Insta360 has just unveiled its latest action camera with the X4 Air, which promises to offer flagship features in a lightweight package.
Considering the Insta360 X5 has a spot on our best action camera list, how does the Insta360 X4 Air look set to compare? What really separates the two, and why would you opt for one over the other?
Keep reading to see what’s the difference between the Insta360 X4 Air and X5 below.
Price and Availability
Both the Insta360 X4 Air and X5 come with multiple bundle options to choose from.
For example, while the Insta360 X4 Air has a starting price of £359/$399.99 for just the camera, you can opt for the Starter bundle at £389/$439.99 and benefit from the inclusion of an additional battery, a 114cm invisible selfie stick and a lens cap.
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The Insta360 X5 has a similar offering. While the camera itself will set you back £519.99/$549.99, the Starter bundle costs £569.99/$599.99.
There are plenty of bundle options to choose from, so whether you plan on using your Insta360 device for skiing, content creation or even motorbiking, there’s bound to be a pack of accessories that best suit your needs.
Insta360 X4 Air is lighter
The key feature of the Insta360 X4 Air is it’s impressively lightweight at just 165g which is the same as the iPhone Air. Considering we found that the phone could “disappear into your hand”, this bodes well for the X4 Air.
Despite being lightweight, the Insta360 X4 Air is surprisingly durable and can withstand submersion in up to 15m of water, much like the pricier Insta360 X5.
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Comparatively, although the X5 is slightly heavier at 200g, we still found the camera to be lightweight and very pocketable too. However, both the X4 Air and X5 share a similar bar-shape design, which can feel somewhat bulky in hand.
Insta360 X5
Insta360 X5 has a longer runtime
Equipped with a 2400mAh battery that’s slightly larger than the X4 Air’s 2010mAh, the X5 offers up to 208 minutes of runtime on a single charge. However, this is when the X5 is shooting in 5.7K/24fps and will drop down to around 100 minutes when shooting in 8K/30fps.
During our review, we found that recording and then transferring 8K footage did deplete the X5’s battery quite quickly, but fortunately the camera supports fast charging and can go from empty to 80% in 20 minutes.
Insta360 claims that the X4 Air can shoot in 8K/30fps for up to 88 minutes or 6K/24fps for up to 105 minutes. As we’re yet to review the X4 Air, we can’t verify these promises.
Insta360 X4 Air.
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Both film in up to 8K, but the X5 offers more variety
Despite being considerably cheaper than the X5, the X4 Air can also shoot in up to 8K quality. Although we’re yet to review the X4 Air, if it’s anything like the X5 then we can expect contrast-rich and engaging video quality with bright colours and plenty of detail too.
However, the X4 Air is fitted with smaller sensors compared to the X5, at 1/1.8 and 1/1.28” respectively, which means it’s likely we’ll see a slight difference in the overall quality.
Although we found that the 8K/30fps worked well for general filming with the Insta360 X5, it also benefits from 5.7K/60fps 360° Active HDR support which might suit fact-paced action better than the maximum 30fps.
The Insta360 X4 Air, unfortunately, doesn’t sport that offering and instead is fitted with either 8K/30fps or 4K/60fps in single-lens mode. That’s perhaps something to keep in mind if you plan on shooting more adventurous videos with your action camera.
Insta360 X5 captures photos in up to 72MP
Although both cameras can shoot video in up to 8K, the X5 does take the edge when it comes to taking photos. In fact, with the X5 you can choose between either 18MP or 72MP capture, with the results looking surprisingly impressive when viewed via the app.
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Otherwise, the X4 Air is able to capture photos in just 29MP resolution instead. Sure that might sound measly in comparison, but if you’re purchasing an action camera then you’re unlikely to use the photography functions as much as the video.
Both have replaceable lenses
Durability is a key aspect of action cameras, as they’ll likely be subjected to plenty of rough-housing and their pocketable design makes it easy to throw them into a bag. Fortunately, both the Insta360 X5 and X4 Air benefit from replaceable lenses, which is a huge benefit for the devices.
Essentially, this means that if the lenses become damaged or scratched, you can simply replace them yourself and don’t need to pay for a professional. Replacing damaged lenses is simple, as you just need to pop out the lens and snap the new ones in.
Early Verdict
As we’re yet to test the Insta360 X4 Air, we’ll refrain from giving a conclusive verdict at this time. However, as the camera borrows many premium features from the pricier X5, including 8K recording and 15m water resistance, if you’re looking for a solid action camera without the hefty price tag then the X4 Air is an appealing option.
Having said that, considering we hailed the Insta360 X5 as being “the model to get” and gave the device a 4.5-star rating, if you want the best of the best and don’t mind splurging for the privilege, then the X5 is as good as it gets.
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