GoKawiilis a senior reporter who’s been covering and reviewing the latest gadgets and tech since 2006, but has loved all things electronic since he was a kid.
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The pill-shaped Insta360 Go 3S 4K action camera launched in June 2024 as an updated version of the 2.7K Go 3 that debuted a year prior. While last year’s Go Ultra introduced a redesign with a larger sensor and higher frame rates, the Go 3S has stuck around as a smaller but still very capable alternative. To broaden its appeal, the action cam is now available with a new optical viewfinder accessory for framing shots when using it as a handheld camera, but you may be better off splurging on Insta360’s more expensive dock that adds an LCD screen.
The Retro Viewfinder accessory is available today through Insta360’s online store on its own for $47.99, or as part of a new Go 3S Retro Bundle starting at $299.99 that includes the 64GB version of the action cam. That’s cheaper than the $349.99 Standard Bundle that pairs the same version of the Go 3S with Insta360’s Action Pod dock.
As with most tiny action cameras, the Insta360 Go 3S lacks a screen of its own. You can connect it to a smartphone app to see live previews and adjust camera settings, but the Go 3S is designed to be mounted where you wouldn’t be able to see a screen (like atop a helmet) where it captures nearly all the action in front of you using a wide-angle lens.
The new Retro Viewfinder is an attempt to repurpose the action cam as a handheld shooter that lets you frame subjects like a classic camera. It works similar to the Insta360’s Action Pod where the Go 3S slots into the front of the accessory. There’s no spring-loaded latches to keep it securely attached, but a strong magnet kept the camera in place during a vigorous shake test.
The Go 3S slots into the front of the Retro Viewfinder and is held in place using strong magnets. Insta360 includes a brown leather carrying case large enough to accommodate the Retro Viewfinder and its charger.
Instead of holding the accessory up to your eye to frame shots, you hold it at chest level and look down into the viewfinder. The front panel of the Go 3S functions as your shutter button, snapping photos with a single press and starting and stopping video recording with a double press. It was designed this way to create a “vintage shooting experience inspired by classic film cameras,” according to Insta360. And while framing and snapping photos this way does have some novelty (at one point I felt a little like Ansel Adams as I framed a row of community mailboxes instead of mountains), Insta360’s execution comes with some frustrations.
The optical viewfinder helps with framing but doesn’t accurately preview the wide field-of-view the Go 3S will actually capture.
The viewing angle is extremely limited, and tilting the Retro Viewfinder just 15 to 20 degrees front, back, or side to side results in you seeing nothing at all. The image in the viewfinder is also flipped horizontally. Even after a week of practice, I struggled to intuitively know how to move or adjust the angle of the camera to position a subject exactly where I want them in frame, or to just ensure a shot is level. The process still feels like trial-and-error.
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