Ever since the GoPro Hero worked out its kinks, defining the action camera genre in the process, not much has changed for action cameras. Every year, worthy competitors arrive on the scene, and GoPro releases incrementally better cameras as well. But until I played with the Insta360 One R earlier this year at CES, I would have argued this type of camera was pretty well baked.
Now I am not so sure. Insta360's One R challenges the basic assumptions about what an action camera can be, and uses a unique modular design to allow for more flexibility. The result is an action camera that's capable of handling a greater variety of shooting scenarios and generating unique footage you won't get from any other camera in this genre. It's a two-in-one combo that actually delivers.
The One R is not your standard action camera. It's not necessarily even an action camera. The One R is a modular camera system that can be used as an action camera, but it can also be used as a 360-degree camera similar to Insta360's One X camera.
To make sure it's still water-resistant and up to the challenging environments action cameras usually inhabit, the lenses and sensors are a single, watertight unit. The lens and sensor snap into a core module. It's a bit like putting together Lego blocks. The core has all the rest of the features—a power button, record button, MicroSD slot, and a small touchscreen monitor. These two then sit on top of a battery plate that runs along the bottom. Fully assembled, the One R is roughly the shape of a GoPro Hero 8, only slightly larger.
The heart of the system is the interchangeable lens/sensor combos, which Insta360 calls mods, and currently there are three. The 4K mod is the typical 4K action camera lens, with a 16.4 lens (35mm equivalent). The field of view is slightly narrower than what you'll get from a GoPro Hero 8, but otherwise it's similar. This mod serves as the base model for the One R as an action cam and costs $300.
The next mod is a dual-lens 360 camera that uses two fisheye lenses, capturing a 360-degree field of view. I've never found 360-degree lenses particularly helpful because they require postproduction—the time-consuming process of stitching together your raw footage in software. Insta360 manages to simplify this process with some smart software editing options. This lens is also available as an attachment for DJI's Mavic Pro or Mavic 2 drones.
The final and most interesting of the mods is known as the wide-angle mod. This lens pairs a larger, one-inch sensor with a 14.4 lens (35mm equivalent) coengineered with Leica. The resulting footage is hands down the best-looking video and images I've seen come out of an action camera.
You can buy these mods in various bundles (or make a custom combo), and whichever configuration you opt for, you'll also get the monitor piece, the battery base, and a mounting cage that's compatible with nearly any action cam accessory. Another accessory worth mentioning is the boosted battery base, which doubles the capacity (though it also makes the camera considerably larger).
Assembling the Insta360 One R and swapping lenses is simple enough, but you do have to disconnect from the battery, so it's not technically hot-swappable. Swapping lenses here is different than a traditional interchangeable lens camera, and it takes enough effort that you aren't going to manage it without stopping whatever you're doing. This is especially true with the one-inch mod, which requires removing the front cover before taking it out of the cage to swap lenses.