Insta360 Go Ultra Review: Better Video, but Bigger Package

Another place I found the Ace Pro 2 footage remains superior is in fast pans or fast footage of busy scenes, like filming from a bike on single-track through trees or bushes. The Ace Pro 2 retains more detail in these scenarios, possibly due to the nicer lens.

Most of the time, though, the footage from the Go Ultra and Ace Pro are close enough that it’s hard to tell the raw footage apart. I would generally say the same is true of the X5, though of course in that case you’re capturing 360 degree footage, which has its advantages.

Photograph: Scott Gilbertson

The Go Ultra has most of the shooting modes you’ll get in Insta360’s other cameras, include 8-bit HDR, which is still a head scratcher (to really get true HDR footage, you need 10-bit footage like you’ll get from GoPro and DJI cameras). There are a couple new modes here, including one called Toddler Titan, which is designed to work with the hat clip accessory and capture your chunky monkey’s POV.

Stabilization is excellent and matches what you’d get in the rest of Insta360’s action cameras. At this point, every action camera I’ve tested has stabilization down, and the Go Ultra is no exception.

Probably the best thing about the Go Ultra, after the video quality improvements, is that it now takes a microSD card, rather than having only built-in storage. That means you can now put in up to 2-TB and shoot all day without worrying that you’ll fill up the built-in storage.

Another bonus is the wider field of view (FOV), up to 156 degrees from the Go 3S’s 150 degrees. That may not sound like much, but every bit helps in this case. For reference, the GoPro Hero 13 Black has a FOV of 156 degrees, and with the Ultra Wide Lens Mod that jumps to 177 degrees. Also new on the Go Ultra is the ability to shoot 4K video at 2X zoom. HDR is also available with 4K footage.

Downsides

Photograph: Scott Gilbertson

There are two things I don’t like about the Go Ultra. The first is that the pod is not waterproof out of the box, so you’ll need a different lens cover, which is larger and somewhat awkward when using it out of the water. Despite that, I just leave mine on there all the time and deal with the size because most of the time I want an action camera, it’s probably because it’s going to get wet.