This is the Insta360 Luna Pro, the latest iteration of Insta360’s gimbal cameras, and it was ridiculously windy the day I took it out to test. This video isn’t sponsored by Insta360. They did send me this camera to test, review and keep, but they didn’t even tell me I needed to make a video about it. They just sent it to me.
Honestly, these kinds of cameras are fantastic, and the more I use them, the better they get. They’re excellent cameras for anybody who’s into content creation, as a dad camera, or in this case, as a good little car rig. It works shockingly well. I filmed as much as I could with the Luna Pro itself so you can see as much footage from it as possible.
Basically a Luna Ultra Without the Second Camera
This is very similar to the Luna Ultra, but without the second camera. Other than that, pretty much everything is the same. You get the same 8K at up to 30 frames a second, in I-Log 10-bit if you want it, normal color 10-bit, or Dolby Vision.
You get the most dynamic range out of the camera if you film in I-Log. If you want to film in I-Log but you’re not necessarily interested in color grading, I use and love the LUTs from Gamut. The colors are amazing and close to ARRI-type colors, which is insane to get out of a pocket camera.
It also has a 2x lossless zoom and a 4x zoom that isn’t lossless, which Insta360 calls a high-res zoom, where the camera upscales the image.
Tracking and Slow Motion
There were a lot of people at the trailhead, but I typically go much farther than anybody else, so I was still able to get away from the crowds and find a good spot.
This camera features Insta360’s fantastic tracking capability. If you want to add movement to your shots, you can. You can place the subject in different areas of the frame, and the tracking is amazing.
You can film in 4K 30, 4K 60 or 4K 120, and the slow motion modes are pretty decent. You can shoot 4K at up to 120 frames a second in I-Log, and 1080p at up to 240 frames a second, also in I-Log, which is pretty cool.
120 is great slow motion. I know 240 is available on a lot of other cameras on the market now, but to use 240 realistically, the subject has to be so slow to make it look good. It’s actually kind of hard to find stuff like that to film.
Should You Shoot in 8K?
You can also film in 8K at up to 30 frames a second. There is a little more detail in your shot, but the file sizes are definitely bigger. If you’re using the internal memory, which is 47GB and pretty much what I used all day, you may want to reconsider filming in 8K. The same goes if your phone or computer is older and will have a harder time editing it. But the option is there.
You will get the most dynamic range if you film in 4K 30 or 4K 60, because of the way the sensor is designed. If you want the widest dynamic range, which Insta360 says is up to 14 stops, film in 4K 30, 4K 60, or 4K 24 or 25, whatever you prefer.
That 8K sensor is also what makes the 2x lossless zoom and the up to 4x high-resolution zoom possible. There’s definitely some quality loss with the high-res zoom, but in a pinch, if you really want some powerful zoom, it would probably work.
The Detachable Face Plate Steals the Show
Much like the Luna Ultra, the Luna Pro has the same detachable face plate design, which is super cool for these kinds of cameras. It gives you complete control over everything, just like you were operating the camera normally, but as a remote. The range is limited to about 20 meters, depending on how many other sources of interference are around you.
The coolest thing is that the face plate has a mic built into it.
Audio: Mic Air, Mic Pro and the Built-In Mics
In spite of me inhaling a bug mid-take, the audio options on this camera are solid. It’s compatible with the Insta360 Mic Air, which is what I used for most of the video, and the Mic Pro if you want to step it up and have a few more options. I did a separate review on the Mic Pro.
The built-in audio is pretty good, too. There’s a large wind guard on the camera. I tested it with a slight breeze of maybe 5 to 10 mph coming from directly behind the camera, and the windscreen on the Luna Pro handled that fine. If you want to get into heavier winds, you’re definitely going to want an external mic like the one I used in the intro, because that was very strong wind.
The detachable face plate has a tiny mic built in as well. I tested it standing about 10 or 12 feet away from the gimbal, so roughly 3 to 4 meters, and the audio quality is pretty good. In wind it isn’t going to work so well, because there’s almost no wind protection. But it’s nice to have the option.
That’s one of the coolest things about all these little gimbal creator cameras coming out right now. We have so many good, fantastic options to create content with. Except for really good quality high-resolution stills or really, really low light, my mirrorless cameras are staying home a lot more, partly because these are so much lighter to hike with.
Low Light and PureVideo
Because the Luna Pro shares the same 1-inch sensor as the Luna Ultra, you can get pretty decent low light out of a camera this size. You can’t expect to film in complete darkness like you could with an A7S III, but you can film in pretty low light as long as there’s some ambient light around, like city lights.
If you use Insta360’s PureVideo mode, you get really clean-looking imagery that’s pretty much ready to go. It’s a heavily AI-processed noise reduction system that Insta360 built, and it gives you clean footage straight out of camera that still has good detail.
Is the Insta360 Luna Pro Worth It?
If you create a lot of content and want a really great little stabilized gimbal camera to run around with and capture all kinds of stuff, then yes. Maybe you’re hiking out to a glacier field valley in Alaska for fun. This is a great camera for that, especially if you don’t want to put out the extra money for the Luna Ultra, which is a substantial step up.
I love the Luna Ultra because of that extra camera and its tighter focal length, but you can get some similar effects on the Luna Pro with the 2x lossless zoom. It’s pretty close. Overall, the image quality on this camera is really good. I shot most of this video in auto mode, and I can’t complain about it at all.
If you have questions, ask me in the comments on the video or join my live stream, which happens some Wednesday nights at 4:00 p.m. Alaska time, 8:00 p.m. Eastern, at least if I’m not out in a place like this.
For more on how the dual-lens model stacks up against DJI, see our Osmo Pocket 4 Pro vs Insta360 Luna Ultra comparison, and my earlier Insta360 Luna first look.
This article is based on a video from our YouTube partner Jake Sloan. Watch the full video on the Jake Sloan YouTube channel, and find more of Jake’s work on his DroneXL author page.
