specs as 12 + GPS (which you can turn off) at a cheaper price point. If you can live without a screen the GoPro 11 mini is same specs and cheaper still.

Personally I've gone with GoPro Max 360, 11, 9 and 5 (still working) and their subscription (now crazy cheap) as I've smashed a couple of cameras over the last year (free replacements) and you get further discount if you purchase from them. In addition the remote lets you control all the cameras whilst sailing/doing your thing.

Like KA360 I like the 360 as you never miss a shot and can reframe after the fact. The other GoPro's I use for various dedicated POV's (rear, boom, mast, underwater etc). The combo gives more variety and interest IMHO. My journey down this camera route all started after an amazing dolphin encounter whilst sailing at high speed which was nearly impossible to record with a head mounted standard goPro. Then another slow speed dolphin encounter with 2 of them swimming and playing around me at close distance for 500m or so. I had the 360 but had turned it off and couldn't switch it on without stopping (thus the remote). By the time I managed to stop and turn the camera on the dolphins had lost interest and moved on.

Also consider the x2 if you want to save a few $

I have an x2 insta and have had multiple go pro maxes. I was having quite a bit of reliability issues with gopro and got sick of mailing their stuff back. I think the gopro max user interface is easier to use, but the gopro max has off set lens which will split your head if you mount it on a helmet eg



Also, I suspect the insta has better battery life

can't really go wrong with either one.

As mentioned the 360 cam means you won't have issues missing stuff, but the thing either yourself or your mate needs to be close. with the trad gopro you can set it to zoom for distances a bit better. Also trad gopro is much less time editing

What are you trying to upgrade? What type of use?

One more thing to consider is file size. Both the GoPro Max and Insta360 X2 / X3 360 video files are massive compared to H.265 files on the GoPro 12. If you edit your files down to just what you want to use and delete the original files this is not a problem but if you plan to keep files from each session it adds up quickly.

Whatever you get, if you are wanting to record your speeds, make sure it includes GPS. My old GoPro 5 Black has GPS and I have no reason to upgrade. It just works. Using a separate GPS then having to synch in software works, but it is an unnecessary hassle.

One more thing. GoPros customer support is horrendous and I don't say that lightly.

I have their Support subscriptionand the only good thing I can say is that they will provide replacement cameras, albeit refurbished ones.

My first GoPro Max had a scratched lens. They replaced it no questions asked.
The replacement GoPro Maxgot flooded after the door was faulty.It took multiple support requestsbefore theyfinally sent me a new camera.

The replacement camera lasted all of 1 hour before the screen went black. This was three months ago. I have been trying get support since.

Their support system is complete garbage. There is no way to raise a ticket or send an email. Instead you have to use an online chat system which rarely works or request a call back. The call backs can take anywhere from 1 hour to never. They don't leave a message, you can't call them back other than requesting another call back. You can only request call backs during business hours (9-5pm) despite them being a global company.

The cameras are great when they work but don't expect too much help if there is a problem.

For that reason stick with older cameras that don't cost as much.

I had problems and my gopro 360 failed. I like the view because I didn't have to think about the camera angle but could edit later.

I'd try insta360 to replace it because my gopros will randomly stop recording on a full battery with plenty of card space.

Well now I don't know. I got an insta360 as a gift and bought spare batteries and a mount for it. One of the last sessions it turned on and then wouldn't record, then shut off. I haven't been able to get it to turn on since, except for a short while when it was plugged in via usb to my computer, then it would bug out and shut off. I opened both ports and there are no signs of water having made it in. It didn't even last 2 full months. Trying to get a refund. I don't think I recorded 10 hours on it.

Looked up and sounds like there are a lot of other people with similar issues on the X2. It had been acting buggy, like not recording when I set it to record. That happened at least twice, which was a considerable fraction of the # of times that I brought it out. Made me just not bother bringing it for about half the sessions recently and just get out there and enjoy myself without thinking about camera issues. I hate futzing around with tech on the water and just want it to work.

I've personally used the insta360 X3 HEAPS and previously used GoPros.

In my opinion the ability to reframe what you've shot after the fact would outweigh the extra clarity provided by the GoPro... Imagine how cool it would look to launch some epic air, and whilst you're up the camera 'pans' around from the wave, to the board, to you. ???? There's heaps of other cool stuff you can do too of course, although you NEED to use insta360s software to get usable footage, instead of just dragging a .MOV/.MP4 from the GoPros SD card ?????

Also, if you're looking to mount the camera to the top of your mast the X3 just won't have the resolution to crop in on you as tight as the GoPro will, but the *new* insta360 X4 (8K) would handle it just better (not sure on price, it's probably a fair bit more than the others atm unfortunately)

the horizon lock feature has me on verge of getting a newer gopro. IMO, crooked horizon kills quality of photos or video

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Gruginator said..
Also, if you're looking to mount the camera to the top of your mast the X3 just won't have the resolution to crop in on you as tight as the GoPro will, but the *new* insta360 X4 (8K) would handle it just better (not sure on price, it's probably a fair bit more than the others atm unfortunately)

I just received one but haven't opened it yet and am now on the fence of just sending it back. Read in a number of places about people having issues with the camera. Main issue I have seen mentioned a number of times is overheating and shutting down after a few minutes in 8k mode.

I had the Insta 360 RS1 for about 3 weeks before sending it back. That was the single worst camera I have ever used. Between overheating issues, the camera randomly stopping mid recording and corrupting SD cards, lenses fogging up and finally the camera getting water logged despite being rated as waterproof it was just a pain to use. And don't even get me started on the software.

The GoPro Max has its faults but I found it was reliable. I had 3 of them getting damaged and GoPro replaced them without questions being asked. It was a bit painful dealing with their support system but in the end they always resolved the issue.

Sadly you can't believe any of the "reviews" on YouTube in regards to the X4 as they are essentially all paid reviews.

I heard they dropped the GPS out of the GoPro 12.

That means you cant easily do telemetry overlays with speeds and tracks on the picture.

Besides clarity - what is the difference between early gopro models and a gopro 12 black? I got given a 12 as a present and to be honest - I can't see a great deal of difference but I'm not very tech savvy either.

Image stabilization is better on the newer go pro.

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AusMoz said..
Besides clarity - what is the difference between early gopro models and a gopro 12 black? I got given a 12 as a present and to be honest - I can't see a great deal of difference but I'm not very tech savvy either.

11 and 12 have horizon levelling And larger sensor so less noise and more frame. 12 has longer battery life

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KA360 said..
I'm using a harness mount.
The insta360 uses some kind of magic to make the mounts invisible.
I don't use the underwater housing and have not had any issues. The housing just adds to the swing weight which puts extra stress on the mounts.I think the under water housing is only necessary for diving.

mast mount




boom head mount




Boom end mount

Geez mate, do you have any photos of you not falling off your board?

I bought a GoPro 12 after my GoPro Mini 11 died (battery won't charge past 1%). One of the reasons for getting another GoPro (my fourth) was that I'd bought the Mod Lens 2.0 for the Mini, but then realised that they weren't compatible, it only works with the newer GoPro 12.
Mounted on the same spot on the helmet and it does provide a much wider field of view, allowing you to capture more of the board and surrounds - so far so good:

GoPro Mini 11:


GoPro 12 with Mod Lens 2.0:



Video with the Mod Lens (only light winds, but I think the wider field of view makes it look faster) :-)

Ok it's an older Go pro ( Hero 9 ) but this is the max lens with Whizmount( pole mount).
It gives a great field of view.
Sorry I needed 3 hands ..One to click on the video to get rid of most of the controls and another to take a pic with my phone..
I couldn't take a screenshot.

I've gone back and forth between these two types of cams for windsurfing. I had a GoPro Hero 10 before swapping to the Insta360 X3, mainly because I wanted to try shooting without worrying about framing.

The post-editing flexibility of the Insta is unreal though. It takes a bit of getting used to, especially the reframing part, but I honestly prefer being able to decide later how to frame a shot. The editing software isn't bad, but there's a bit of a learning curve depending on what you want to do. I wanted to mess around with some reframing on desktop and found www.movavi.com/learning-portal/inshot-for-pc.html on how to use InShot for PC that made the whole process easier for me.

I just saw my old post. I ended up buying the 360. Great camera but found the editing a little bit time consuming. Unfortunately after about 15 months and out of warranty it stopped working. I bought a Go Pro 12 that was on sale as the 13 had just come out. Happy to go back to the GP again as I find it does everything I need it to and the editing is easy.

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Steve Charles said..
I just saw my old post. I ended up buying the 360. Great camera but found the editing a little bit time consuming. Unfortunately after about 15 months and out of warranty it stopped working. I bought a Go Pro 12 that was on sale as the 13 had just come out. Happy to go back to the GP again as I find it does everything I need it to and the editing is easy.

Ironically with the X4 Insta360 updated the mobile app to do "intelligent edits"... ie it tries to find the "action" in the scene and then just pick the most interesting parts. While it works I find you are still better off doing deliverable filming with a specially edit in mind. Personally I don't think the X4/ X5 can replace a GoPro or DJI action cam. Each camera has its use case.

That's so many insta 360 that have stopped working after a few months, crazy! I guess everything become disposable now. I love the tiny footprint and weight of the session.