![[images/The Future Of Action Cameras GoPro HERO 11 vs Insta360 X3.webp]] # The Future Of Action Cameras | GoPro HERO 11 vs Insta360 X3 [Watch on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HxSD66V5JN0) · MountMedia · 2022-10-15 · 10:09. Written from the full English captions (creator-uploaded `en` track) via yt-dlp, plus the chapters, frames and the description. Section headings follow the video's chapters. ## Outline - **0:00 – Evolution of action cams.** In **2006 GoPro** launches its first digital action camera, the **HERO**, and the modern consumer action camera is born. He shows the **2008 HERO** (still with an **optical viewfinder**) and the **2010 HD Hero**, the first that looks close to today's GoPros and shoots **Full HD**. Founder **Nick Woodman** invented the action cam because he wanted pictures of himself surfing. Today almost every action cam shoots **4K** and higher-resolution slow motion, and GoPro largely created this market. But big innovations have been absent lately: resolution, frame rates and stabilization keep improving, yet the **HERO 11** is in many respects the **HERO 5 from 2016**. This product type is reaching its limits; it's time for something new. ![[images/The Future Of Action Cameras GoPro HERO 11 vs Insta360 X3-t0020.webp]] - **1:03 – The future is 360.** He doesn't think the future is an evolution of the GoPro form; it looks more like the **Insta360 X3**, which he argues is closer to the future than the HERO 11 or any other action cam, including the **DJI Osmo Action 3**. He prefers Insta360 for 360 cameras based on his past experience. A core problem when shooting action is **getting the framing right**: camera on a bike, motorbike, helmet, hand or skydiving rig, often filming yourself, in moments that can't be repeated (a skydive, a snowboard trick, a special wave). He admits he has ruined many shots with bad framing, and it took a lot of trial and error to learn how to mount an action cam at the right angle. ![[images/The Future Of Action Cameras GoPro HERO 11 vs Insta360 X3-t0075.webp]] - **2:19 – Advantages of 360 cameras.** Perhaps the biggest advantage: mount the X3, hit record, and **choose the framing in post**, with no risk of a ruined shot from a wrong mounting angle or a rushed setup. It isn't laborious: open the **Insta360 app**, import the clip, look around with the mouse, and pick the perspective. Once you've seen the benefit you won't want to go without it. He shows GoPro clips he could never fix because he set the camera up wrong in the rush and the cold. Not everyone wants to edit, though; many just want to press record and share. - **3:22 – AI and auto-framing.** For them, Insta360 added **Me Mode** on the X3: the camera automatically keeps you centered, so no reframing is needed, and Me Mode also has a **portrait (vertical) output** for instant social sharing. In normal 360 shots, the app can **auto-track and center any subject** you select, with no heavy editing. Reframing opens up creative options a GoPro or other traditional action cam can't match. ![[images/The Future Of Action Cameras GoPro HERO 11 vs Insta360 X3-t0245.webp]] - **4:23 – Resolution and versatility.** The catch: the X3 captures **5.7K** (slightly more than the HERO 11's **5.3K**), but picking an angle from 360 footage is a **digital crop**, so resolution and image quality drop. That hardly matters on a smartphone or for social media but is noticeable on a PC or TV. Affordable consumer tech can't yet capture 360 at a resolution high enough to pull a true 4K crop; **8K** 360 would mean huge storage needs, **overheating** and editing trouble on older computers and phones, but it will come. Meanwhile, for regular high-quality video, switch to **Single Lens mode** and the X3 shoots conventional **4K** like a GoPro or Osmo Action, with no reframing and no quality loss: **two products in one**. - **5:58 – Field of view and stabilization.** What he loves about action cams is the **immersive look** from an extremely wide angle. GoPro added **HyperView** on the HERO 11, its widest FOV yet, and the Osmo Action 3 is also very wide, but neither matches the X3. In a side-by-side, the X3's **MaxView** (a conventional single-lens 4K shot, not a 360 crop, which could go wider still) is wider than HERO 11 HyperView, which is great for POV. GoPro's and Osmo Action 3's big strength is **stabilization**, yet in his comparison the X3 keeps up with and even beats the HERO 11. A conventional sensor and FOV has limits that new tech like 360 can exceed, so the X3 beats a brand-new HERO 11 in **wide FOV** and **stabilization**, even in single-lens mode. ![[images/The Future Of Action Cameras GoPro HERO 11 vs Insta360 X3-t0400.webp]] - **7:40 – Invisible selfie stick.** He films himself, so a **pole** is his favorite accessory (skiing, hiking). With the X3 the pole **disappears from the shot automatically**, with no software skills or editing needed. Insta360 makes excellent **poles** in many lengths that collapse small enough for a jacket pocket and extend long. Reframing, ultra-wide FOV, strong stabilization and pole removal, all especially useful for action and POV, make the X3 a great alternative to the HERO 11 or Osmo Action 3. If reframing quality loss bothers you or you don't want to post-process, shoot stabilized single-lens 4K. He is convinced this is what action cams will look like. ![[images/The Future Of Action Cameras GoPro HERO 11 vs Insta360 X3-t0480.webp]] - **9:03 – AI editing and conclusion.** For people not into editing, the Insta360 app is an **AI power tool** with **automatic editing** and creative effects for social media, such as **Sky Swap**, which replaces the sky in two clicks (including dramatic and abstract "full sky" images), something slow and complicated in a normal editor. On creative effects, **GoPro's app can't keep up**. He thinks the traditional action-cam market is saturating and its product life cycle is nearing its end; the X3 also competes well with a GoPro on **price** (offers linked in the description). More X3 and HERO 11 tests and tutorials are coming. ![[images/The Future Of Action Cameras GoPro HERO 11 vs Insta360 X3-t0565.webp]] ## Things mentioned ### Cameras - **Insta360 X3**: 5.7K 360, Single Lens 4K mode with MaxView, Me Mode, invisible selfie stick, app AI editing; presented as the template for the future action cam. - **GoPro HERO 11 Black**: 5.3K, HyperView FOV, excellent stabilization; the traditional benchmark the X3 is compared against. - **DJI Osmo Action 3**: Very wide FOV and strong stabilization; named alongside the HERO 11 as a top traditional action cam (a DJI Action 2 clip also appears early on). - **GoPro HERO (2006)**, **HERO (2008)** with optical viewfinder, **HD Hero (2010)** with Full HD, **GoPro HERO 5 (2016)**: GoPro history; he argues the HERO 11 isn't fundamentally different from the HERO 5. ### Features and comparisons - **Reframing in post** (choose the angle after shooting in the Insta360 app). - **Me Mode**: automatic self-centering, including vertical/portrait output for social. - **AI subject tracking** in the Insta360 app for normal 360 shots. - **Resolution**: X3 5.7K 360 vs HERO 11 5.3K; reframing is a digital crop; 8K 360 would bring storage, overheating and editing issues. - **Single Lens mode**: conventional 4K with no reframing. - **Field of view**: X3 **MaxView** vs HERO 11 **HyperView** (X3 wider), Osmo Action 3 also very wide. - **Stabilization**: X3 matches or beats the HERO 11 in his tests. - **Invisible selfie stick**: automatic pole removal. - **Sky Swap** and AI auto-editing in the Insta360 app vs the GoPro app. ### Accessories - **Insta360 poles / selfie sticks** in multiple lengths that collapse to pocket size. ### Related videos - More X3 and GoPro HERO 11 tests and tutorials promised on the channel. ### Purchase options - Insta360 X3 with free gift (affiliate): https://www.insta360.com/sal/x3?insrc=INRNHMF - Insta360 poles & accessories (affiliate): https://store.insta360.com/accessory?insrc=INRNHMF - His camera gear (Amazon affiliate): main camera https://amzn.to/3Ro9SBM · main lens https://amzn.to/3Q4Fr2A · favorite lens https://amzn.to/3fUDV1w · YouTube lens https://amzn.to/3KEeMZ2 · 4K SD card https://amzn.to/3B3FXcT · microphone https://amzn.to/3T6DULb - Music (Audiio), promo code **MountMedia10** for 10% off: https://audiio.com/pricing?oid=1&affid=606 - Support the channel: https://www.ko-fi.com/mountmedia ## Bios - **Werner Plank** runs MountMedia, a YouTube channel of camera tests, comparisons and tutorials focused on 360 and action cameras (Instagram: @werner.plank; contact [email protected]). He films himself, usually with a pole, while skiing, hiking and biking, and in this video argues that 360 cameras solve the framing problems he has had for years with traditional action cams. - **Nick Woodman** founded GoPro in 2002 after a surf trip, wanting a way to photograph himself surfing; the company launched its first digital HERO in 2006 and went public in 2014. He is mentioned here as the inventor of the consumer action camera. - **GoPro** is the San Mateo, California action-camera company that created the consumer market with the HERO line; the HERO 11 Black (September 2022) is the comparison point here. - **Insta360** (Arashi Vision) is the Shenzhen-based maker of consumer 360 cameras. The X3 (released September 2022) is the focus here, along with its poles and its mobile/desktop app with Me Mode, AI tracking and Sky Swap. - **DJI** is the Shenzhen drone and camera maker behind the Osmo Action series; the Osmo Action 3 (September 2022) is cited for its wide FOV and stabilization.