GoPro Max 2 360 Camera Review: It’s Finally Here

It’s probably a personal taste. Certainly, if you’re looking to stop eyeballs mid-scroll with oversaturated, vibrant colors, the Insta360 X5 is your friend. Personally, I like the colors coming from the GoPro much better, even when shooting in 8-bit color. It’s probably worth watching videos of both to see which look you prefer before investing. One of the nice things about the GoPro is that if you want to get into coloring in post-production in apps like DaVinci Resolve, the 10-bit color option gives you a lot more latitude.

I also found that in bright light, when shooting the kinds of things I typically use an action camera for (bike rides, hikes, etc.), the Max 2’s images were sharper than the same scenes shot with the X5. The difference isn’t huge, but especially in scenes with lots of foliage, the Max 2 comes out on top with sharper edges and better contrast.

Like most 360° cameras, the Max 2 offers a single lens mode, which is handy when you know you don’t want the second lens (for example, if you have it mounted on your chest). In single lens mode, the Max 2 essentially becomes a 4K Hero 13. All of the same lens modes are available, as are most of the video options. The big difference is that you’re limited to 4K rather than the Hero 13 Black’s 5.2K. But single-lens mode is convenient because it saves you from having to crop those images.

While the Max 2 wins in image quality (slightly) and color science (including 10-bit support), it unfortunately doesn’t win in audio. The Max 2 manages to integrate 6 microphones, which it then uses intelligently (for example, when there is wind coming from the left, it should attenuate that mic and rely more on the right mic). This all sounds great, but unfortunately in my testing the sound was poor no matter what I did. It was remarkably quiet and flat compared to the X5, shooting side-by-side in the same conditions.