Original subtitles

- In today's video, we will talk about Insta360

AI powered phone stabilizer called the Insta360 Flow.

And this has become one of my favorite go-to gimbals

and I don't change gimbals that often,

but this gimbal right here has allowed me

to be more efficient when it comes to shooting

with my phone.

Insta360 is well known for creating the 360 action cameras

and they're really good at it.

And with mobile content creation rising,

they have now tapped into the market of mobile gimbals

which makes sense considering their expertise

in AI image processing.

So, let's see how it will stack up

against the competition such as the DJI Osmo Mobile Six

and how you can use it to master your gimbal shops easily.

Before we get into the content,

I wanna thank Insta360 for sponsoring this video

and providing me with the Insta360 Flow.

However, I wasn't told to say anything specific

so everything I say in this video will be my honest opinion.

Now why would you need a gimbal for your phone?

As a mobile content creator,

I always bring a gimbal with me when I'm on the go.

Even though the iPhone 14 pro has great image stabilization,

I 100% still prefer using a gimbal

as it makes capturing moments so much easier.

Not only do I have steadier shots, but the gimbal also comes

with features that extend the functionality to be

more creative with my shots.

Now the market is huge, and deciding which smartphone

gimbal to get can be overwhelming.

That's why in this video I want to help you make

an informed decision so that you can see

if the Insta360 Flow suits your shooting needs.

Before we start,

let me show you what I will cover in this video.

First I'm going to give you a quick overview of the gimbal,

then talk about the build and design,

look at how to mount end balance the gimbal,

look at the basic button functions

as well as the gimbal modes.

Walk you through the Insta360 app

as well as talk about the performance.

I'll also quickly compare the Insta360 Flow

with the DJI Osmo Mobile Six.

Talk about the price and give you my final thoughts.

Hopefully that sounds good to you

and if so, let's get started.

So, I want to start off with a quick overview of the gimbal.

The Insta360 Flow offers three-axis stabilization.

You have the pan, tilt and roll motor.

You also have a magnetic clamp, which you might have seen

from the DJI OM5 and 6 gimbal.

At the top you have a USB-C Out to charge your phone

which can be used as a power bank.

A USB-C In is close

to the smart wheel to charge the gimbal.

Then you have the foldable arm

and a built-in selfie stick that extends 215 millimeters.

Looking at the smart wheel,

you have all the important buttons you need.

You have a joystick, a power on off button, a switch button,

a record button, and an indicator showing you

what gimbal modes you're currently in.

What's special about the smart wheel is

that you can use the touch panel to change gimbal modes.

You can also turn the wheel to adjust zoom.

This is pretty new design

which I haven't seen on any other gimbal.

On the foldable arm, you have a built-in cold shoe mount

which you can use to mount accessories

such as the Rode Wireless Go.

It also comes with a light that can be attached

to the gimbal for shooting in low light environments.

Then you also have a trigger button

on the back Below is a hidden built-in mini tripod

for placing the gimbal on the flat surfaces

and a 1/4 screw at the bottom

for additional amounting options.

So, let's look at the built

and design of the Insta360 Flow stabilizer.

The gimbal feels really solid

in my hand and has a very good built quality.

The overall size and shape feel ergonomic

and fit nicely in my hands, and you can extend the bottom

for a better grip if you have larger hands.

Now it also comes

with this grip cover making shooting even more comfortable.

The stabilizer weighs around 400 grams,

making it light and easy to carry.

It's foldable design makes it great to fit

in your pocket easily.

It also has a nice futuristic look to it.

The buttons are conveniently placed,

making it easy for my thumb to reach them.

Now the operating time of the gimbal is 12 hours

which will last you a full day of shooting.

Now the maximum payload

of the inside 360 flow stabilizer is 300 grams

and I had no issues using it with the iPhone 14 Pro as well

as the iPhone 13 Pro Max

and I can even use it with the case.

Now, be sure to check the weight of your phone

so that it doesn't exceed the maximum payload of the gimbal.

Otherwise it won't operate properly.

Now I like how they included the built-in extension pole

like also seen on the DJI Osmo Mobile Six

as you can use it to get higher

and lower shots and have

a better way of recording yourself when vlogging.

You can also adjust the angle

of the selfie stick for different shooting purposes.

Now we're all probably familiar

with the magnetic clamp system.

It is something they definitely looked up

from DJI and I do like how they included it

because it really improves the setup time.

Now I also like that you have the option to also

get a spotlight if you're filming in low light conditions.

I can simply attach the light

to the clamp and power it via USB-C.

There are three brightness levels to choose from

and you can change the color temperature

between daylight (indistinct) or mixed.

You can also turn the light

which is really important to brighten up your face

or turn the other way around to brighten up your subject.

Now for my shooting needs,

I highly value gimbals that have a quick setup time

because I want to be able to capture moments quickly.

Let's look at how efficient Insta360 Flow is when it comes

to mounting and balancing your phone.

Now, as I mentioned,

Insta360 Flow is a beginner friendly gimbal

and unlike other more traditional gimbals,

it doesn't require much balancing

and is pretty straightforward.

So, the way to do it is first mount the magnetic clamp

to the back of your phone and center it.

Ensure the clamps camera sign is pointing

towards your phone's camera.

Then attach the clamp to the gimbal by aligning them.

The magnets will hold your phone in place securely.

Even if I try to shake it off the phone,

you can see it will stay firmly in place.

With a single motion you can unfold the gimbal

which then auto balances and auto powers on.

The DJI Osmo Mobile Six has this function,

but unfolding it takes a few more steps.

And if you have auto pop-up connection enabled,

a pop-up notification will appear to start shooting

with the Insta360 app.

So, now that you've learned how to balance

your gimbal correctly,

let's quickly review the basic button functions.

By learning what each button does,

you'll better understand how to use the gimbal

and be more efficient when shooting.

What's great about the Insta360 Flow is that,

it only has a few buttons laid out

making it not too overwhelming when using it

for the first time.

Now be sure to connect the gimbal via Bluetooth

to your phone to take advantage of the additional functions.

So, looking at the smart wheel,

pressing the record button will start and stop recording.

This also works with the default camera app.

It doesn't work with Film Mac Pro yet,

but I'm sure they will support it in the future.

By pressing the power on off button long,

you can turn on and off the gimbal.

Double pressing it, we'll set the gimbal to standby mode.

Then double pressing the switch button will rotate

your phone vertically for shooting reels or story post.

The joystick allows you to control the direction

of your camera.

Then with the touch panel,

you can quickly switch gimbal modes

by swiping clockwise or counterclockwise.

If you don't prefer to switch that way,

you can also double tap

not pressing it though on the record

or switch button to change gimbal modes left or right.

Moving away from the smart wheel,

you have the trigger button on the back,

pressing it once will activate deep tack 3.0

when using the Insta360 app.

Pressing it two times will recenter your phone

and pressing it three times will flip your phone

around to record yourself with the rear camera.

Now these basic button functions work similar

across all the gimbals I've used.

So, if you have used another gimbal in the past,

these functions should be familiar.

So, we looked at how to switch modes,

but what do these gimbal modes actually do?

Knowing the different gimbal modes can be useful

for certain camera movements.

The Insta360 Flow offers four different types

of gimbal modes, auto, follow, pan follow and FPV.

In auto mode, the gimbal will automatically

adjust gimbal settings based on your movement.

This is where the roll axis is locked

and the tilt and pan axis follow the gimbal movement.

This is the mode I use most often.

In follow mode similar to auto mode,

the gimbal response closely

to your movements where only the tilt

and pan axis are unlocked.

I don't see much of a difference between auto and this mode.

Guessing auto mode, it can just better detect

whether you're walking

or rutting and will adjust its motors accordingly.

Now in pan follow mode, the tilt and roll axis are locked.

This is great for shooting horizontally

or around a subject with a locked horizon.

FPV shot is perfect

for simulating FPV drone like movements and POV shots.

What's cool is

that you can use the zoom wheel to control the movement

of the roll axis, which allows the smartphone to spin.

So, let's look at some of the other additional gimbal modes.

Then you have the lock mode

which can be accessed by holding the trigger button.

All three axis are locked so your phone won't

follow the gimbal movements.

This is recommended for follow shots and hyperlapse.

Then there is the active plus,

double pressing the trigger button

and holding it will enable active plus.

This is recommended if you shoot fast moving subjects

where you want the gimbal to respond quicker.

And this mode can be used

in any of the four available gimbal modes.

Now, it might be overwhelming

at first to remember all of these gimbal modes.

It does take some time to get familiar

with the different gimbal modes.

However, I encourage you to take the time to experiment

and see what works best

for the type of shooting you're doing.

So, I wanted to dive into the Insta360 app

so that you can get the most out of your gimbal.

I will walk you through some

of the most important features and show you how

to use the smart wheel to be more efficient when shooting

because I think this is one of the best minimalistic designs

that control many useful functions.

So, with that said, let's get started.

I've already connected my iPhone 14 Pro to the Flow

and when I head to the Insta360 app,

you can see that I'm already inside

and it will also automatically adjust the aspect ratio

that I used the last time I opened the Insta360 app.

So, this is the interface where at.

It looks kind of similar

to the default camera app on the iPhone.

Over here to the top left, we have the home button

which brings us back and again

you'll see that it adjusts the aspect ratio.

Let's head back, select camera

and over here we have our camera settings

which is set to 4K 60 frames per second.

That is what I typically use when I shoot my travel videos.

4K has a four times higher resolution

than 1080P and allows me to reframe my shot

without losing much quality.

And 60 frames per second allows me to slow

down the footage to create a slow motion effect.

Next up, when we go down here, currently it's set to auto,

but if you want you can also set it

to manual mode and dial in your preferred settings.

And this is really great

because this gives us more control over our camera.

But usually on running gun shoots, I set it to auto.

The only thing I adjust is the wide balance

which I either use one of these presets.

Important is that you lock your wide balance

so no color changes occur while you're filming

because that will be hard to fix in the edit.

So, if it's sunny outside, you would choose sunny

or you can head over to custom what I like to do

and dial in the kelvin temperature.

So, I'm gonna leave it at 5,000.

Then I'm gonna head back

and now we're gonna choose the gimbal icon below it

which reveals more settings.

So I've currently set the flow mode to auto.

That is what I use most often,

but you can also change it.

But I prefer to change the gimbal modes

using the smart wheel.

Over here, you can adjust the joystick speed.

I leave that in medium.

The zoom speed is also set to medium.

Tracking sensitivity, I leave it to normal.

And then you have the ability to enable a front

cam auto tracking.

So, when I enable this and for example,

I want to switch to the selfie camera to shoot a vlog,

it will automatically track my face.

Then you have reverse joystick, which I don't use.

Then you have flow, sound and vibration,

but I'm actually not sure what it does.

I haven't researched that yet.

Then you have auto calibration.

So, in case your gimbal is having issues,

you can do an auto calibration.

And what's also cool is

that you have the adjust horizon axis.

So, in here you can manually adjust your horizon.

If for some reason it's off, you can select start.

And then right now it's at a 0.0 degree.

And then I can select the plus and you can see

that it turns green and that tells me

that my horizon is leveled and then I can confirm it.

But before you use that setting,

make sure to balance your phone correctly first.

Now to the bottom left

over here you have these three dots, which I will select.

And in here you have your general settings.

So, I leave grids enabled.

This allows me to set my composition.

Then I also have histogram enabled

which is this one over here that tells me

if my image is overexposed or underexposed.

Then you have the automatic pop-up connection

which I leave enabled.

This means once I've connected my phone to the gimbal

and powered it on a pop-up will appear, which I can tap on

that will lead me directly to the Insta360 app.

Then you have scene recognition

which I think is really cool.

So, once enabled, the current scene will be analyzed

and matched to a Shot Genie shooting template

which we will get into later.

Then you have voice control, which enables you to use

the voice commands in the Shot Genie app.

Like I said, where we'll get into that later.

I highly recommend you check

out the tutorial and go through it.

This way, you will get a good start on how to use it.

Then you also have the flow button operating guide

which you can go through and study.

And then at the bottom you have the option

to reset all of your settings.

So, next up we have the battery live

of the gimbal and the battery live of the phone.

And over here you can switch between the front

and selfie camera, and over here is the record button.

And then I can press on it to stop recording.

And then below over here you have your playback.

So, I can select it and re-watch the video.

And then below here you have your parameters.

So, currently it's set to auto

at a shutter speed of one 60 with an eyes of of 100.

And then you have your exposure value, which is set to zero.

So, over here you have your shooting modes.

So, starting at the very bottom you have panel photo

which creates a panoramic photo for you.

Then you have the normal photo function, video, slow motion.

Then you have this wide screen mode which creates

that cinematic aspect ratio.

You have time lapse, time shift, and live mode.

But for now we're just gonna focus on video.

Now when now you go out and do running gun shooting,

I like to tap hold to lock my exposure and focus

because I don't want my exposure to change while I record.

So, this works similar to the native camera app.

Now this up here is the Shot Genie feature

where you can get inspiration

on filming a scene with many available shooting templates.

And when I press on it, you can see

that I can also give voice commands

and the AI will recommend a shooting technique tailored

to the scene.

So, I can say I'm at the park,

then we'll give me a scene that was shot

in the park and I can use this as a template

and follow through it in case I need some ideas.

So, this is a really great feature.

And also for beginners, this is a great way to practice.

So, let's look at the smart wheel.

I can press hold the switch button

and it will show me the last shot that I've taken

which is really great.

And then I can cycle between the clips that I've shot

by pressing the switch button

to cycle right or the record button to cycle left.

What you can also do is swipe the wheel clockwise

or counterclockwise to move your play head in the video.

And something else you can do with the smart wheel is

that when I turn it, I can actually zoom

into the video to maybe check if my face is in focus or not.

So, really cool.

And then if you wanna end the playback,

I can just press the power button.

This is a really powerful function to quickly check my shot

and then get back to shooting again.

Now another powerful tool is turning this wheel

over here to switch lenses quickly.

And this is really great

because I do switch lenses a lot to get a variety of shots.

And if I turn and hold the wheel,

it will start zooming in and if I turn the wheel

to the left, it will start zooming out.

Now to the very top, you also have the flash function

and you also have filters that you can choose

from in case you want to save time color grading.

But I usually like to do that in the edit.

To enable deep tracking,

you can just tap the trigger button once and you will see

that it will detect my face and start tracking me.

You can also use your finger to select

a subject and track it.

And what's cool is

that you can select a moving person, child,

animal or object.

Now once deep track is enabled,

the gimbal will remember the target,

the person throughout the recording

and continue to track them, which is really powerful

even re-identifying them when other objects block them.

It also zooms out to the wide angle lens

when the subject moves out of the frame to find it

and zooms in to continue to track it.

You can also use the deep track

for live streams to ensure that you're always in the frame.

And like I mentioned,

when you enable front cam auto tracking, once you switch

to the selfie camera, it will automatically track you

which can be great for vloggers.

Now, something I noticed that the Insta360 doesn't have

which the DJI Osmo Model Six has is gesture control.

So, if you want to use hand gestures to start

and stop recording from a distance,

you won't have that feature.

But I can imagine

that they could include that in the future update.

So, let's now put this gimbal to the test

and see how it performs.

I took this gimbal with me to Panama

as I was there on vacation with my brother.

And here are some

of the clips I've shot using the Insta360 Flow

so that you can see how smooth the results are.

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You can see that the shots are very smooth

and the flow can really handle a wide range

of dynamic movements.

And at no point did I notice the gimbal struggling

or having issues.

I also tested it with a heavier setup using a telephoto lens

by sand mark, which is quite heavy at around 84 grams.

That was absolutely blown away at how well it handled it

even without counterweights, there were no jitters,

no vibrations, and the shots were very stable.

Now the roll motor did get hot and it will use more power.

However, it will work for quick simple shots.

It will be great if it had the possibility to add

counterweights so the motor wouldn't have to work

as hard when using heavier setups.

Something to mention is

that the tilt range is limited on the flow.

So, for creating low to high shots for example,

you would have to position the gimbal sideways.

Whereas with the Zion Smooth 5s,

you can point it forward and then move it up

which is more of a natural way of doing it.

A great feature is the extension pole that allows you to get

low to the ground for a more unique perspective

without having to be in an uncomfortable position.

Now I have been using the DJI Osmo Mobile Six

for quite a long time and it has been my go-to gimbal.

But here are some

of the reasons why I switched to the Insta360 Flow.

Regarding the setup time, the Flow is faster,

requiring only a single motion to start the shooting.

The fact that I can attach the phone before turning

on the gimbal makes it more convenient and faster.

The DJI Osmo Mobile Four had that.

I don't know why they changed that.

The Flow has also twice as much battery life

and I can charge it while shooting

or even use it as a power bank.

So now, I don't have to carry an extra power bank

with me and use the Flow for it.

The Flow also comes

with a cold shoe mount that allows you to attach

a microphone such as the Rode Wireless Go

or any other microphone that has one

of these cold shoe mounts,

which on the OM6 requires a workaround.

Testing out this new vlogging setup,

So, I have Insta360 Flow paired with the Rode Wireless Go 2

and I think it works really great.

And with the extension pole, I can be further away

from the camera so that you guys can see me.

And I can also keep myself centered using

the tracking feature as well, which I really like.

And yeah, so this morning we just arrived in Saboga Island.

You can see it's super beautiful.

We took the ferry from Panama City.

It's around one and a half hour drive.

But yeah, we're gonna stay here for one night

and then tomorrow we are gonna head back again.

Furthermore, the built-in tripod is another plus point

with the DJI OM Six.

I have to (indistinct) it to make it fit in my pocket.

So, as you can see,

these advantages make the Insta360 Flow

a great choice for me.

Now considering all you get when purchasing the Flow,

the Insta360 Flow standalone is priced at $159.

And Insta360 Flow Creator Kit comes with the light at $209.

So, with that said,

here are my final thoughts on Insta360 Flow.

It is probably the most advanced smartphone gimbal

on the market today.

There's not much negative to say about it.

I've reviewed many gimbals on my channel in the past,

but Insta360 has really taken it to the next level,

especially with their D-track technology

which they are well known for.

Gives you a very accurate tracking result.

It is compact and convenient.

You can unfold it in just one motion.

It has several integrated features like the built-in tripod,

selfie stick and cold mount,

eliminating the need for additional accessories.

It has an impressive battery life that can even be used

as a power bank, which for me is another huge plus

because filming all day

with a smartphone can drain the battery so quickly

and I don't always have access to an outlet.

And that is also what I really missed on the DJI OM Six.

Now I love the smart wheel design

which makes controlling the gimbal

more intuitive and convenient.

And lastly, the Insta360 Flow offers access

to the AI-powered mobile app making using the gimbal easier

and more fun.

And because this gimbal has so many features,

it can be used in various ways.

If you are a traveler, a vlogger

mobile content creator, live streamer

or family member wanting to document their holidays,

the Insta360 Flow is a great option.

Now I want to know what you think

of Insta360 Flow or what other gimbals you use.

Let me know in the comments below.

Now, a gimbal is just one aspect

of creating nice and cinematic footage.

There's so much more that goes into a video

so be sure to check

out smartphone filmmaking.com to learn how to get

professional video results with your phone.

Other than that, I hope you enjoyed this tutorial.

Thank you so much for watching, guys.

I appreciate all of you and I'll see you guys the next time.

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