Rennie Scaysbrook | April 10, 2024
The Insta360 GO 3 is the latest offering from Insta360. The GO 3 is quite a different proposition to a regular Insta360 unit in that it is not a 360° action camera like our favorite camera in Insta’s range, the X3. The GO 3 is aimed more at the traditional action camera crowd that’s a little more savvy with setting the frame of the shot, compared to the X3 where you can almost set it and forget it, doing the framing work later in post.
The GO 3 comes in its own pod, which makes it pretty much the same as a GoPro, except…
…you can take the camera out of its case and with one of the many available mounts, you can put it on places like your helmet to capture the best possible POV footage.
The big advantage the GO 3 has is you can detach the camera from its housing pod and mount it in almost any manner you see fit. The little action camera will shoot in 2.7K and you can pair it to your phone so you can see the angle you’re shooting while on the go.
If you put the camera back in its housing, you can use the flip-up screen that gives you a perfect idea of what you’re shooting. The screen is touch sensitive, but doesn’t work well with motorcycle gloves, which can be rather annoying.
The battery life is pretty good for just the camera alone with 45 minutes of 2.7K shooting at your fingertips. If you keep the camera in its housing, the time goes up to 170 minutes of shooting.
Another cool feature is the GO 3, like almost all the company’s cameras, can shoot in both vertical and horizontal, allowing you to frame vertical videos for Instagram and horizontal videos for YouTube in the same file.
Insta360 GO 3 Video Camera | Lowdown
Standout Feature: Super easy POV-style shooting
List Price: $341.99 (32GB) / $359.99 (64GB) / $407.99 (128GB)
Easy to use
Excellent editing suite
Good image quality
Extensive mounting options
Average sound quality
Not as versatile as the X3 (but it’s cheaper)
Here, the GO is mounted inside my Arai Corsair X, behind a fully dark visor. This was taken going onto the front straight at Barber Motorsports Park, and as you can see, the image quality is quite good.
Insta360 GO 3 Video Camera | Rider Analysis
I’ve been an Insta360 convert for a few years after first sampling the One RS They’re extremely easy to use, and I love the editing suite that comes with it—hey, if a monkey like me can figure it out and make decent videos, anyone can.
I’ve had the GO 3 for the past six months, and it’s proved a worthy piece of kit in my bag for Cycle News reviews. However, I still find myself reaching for my X3 more as I don’t have to frame the shots like I do on the GO 3.
In terms of motorcycle riding, the best thing about the GO 3 is the peak attachment, which means I can film what I can see with my own eyes. All I do is take the camera out of its case, put it in the clip holder and put it on the peak of my helmet.
I’ve also put the camera in a road racing helmet by using industrial-strength sticky Velcro on the top of the mount and the inside of the helmet. It’s not ideal, as you need to look around the camera, and I wouldn’t recommend this for racing, but it’s fine if you want to grab a quick onboard lap.
The mounting systems available for the GO 3 are extensive, and probably the most fun one is the magnetic chest mount, which allows you to keep both hands free, and it’s like you become your own cameraman. There’s also the clip-on mount for the selfie stick and a reusable sticky-mount, although I don’t really trust that one when I put it on the various test bikes. The sticky mount is good, but don’t go riding any motocross with it, as it’ll last about two laps before your camera goes flying.
The image quality is brilliant. For what I need, 2.7K is more than enough for riding videos. The sound quality isn’t bad, but you can’t link an external microphone to the GO 3, so what you see is what you get/hear. If you want an Insta360 camera that can run an external microphone, you’re best to look at the X3 or the newer Ace Pro.
The GO 3 is a handy little camera for capturing hard-to-reach places, but I think it’s outclassed by the X3. Yes, the X3 is about $60 more expensive, but it’s a lot more versatile for the rigors of motorcycle riding and testing, and the fact that it does indeed shoot in 360° makes it a winner for me.
I feel the GO 3 suits the content creators out there who do more static filming, such as webcam work, piece-to-camera, or capturing lifestyle POV videos like hiking, skating, or petting the dog. Still, for the money, the GO 3 is a great little piece to have in the camera bag.
For more information, visit https://store.insta360.com/product/go-3
