The Insta360 X4 is the latest update to the Insta line of 360-degree action cameras. Having reviewed the X2 and X3, I utilize and appreciate the enhanced features the X4 brings. The X4 has a 20 percent larger battery than the X3, a larger screen, higher resolution capture, voice overlay recording from my helmet via Bluetooth, faster charging, and a significantly improved motorcycle mount—check out our Insta360 X4 First Look.
When off my bike, the X4 has a walk-around, continuously recording battery life of about 2.5 hours. It will charge to 50 percent in 30 minutes and full charge in about 75 minutes.
On my bike, I run a USB-C cable up the selfie stick and can record all day. With a 500-gigabyte microSD card installed, I can record 18 hours of 360 video at 4K at 30 fps, or six hours at the new 8K resolution at 30 fps. If you are creating a movie, you will appreciate the 8K 360-degree resolution. For my sharing experience, 4K at 30 fps is a high enough video resolution for the results to look great, and it gives me more storage time on my microSD card.
The larger screen on the Insta360 X4 makes it easier to see what is being recorded or was recorded on playback. I ride with the Insta app open on my iPhone 14. When coming to a particularly interesting road or trail section, I pull over to start recording, change recording from loop to continuous, or take a 72-megapixel single-lens photo.
Loop recording records over itself, with the saved file for the time length you select from 1 minute to 30 minutes. The loop Infinity selection will loop record in 30-minute increments up to the capacity of your installed microSD card. This allows you to look back at previous 30-minute loop video segments, unless they were overwritten.
I use the infinity loop setting with a 500-gig microSD card. In any length loop mode, stopping the recording will save and protect that segment from being overwritten. A new loop file will begin when you start recording again. The new feature of the Infinity time loop is that it will write 30-minute video segments up to the capacity of your microSD card and then write over the first loop recorded file, so you never stop recording.
The Bluetooth recording feature from a helmet headset is ideal for vloggers and riders who like to narrate their rides. It is compatible with select units from Sena, Cardo, Lexin, and Vimoto, and others, as well as Apple AirPods and Samsung Galaxy Buds2. I tested it with a Sena helmet-to-helmet intercom.
The helmet-to-X4 recording feature does cut out any other connections your helmet has running, such as music from your phone or Mesh intercom with other riders.
The voice commands available from your headset are Start/Stop Recording, Take a Photo, Mark That, and Shutdown Camera. When you are mesh-connected to friends and give the Shutdown Camera command, you will reconnect with the other Sena mesh riders in your group.
To keep your Mesh communication and phone connection going while using the Insta360 X4 headset connection, you must purchase the Sena MeshPort Red adapter ($199 MSRP). Connecting the X4 to the MeshPort Red unit brings your X4 into the Mesh group. Connecting this way means the X4 records all voices and sounds from the entire mesh group.
The Insta360 X4 Motorcycle Multiview Bundle ($596) bundle includes the Insta360 X4 camera, an extending selfie stick, a lens cap, two standard lens guards, and the awesome new Heavy Duty Clamp (also available as a $40 accessory). If you want the Insta360 X4 without accessories, you’ll pay $500.
Three new features of the Heavy Duty Clamp stand out: the grip strength of the clamp is much stronger than previous models, the head now pivots 180 degrees, and you can rotate and lock in the way you want the camera to face. In the earlier models, the angle of your mounting point determined the angle of the selfie stick and the angle of your view of the screen. With the pivoting head and locking thumbwheel, many more mounting locations are usable.
The lenses can be ruined by dropping the camera or when hit by a rock kicked up by the rider in front of you. The Insta360 X4 has plastic lens covers, but I lost one on my first ride because I didn’t install it correctly. You will know the lens cover is secure when you feel a definite click at the end of the twist.
After my last 16-hour ride, my bike and the front-facing lens were covered in yellow bug guts, so I bought the Premium Lens Guards ($35). For $30 at the point of purchase of the X4, Insta360 has a worry-free replacement protection program that covers two replacements and free two-way shipping. Sometimes extended warranties on products are a sucker buy; in this case, it is a smart purchase.
I like to re-live and remember the highlights of my rides and occasionally share those highlights with my friends. There is no easier way to capture ride memories than with an Insta360 camera. The X4’s feature enhancements, internal software, free phone app, and free computer program are all easy to learn. They are so intuitive that I don’t forget the simple steps needed to output awesome ride videos, even if I don’t use the camera for a month. Some Insta360 X4 owners use the camera for professional videos. I use mine to record an amateur’s memories that look like professional videos.
