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Insta360 Nano S Preview

Jim Fisher
 & Jim Fisher Principal Writer, Cameras

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Insta360 Nano S Preview - Ricoh Theta V

The Bottom Line

The Insta360 Nano S adds 4K 360-degree video to your iPhone, complete with support for live streaming and chat.
Best Deal£146.86

Buy It Now

£146.86

Pros & Cons

    • Compact.
    • Supports live streaming and chat.
    • FreeCapture and MultiView cropping options.
    • Affordable.
    • Only works with Apple devices.
    • 360-degree capture strains 4K resolution.

Insta360 Nano S Specs

Dimensions 4.3 by 1.3 by 0.8 inches
Optical Stabilization Digital
Weight 2.5
All Specs

Insta360 is updating its Nano model for 2018. The Nano S ($239.99) is a bit more expensive, but it also does a bit more than the average 360 camera. In addition to shooting spherical video, it supports a cropped view (first seen in the Insta360 One), live streaming, and chat with a new split-screen mode. We haven't had a chance to test it yet, but can share preliminary thoughts.

Design

The Nano S follows the design cues of its predecessor. It's an add-on camera for iPhones, fitting onto models from the iPhone 6 generation and up. It connects via the Lightning port and hugs the back of our phone, so you can't use it with a case.

Insta360 is selling the Nano S in black or silver. Its form factor is identical to the original Nano, so it measures about 4.3 by 1.3 by 0.8 inches (HWD) and weighs about 2.5 ounces.

A companion app controls the camera and gives you access to its full bevy of capture and editing features. You can use the camera on its own—it has an internal battery and saves footage to a microSD card—but to do anything with the footage, you need a phone.

Video Features

The Nano S is a 360-degree video camera, and as such, it records the entire world around you, at 4K resolution. That's an upgrade from the 3K quality offered by the Nano, and we hope it improves the overall look of the footage. But you have to remember that 4K stretched out to cover the sphere surrounding the camera is not going to look nearly as crisp as 4K footage captured with a traditional camera and constrained to a 16:9 frame.

Like the Insta360 One, released last year, the Nano S lets you do more with the 360-degree footage than simply trim and upload it to YouTube or Facebook for navigable viewing. It supports FreeCapture, which is similar in concept to what the GoPro Fusion and Rylo do. You can crop into a 16:9 frame, panning and zooming through to direct the viewer to a certain part of the scene. When I tested the feature with the Insta360 One it was a bit clunky to use and the finished video was underwhelming in quality, but that was with beta software and hardware. I'll take a look at it again when the Nano S is available for review to see if the company has made strides in improving the feature.

There's also MultiView, which is a split-screen option, similar to what we often saw in the Kiefer Sutherland opus, 24. Insta360 says there are five different layouts available to use in the app, and that MultiView can be used for editing, live streaming, and chat.

Insta360 Nano S

Yes, chat. That's new to the Nano S. Insta360 wants you to FaceTime your friends, but using its app, and in 360 degrees. The Nano S app can send chat invitations via text or iMessage, with the recipient using a web portal to view the video feed. You can share a navigable 360-degree frame, or a flat MultiView collage. In addition to calling, live streaming is available for Facebook, Periscope, and YouTube.

The camera also stabilizes video, using your phone's gyroscope to analyze and remove shake from footage. Still capture is also available, at 20MP resolution.

First Impressions

On paper, the Insta360 Nano S is an upgrade to the original Nano. It offers more resolution, additional editing and streaming features, and chat, all absent from its predecessor. It does cost more, by about $40, and there are other cameras on the market that sell for less. One of those is our Editors' Choice, the 2017 version of the Samsung Gear 360 ($209.95 at Amazon) . We'll wait to test the Nano S to see how it compares.

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Further Reading

Final Thoughts

Insta360 Nano S Preview - Ricoh Theta V

Insta360 Nano S Preview

None

The Insta360 Nano S adds 4K 360-degree video to your iPhone, complete with support for live streaming and chat.

Get It Now
Best Deal£146.86

Buy It Now

£146.86

About Our Expert

Jim Fisher

Jim Fisher

Principal Writer, Cameras

My Experience

Images, and the devices that capture them, are my focus. I've covered cameras at PCMag for the past 14 years, which has given me a front row seat for the changeover from DSLRs to mirrorless cameras, the smartphone camera revolution, and the emergence of drones for aerial imaging. I have extensive experience with every major mirrorless and SLR system, and am also comfortable using point-and-shoot and action cameras. As a Part 107 Certified drone pilot, I’m licensed to fly unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) for commercial and editorial purposes, and am knowledgeable about federal rules and regulations regarding drones.

The Technology I Use

I use all of the major camera systems on a regular basis, swapping between Canon, Fujifilm, L-Mount, Micro Four Thirds, Nikon, and Sony systems. I still find time to use Leica M rangefinders and Pentax SLRs on occasion, too. I keep an iPhone 13 in my pocket for the rare occasions I'm not carrying a camera.

I'm not a brand-specific photographer. For product review photos, I swap between a Canon EOS R5 and a Sony a7R IV. I use Flashpoint and Godox TTL lights and Peak Design tripods, and I most often reach for a Think Tank or Peak Design backpack to carry equipment.

When it comes to computers, I'm an unapologetic Mac person and have been for the past 20 years. I write in Pages and use Numbers for spreadsheets. I currently swap between an Intel i9 MacBook Pro and an Apple Silicon Mac Studio for writing and use a calibrated BenQ 32.5-inch with the Studio for photo and video editing. I rely on a LaCie 6big RAID for media storage. I also keep a PC around for gaming, but please don't tell my Macs about it; they'll get jealous.

I split time between several different software apps depending on the type of editing I'm doing. For Raw image processing, Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic is my standard. I pair it with a LoupeDeck CT console to supplement my keyboard and trackpad, and I lean on RNI All Films 5 presets when I want to give an image a film look. I use Apple Final Cut Pro for video editing.

My first digital camera was the Canon PowerShot Elph S200, and my first DSLR was the Pentax *ist DL. I have a soft spot for antique film gear. I still use a 1950 vintage Rolleiflex Automat TLR and love trying mid-century Leica lenses on film and digital alike. I mainly use whatever's in front of me for review for digital snaps, but I pick up either my Leica M Typ 240 or Pentax K-3 III Monochrome when I want to step away from review work. In my downtime, I enjoy bird watching, reading, video games, and both good and bad movies, especially in the sci-fi and horror genres.

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