When that kamikaze pilot makes his move, you can track his crappy life choice from start to finish and the viewer will get a feel for how much action was going on all around you. In the holeshot scenario, you can capture your competitors all around you as you fire down the start straight. With a 360 camera you can capture all the action with one camera. Mount that same camera on the back of your BMW GS on your Alaskan adventure to catch your buddies eating your roost behind you, and you might miss capturing the 10-foot tall grizzly bear in the middle of the trail, stopped dead in your tracks. If you mount a traditional action camera on the front of your race bike and grab the holeshot, only to have some overzealous competitor ram it up your inside and bump you into the dirt, all you will see is an empty track in front of you as you miss the first turn and enter the dirt. It also doesn’t appear to be as robust should it get accidentally ejected off a mount and take a high speed tumble, though optional cases are available, including a rugged case for action sports and a water-tight case ideal for diving. It’s not as compact as a GoPro or Sony action camera but, rather, shaped more like a small cell phone. The beauty of this for action sports – where things come at you fast and unplanned – is that you can decide after the fact what you want to highlight and share with your audience.Ĭonsidering the OneX camera uses two lenses, each with a 200-degree field of view, and a Sony CMOS sensor, it’s a fairly streamlined and lightweight device, measuring 115mm x 48mm x 28mm and weighing just 115 grams with a battery installed. Essentially, the audience views whatever you want them to see in a 360-degree area around the camera. More than just a tool for making VR videos, a huge benefit of 360 cameras is the control you have in the post production editing workflow over what the audience views on the conventional 2-dimensional 16×9 screen. However, now that Insta360 sent us a OneX to test, I’m a convert.

Truthfully, the VR world is not one I explored very much as the resident MOron with a camera. So why 360 then? It’s a question I asked myself when I first heard 360 cameras were available and creating buzz at the consumer level.

Cool stuff for sure, but not something we do here on the MO Tubes. You know, that immersive video experience with special nerd goggles where technology fools you into feeling like you’re actually in a scene – like walking a tight rope 500 feet above the Grand Canyon – while standing in Best Buy.

Why 360-degree action cameras? One reason is for virtual reality or VR video. But considering how he’s the one with the most “seat time” with the Insta360 OneX camera, we couldn’t think of anyone better to tell you how it works. Normally, our video guy Sean Matic doesn’t involve himself with the written word, instead focusing his attention on moving pictures of the questionable MO team. Chances are you’ve already seen some footage with the camera in prior reviews, too.

So, when the opportunity came along to get our hands on a 360 camera for the first time, we couldn’t say no. As you no doubt know, also produces videos to go along with nearly every motorcycle review we publish.

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