Despite the mini boom in conventional camera sales – by which we mean compact and SLR digital, not film, cameras – there’s a great swathe of contemporary content creators who only really know one type of image-capturing device.
The influencer’s weapon of choice has a very intentional form factor, one that favours hand-held, arms-length filming, with a swivelling, gimbal-stabilised camera system and a screen that flips from conventional landscape to the all-important portrait mode.
Insta360 Luna Ultra action camera
This is the new Insta360 pocket camera, a fresh challenger in a market that has come to be dominated by the DJI Action Camera. This Chinese firm – Shenzhen Da-Jiang Innovations Sciences and Technologies Ltd. – started out making drones before branching out into ultra-compact influencer-focused action cams in 2019, going head-to-head with GoPro.
Insta360 Luna Ultra action camera, front and back
The American manufacturer couldn’t keep as DJI rapidly accelerated in look, feel and quality and whilst GoPro has now in fact attempt to go pro with the new Mission 1 cinema camera, DJI now rules the roost for both pocketable vlogging cameras and drones – it has around 90% of the drone market.
Enter Insta360. The new ultra-light Luna Ultra wants in on this action and hopes to do so through a partnership with Leica. Incorporating a 1" sensor and 8K imaging, the Luna Ultra uses a Leica Summicron lens for its main video and photo capture, with a telephoto lens capable of up to 6x loss zoom.
Insta360 Luna Ultra action camera, left and right
The impressive technical specs are supported by the vertical form factor, which not only includes an integral tripod but also has a detachable 2” OLED touchscreen. For those who present, the touchscreen can double up as a microphone, allowing you to commentate at a distance (up to 20m) while preserving excellent sound quality.
The screen also allows you to remotely control the camera framing, while onboard object and AI-powered facial tracking pairs with the 3-axis image stabilisation to keep things steady.
The Luna Ultra features a detachable 2" OLED screen
Flexibility is the name of the game. The Luna Ultra has been designed for excellent low light performance with the ability to output 120fps slow motion at 4K and with 8K/30fps video using Dolby Vision. The camera provides professional grade video output for post-production work, with a built-in time code, while also taking 37MP still photos.
Onboard memory tops out at 47GB, whilst content-hungry creators will appreciate the ability to add up to 1TB using microSD cards. The 1550mAh battery provides around four hours of shooting, depending on conditions.
Insta360 Luna Ultra action camera
The Leica partnership isn’t just about the glass, but also the German specialist’s colour profiles. These offer a range of cinematic filters and colour grading options to give a distinctly different feel to your footage. The Luna Ultra is compatible with Insta360’s pro-grade microphone systems and the unit itself has a built-in wind guard to preserve outdoor recording quality. Other accessories include a head-tracker unit.
The Luna Ultra from Insta360
The Luna Ultra won’t necessarily dent DJI’s dominance overnight, but it offers a pro-grade alternative with pioneering functions – that detachable screen – that’ll give it a healthy start amongst tech-conscious creators.
Insta360 Luna Ultra, available in Midnight Black and Moon White, £649 / €729 (Standard Bundle) and £829 / €929 (Creator Bundle), Insta360.com, @Insta360