Insta360 X5 waterproof action camera ZDNET's key takeaways The Insta360 is the premier camera for shooting underwater footage, for $549 on Amazon.
Diving accessories such as the Invisible Dive Case and Floating Hand Grip ensure your X5 stays safe in the water.
I had some pairing issues while on a dive. View now at Amazon
I recently spent a week in Hawaii for my daughter's wedding, and captured some fantastic underwater video with the Insta360 X5. I went snorkeling with manta rays, explored the shoreline full of tropical fish, and swam alongside sea turtles with the action cam, then shared these amazing experiences with family and friends back home viewing my content from the safety of their couch.
ZDNET's Ant Pruitt reviewed the Insta360 X5 a couple of months ago, and he praised its performance, so I had to try one out for myself. Although it had been several years since I used an Insta360 X series camera, I was thrilled to get the opportunity to test it out in the clear waters of Hawaii and couldn't have timed it better with the release of an update that provided new underwater capture features.
Also: Why I recommend this 8K pocket camera over traditional shooters - especially at this price
What's new now is Insta360's diving update, bringing AquaVision 3.0 support to the Insta360 smartphone app and desktop Studio program. In addition, a diving stats dashboard is now available for Suunto watches, including the Suunto Race 2 that I recently reviewed.
The Insta360 X5 connects to either your smartphone with the Insta360 app or your computer via Wi-Fi or a direct or USB-C connection. You can also subscribe to Insta360 Plus and have all of your content synced to the cloud and then accessible from the Insta360 app on all of your devices.
With the captured content now available in the Insta360 app, swing over to the right side to access the Media Processing options and you should see the AquaVision 3.0 toggle in the Color Restoration section of the app.
With the invisible dive case and a floating hand grip, the camera stayed dry while snorkeling around the big island of Hawaii, but it did get warm while I was swimming in the sun. Regardless, I was able to capture awesome footage of manta rays, sea turtles, and a large variety of fish whose Hawaiian names I cannot pronounce.
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