Insta360’s new device solves the biggest problem with first-person video — and it’s not a camera | Daily Reports Online
- New accessory for Luna Ultra synchronizes the camera with the user’s head movement
- POV Head Tracker simplifies shooting hands-free first-person footage
- It costs $69.99 / £67.99 / AU$115.99
Do you ever shoot first-person-view (FPV) video content? Well, Insta360 has a new accessory that’s designed to simplify the whole experience: the POV Head Tracker. And it might just tempt you to switch to the Luna Ultra.
The coin-sized 0.2oz / 6.4g device connects to the Luna Ultra compact vlogging camera over Bluetooth and, once paired, it synchronizes the camera with your head movement in real time, for what Insta360 says is “immersive POV footage”.
It’s designed to completely free up your hands, but goes one step further than a simple chest mount by synchronizing head and camera movement, so you shouldn’t have to worry at all about composing the shot.
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To me, the POV Head Tracker sounded like a dream accessory for shooting video solo — so I had to try it out for myself.
(Image credit: Tim Coleman)
A game-changing accessory?
The IPX4-certified device measures just 1.0 x 1.0 x 0.5 inches and comes in a hard0shell USB-C battery case along with an ear mount, strap, clip, adhesive mount and motion adapter. It has has a 7-hour battery life — enough for a full day of shooting.
Insta360 also sent me a neck mount that’s designed to hold the Luna Ultra. With the camera slotted into the neck mount and the POV Head Tracker in the supplied ear mount — which is right ear-only — I gave the combo a spin to see if it delivers on its lofty promises.
Setup takes a few seconds, via a simple device calibrate process: you look straight ahead for three seconds, then look straight down for three seconds. Done.
Once the devices are paired and calibrated, you control which way the camera points simply by where you look. Doing a hands-on product review? Look down at the product. Doing a travel vlog and the point of interest is off to the left? Look left. It really is that simple.
It really was like the camera was my second pair of eyes — and it’s the biggest nod so far to Insta360 founder and CEO Liu Jingkang’s ‘photography robot’ vision, which I spoke to both him and Insta360 about.
(Image credit: Tim Coleman)
Is the POV Head Tracker perfect? I’m not so sure. It appears as though you can’t use Insta360’s Mic Pro simultaneously via Bluetooth, plus I found the tracker strayed off sync a little, and that slight difference was highlighted when employing the Luna Ultra’s tighter 3x telephoto camera rather than the ultra-wide.
The Luna Ultra with POV Head Tracker felt like a camera setup from the future.
I needed to recalibrate the device from time to time (which can also be done by looking straight ahead and then double-tapping the Luna Ultra’s button that recenters the camera).
Still, that’s where the camera’s detachable LCD screen module came in handy — you can leave the camera on the neck strap over your chest, but view what the camera sees on the detached module, for example if you do need to recalibrate or zoom.
The Luna Ultra with POV Head Tracker felt like a camera setup from the future. A future where people walk around with discreet cameras strapped to their chests, recording what they’re looking at. Whether you want that future or not is another matter; but for now Insta360’s new accessory feels like a revolutionary device.
It’s another form of camera intelligence akin to the Luna Ultra’s subject-tracking skills which, when combined with the detachable module, is like having a cameraperson filming you. These smart features make life for solo creators so much simpler, and broaden the range of shots possible.
The POV Head Tracker costs $69.99 / £67.99 / AU$115.99 while the Luna Ultra Neck Mount costs $24.99 / £23.99 / AU$39.99.
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