Insta360 Sphere: 10 things you NEED to know BEFORE buying the BEST Invisible Drone

WAIT! Watch this before you buy the Insta360 Sphere - the new 360 Drone / Invisible Drone from Insta360. We compare the Insta360 Sphere x DJI Air 2S combo with BetaFPV Pavo360 and Insta360 ONE X2 x DJI Mavic 3 Pro to see which is the BEST tool for the job. If you are a filmmaker who wants to get into aerial 360 filmmaking, this is the perfect tutorial for you. Let's go:
0:00 - Insta360 Sphere 4K reframed samples
0:35 - Insta360 Sphere FPV shots
1:53 - Insta360 Sphere on DJI Air 2S Sport Mode w/ Lens Guard
3:05 - Other Pro-level VR Drones
4:40 - My current design BEFORE the Insta360 Sphere
5:50 - Real-time GPS flight demo (NOT what you think)
7:03 - Flying Tips: Smart Power Management
7:41 - Huge stitching line?
8:51 - Stitching Tips: Optical Flow comes to the rescue
9:50 - Should you use Lens Guard?
10:20 - Hand take-off and hand catch landing skills are required
11:16 - Insta360 Sphere fully loaded weight
11:50 - The PROBLEM of Insta360 Sphere
14:10 - Drone audio test with Insta360 Sphere attached
14:46 - Sky plate 360 photo trick with Insta360 Sphere
15:55 - 360 sky plate video as stock footage
17:00 - BetaFPV Pavo360 Review
19:12 - 360 drone alternative: long selfie stick
20:57 - Same battery as old Insta360 ONE X!
22:02 - Recommended camera settings for Insta360 Sphere
22:30 - Pre-flight check & tutorial
👉Watch my OTHER setup: DJI Mavic 3 + Insta360 ONE X2 if the jello problem on the stitch line concern you: • Next BEST 360 Drone? D...
💗 Check out Insta360 Sphere: bit.ly/insta360sphere
➜ my Mavic 3 blue mount for One X2: bit.ly/3vMBm9V
➜ Insta360 ONE RS: bit.ly/insta360oners
➜ Insta360 ONE X2: bit.ly/2JfAZkP
(Affiliated Links - Thank you for checking it out)*
🎆 FOLLOW ME:
➜ Instagram: / hugh.hou
➜ Facebook: / 360creator
➜ Oculus TV: ocul.us/30uMZUj
➜ TikTok: / hughhou
More Insta360 Sphere samples, 360 videos, and tutorials are coming. Don't forget to follow me on Instagram (@hugh.hou) to be the first one to see some new Sphere creative video ideas!
#Insta360Sphere #InvisibleDrone #360Drone

[@Dataola]

Followed and Subscribed. Thanks for sharing your knowledge. Looking forward to the insta 360 tutorial.

[@outbackandaround3602]

I turn on my drone 1st to acquire GPS quicker. then I install the sphere and start it recording

[@hughhou]

Good tips!

[@marquesschroeder4891]

I'm gonna try the same thing. I just flew my Sphere for the first time and after 8 minutes, the drone completely died (with 60% battery left) and fell 3 feet on the grass. No damage as far as I can tell but it would not find more than 6 satellites. That could have been a disaster.

[@MBommeli]

thanks for your work! helps a lot!

[@dpdmounts]

Excellent video Hugh! Always love and appreciate how you get into the finer details.

[@hughhou]

Glad you enjoyed it! DPD Mount is still my favorite for heavy 360 camera fly :)

[@dpdmounts]

@@hughhou 😍😍😍

[@sandyschupper8401]

My sphere arrived today and I started charging the sphere and my air2s before I watch your video, which I found very helpful. Thank you for excellent content

[@agremlin77]

Nice video 😉 , liked & subscribed, thanks for sharing ‼️

[@GKid1786]

I really appreciated the information that you shared in this video! There are several other excellent drone channels - many of which were clearly supplied with an Insta360 Sphere to play with. If I would have seen this video before already purchasing one, I would have at least known more of what to expect with regard to the stitching issues! With the plastic guards on the lenses the stitching issues are HORRIBLE!! After ditching the guards things improved so much :). I'm glad you're sharing this info - I'm going to look at everything you have to share so I can make the most of my Sphere (now that I have one for better or for worse!)

[@reklawj]

I have not been to happy with footage. Like you said…now I have one, for better or for worse. Glad I watched this video.

[@hughhou]

So I did apply some production technique here to make the footage look better. I am working on 360 in full 5.7K render next. As you see here, in 4K reframe it is not bad at all. I will have the follow up tutorial to show how I achieve this quality. But I want to validate the workflow first in Resolve 18 or Premiere - make sure 5.7K 360 also look flawless. I am not be able to fly somewhere nice since Joe Biden is in town and the whole Los Angeles become no fly zone - I went all the way in OC still can't fly. So I will wait till I can get some nice footage to do the tutorial. But tip I have is - NEVER EVER USE THE PHONE TO RENDER ANYTHING! That is the Potato encoder that make everything look like Potato lol.

[@PP3D]

Many thanks Hugh, you're the master of details in your videos.

[@hughhou]

Glad you like them!

[@Six.Triple]

Thank you so much sir for The information. You always make my journey easy. I am really greatful to you.

[@hughhou]

It's my pleasure! I am glad this video help :)

[@EdHecht]

SUPER informative, Hugh. Thank you.

[@hughhou]

Glad you like it!

[@ToddtheLoneDroner]

Pretty groovy dude thanks a lot

[@CatchavistaAerial]

Great info Hugh as usual thanks

[@hughhou]

No problem 👍

[@latrucastudios1512]

Hello Hugh, thank you very much for all the information you share, I ask you what drone and camera you would buy to record aerial shots in 8k. Thank you!

[@brianharrisonlightscape360]

Great Video Hugh. I think I'm definitely going to mount my One X2 to my M3 Cine. Great Idea! Where can I buy the dampened mount you created?

[@hughhou]

bit.ly/3vMBm9V - try this link.

[@circxs69]

Very informative, Thank you Hugh. I'm curious if it would be possible to retro fit the Insta360 sphere to a Mavic 3

[@hughhou]

No I wish there is a way!!

[@chavsny1578]

Wow thats some pretty cool footage!

[@hughhou]

Glad you think so!

[@ErnestoDiazRuiz]

Thank you very much for this good video. Can you tell us, please, what battery does this camera use? I understand that you use the Insta 360 X1 ones, is that true? Thanks again!

[@hughhou]

Yes the old old X1 battery

[@paul.miranda]

I love your work!😎😎😎

[@hughhou]

Thank you so much 😀

[@drk321]

Thank you for the detailed tutorial. I will fly my sphere for the first time tomorrow. I have some short add on legs for my air2s to keep the lens from touching the ground. I suspect these may show up in the 360 video? They are just long enough to have the bottom sphere camera clear the ground.

[@hughhou]

Yes, it will show in the video for sure.

[@drk321]

@@hughhou You are correct, I tested it in my office last night and all four showed so I removed them. Today I did my first test flight and it looks like I need to practice catching the drone instead of landing it. I think I need a third arm to do this though.....

[@googliola]

Thanks for your primo Infos about 360 filming. You are a professional and I'm learning a lot from your videos. Plus, you're entertaining 😎 Did you know that you can grab your drone and flip it upside down to turn off the motors? Keep up the quality work and fun doing it!

[@hughhou]

Thank you! Oh really? I will try it next time 🙏🏼

[@deniss.6205]

Hugh, great video! i got the Sphere, i find it only practical to fly under objects as you say (invisible drone) the quality is not good at all. But the insta one X2 quality is better, and the 2 year old Qoocam 8k is the best for consumers i think.

[@leoming2292]

Thanks for telling so much down side of this machine. Just got the machine and find this video.

[@luisdavidolmos]

Gracias gracias gracias gracias Mil gracias por poner subtítulos en español, por favor síguelo haciendo, yo siempre veo tus vídeos offline y es de los pocos que ya tienen precargado el español como subtítulos

[@cedric0540]

Nice Shot ! But how to fix the jello effect problem ? Do you have an idea ? pls (my insta 360 Sphere makes a lot of jello)

[@TaoZen888]

hugh, what editor do you suggest to use in 9:42 ? nuke, adobe premiere/ ae ?

[@ericlaurence69]

Hugh, when will you release the camera comparisons with Sphere?

[@miltonsosamcdonald]

I would love to be able to mount my insta360 x3 on my Mavic Pro M1P. Is there some kind of mount holder bracket that I can buy? I am thinking of buying 360° Panoramic Camera Mount Holder Bracket for DJI Mavic 2 Pro/Zoom Gopro Parts. Do you have any idea if that would work for me? Thanks in advance!

[@Binkoro]

I really appreciate the thoroughness of your videos, Hugh! Thank you! I am EXTREMELY interested in watching your tutorial for how the Insta360 created their Insta360 Sphere Launch commercial. However, I can't find that tutorial anywhere. Would you mind providing a link to it? Thank you so much!

[@hughhou]

I need to make it lol. It’s just lots of masking. I have a simple version pinned on my Instagram

[@Binkoro]

@@hughhou Thank you for your reply, Hugh. Can you send me the link to the simple version on instagram? I tried to look for it but couldn’t find it. I tried to create this effect myself using premiere pro and after effects but I get a black hole where the drone takes off from. I posted my attempt here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/noLVnqN4i9iMppI

[@Binkoro]

@@hughhou I think I figured it out. I wasn’t suppose to do a horizontal flip on the masked clip. Rather, I had to ROTATE it. However I am still getting a thin, white stitch line between the upper and lower clip when I take it into After Effects to keyframe it with the GoPro Fx Reframe.

[@FantaZerVDK]

как найти такой подвес для insta 360 2-3? bro

[@f2douglascostanzo]

Hi, about the photos, how is the connection to shot form the phone app when flying? I use my one doing commercial work but shooting at really specific heights. Would the Insta app send the signal to shot at around 120m, for example? And, would be possible to check a DNG file? Thanks!

[@hughhou]

No it will not. So I will turn on Interval shooting mode to do that.

[@pauloparada4359]

Hi! thank you for the amazing video! i got your advices and have some shots but the video looks bad with a lot of grain and noise... in the insta stitching app and premiere looks great, but after export the result its really bad! hope you can help me

[@hughhou]

Can it be render settings from Premiere? Have you check out my other tutorial on Premiere or Resolve 360 video rendering?

[@pauloparada4359]

@@hughhou NO! which one? can you share me the link? and other question... you know how to change in premiere the default FOV of the video? i search this for years and still cant find and answer

[@romaniavrsolutions]

you are awesome!

[@hughhou]

Thank you!!

[@sator993]

I really should have watch your video before buying.😓 I´ve got my insta360 sphere a week ago. I tested it and was disappointed by the quality of the footage. The problems with the GPS signal and vibrations I also had. But more than the quality of the footage, i am disappointed now by the Insta360 Support. If I´d knew that it´s not possible to return the camera, when you are not happy with the results, I wouldn´t have ordered. They say "Once you have opened it and there is no technical issue, you have to keep it." Now I regret that I have bought it from the Insta360 Store. Because everywhere else it´s no big deal to send it back. But the Insta360 Support seems to be more interested in making money than in a good customer relationship. I also mentioned the GPS Issue and the vibrations, but they pretend like I am the only one with that problems. 😣 Can you tell me which generation of lenses they use for the sphere? Looks for me they are using lenses from the One or One X. With my X2 I get way better results. I really love the other Insta360 Products. But from this expensive lesson I´ve learned and I know I´ll never order from the Insta360 Store again.

[@indaloman80]

I am wondering will the Insta360 sphere work on/with the Mavic 2 pro???

[@hughhou]

No it did not unfortunately :(

[@slivkask8329]

Hugh, thank you very much for the very detailed review! 👍 Please remove the protective sticker from the back of the gimbal of your drone: 23:48 😉

[@hughhou]

Good call! As you see a brand new drone I bought JUST FOR THIS VIDEO lol. Spent lots of money on producing this :)

[@scottallen6133]

So it dont fit the mavic 2 pro?

[@AparajeyoBangla]

Waiting

[@VRLANDNL]

Hugh, what’s your workflow to get the best out of sphere? I see you push it to the limit (8K) in the (docu) video you made with that big ship. Hope to hear from you soon! 😃

[@hughhou]

Yes I will make some guide soon. The big ship docs is mixed with One RS 1" and Sphere tho. Not just sphere - most of them is 1-inch.

[@VRLANDNL]

@@hughhou thanks for the quick response, but did you use topaz for upscaling the shots ?

[@leoleobraz]

About Insta360 Sphere... How is the command to shoot? Is it through DJI Fly?

[@hughhou]

You just run it before take off

[@-xxx-7573]

Hi Hugh Hou, i would like to ask about Insta360 Sphere: 1) When Insta360 Sphere attach with drone, it will stop recording when out of range(far away with mobile app)? Is that true? Is that happened to you before? 2) How long the range/ distance it can fly and record video?

[@hughhou]

So I never use the mobile app! Just roll it and take off - it won’t stop until the drone drop! As the battery will out last your drone :)

[@-xxx-7573]

@@hughhou Thanks Man! Totally understood & clear what your reply here, appreciate your reply!

[@maxameddaahir3374]

Can I use with mavic pro

[@hughhou]

Unfortunately no, use my other setup for that.

[@BorneoProductions]

How do you take 360 photos on instasphere on air?

[@hughhou]

You take interval 360 photo like a timelapse - the extra frame in post. You can't control the drone when it is in air

[@BorneoProductions]

@@hughhou Thank you Hugh.

[@MedArbiSoualhia]

any mount for Inspire 2, I want to mount insta360 one x 2

[@hughhou]

Yes, if you can get a 1/4 mount under your Inspire 2, you can just get my blue rigging here: bit.ly/3vMBm9V

[@MedArbiSoualhia]

@@hughhou thank you buddy ! greetings from Tunisia

[@KeyPointProductionsVA]

I'm using my sphere to do 360 video tours of homes for realtors, they have never seen anything like it before, and being 360 shows them everything they want, not just focused shots in the house. 6:45 I have learned that the Air 2s uses its ground detection sensors to keep itself stable when there are insufficient GPS so long as you stay within about 1-15 feet of the ground. If you go too high without GPS, then you will start to see it drift.

[@hughhou]

Yes good tips!

[@tarikkodokuna6570]

Is comparable with the air 3?

[@hughhou]

I wish!

[@FantaZerVDK]

Insta360 Sphere fits mavic 3??

[@hughhou]

No unfortunately. M3 we have a different setup on our channel actually shot better 360 video than sphere.

[@FantaZerVDK]

@@hughhou Bro! And if you attach insta360 one rs1 to phantom 4..? Better stability than mavic 3?

[@ChristiaanRoest79]

Great camera. Too bad the mount is only available for Mavic air 2 and Air2s. I sold both drones last year.

[@ChristiaanRoest79]

@R.D. Rasch They should also make a mount for the Mavic 3 imho :-)

[@deniss.6205]

you can get a used one for less than 600$ if needed though, (about the price of the sphere)

[@hughhou]

$600? I wish I found that. I pay like $1000 for it plus I have M3 and M3Cine - DJI made ALL MY MONEY!!

[@ChristiaanRoest79]

@@hughhou A friend of my repaires crashed dji drones. He sells a brand new one for 800€. I may consider buying that one lol. That sphere drone is awsome. Saves me time removing the drone in post with clean plates or mocha pro.

[@MACDRONEPRODUTORA]

Great video as always! To get this camera I would have to buy an Air2 ou 2s. I don't think it's worth the combined price. Got really bether than its predecessor but it's not there yet. Thank you for showing all.

[@cuongfilms9400]

Better Idea, and i use in my commersal Video TVC.. Thánks u Hugh Hou.. Im from Vietnamese and English my bad :((

[@hughhou]

Glad you like it and thank you for the comment!

[@travellerhappy2058]

J'ai essayé et renvoyé, la zone de connexion de 2 demi sphère se voir très clair, pas utilisable.

[@Dpproducciones]

POR FAVOR No se conecta WI-FI 12345678 no es como la cambio MANUAL EN ESPAÑOL Gracias

[@WiljanWiljan]

Great great! But drone rules in europe for heavy drones are crazy

[@hughhou]

Yes may sure you follow the regulation!

[@djlmonte]

FYI the One X battery didnt fit. tried it.

[@hughhou]

You sure? The old one x battery? I am using it and it fit.

[@pjfonline]

Geez Hugh, at 0:50 you say watch to see a step by step tutorial...but I guess you forgot to add it...

[@360labs]

The GPS interference is a serious issue, and probably the single worst thing about this product. I normally get from 25-30 satellites in an open area, with the Insta360 Sphere turned on I get around 15 after waiting forever. In a wooded area with trees and obstructions, I'll get 15 satellites without the camera, and from 0-5 with the camera on. It definitely causes issues with stability and erratic flight.

[@hughhou]

Is it not stable tho? Even tho it said 15 Sat our flight is stable. Can you hold your altitude?

[@360labs]

@@hughhou I can hold altitude, but there seems to be variables when I'm trying to simply fly the drone in a single direction. It wants to wander off course. 15 satellites is also rare, and only happens in the best conditions with no obstructions in the sky. Under trees, the drone will just randomly decide to climb or descend, or move 2-3 feet left or right - for no reason. I certainly wouldn't advertise or claim, as Insta360 does, that this camera doesn't impede the drone's GPS system. It certainly does.

[@Erinconway988]

Todo el mundo ama la vida lujosa. Los problemas que tiene la mayoría de la gente para comprar lujos son tener suficiente dinero para comprar uno, pero eso no importará si tienes una vida financiera estable. Por otro lado, hay muchas formas de manipular el mercado. Acabo de revisar mis operaciones y he subido un 48 % en mi operación GMT/USDT, EOS estaba al 19 %, Harris me hizo al 17 %, ZRX me hizo al 34 % y APE al 18 %. Tomé mis ganancias y esperé más llamadas de Annie Harris Strategy, ella dijo que ahora tenemos que esperar a que el mercado se reequilibre. Obtuve ganancias significativas desde que comencé a seguir sus llamadas comerciales.

[@Nijadnazimhaddad]

También invierto con Harris, ella cobra una comisión del 20% sobre las ganancias obtenidas después de cada sesión de negociación y eso es justo comparado con el esfuerzo que ella pone para obtener grandes ganancias

[@Erinconway988]

@@tConradMartell Es

[@Erinconway988]

@@tConradMartell que es msannieharris

[@MarkbTrout]

Con las ganancias semanales consistentes, estoy invirtiendo con Harris, no hay duda de que es la más confiable del mercado. un genio

[@dianesnider8582]

Sorprendente, también acabo de empezar a operar con Annie Harris, es la mejor en lo que hace con una inversión inicial de 1400€. Llegué a 5230€ en solo una semana de operar con ella, sus estrategias son alucinantes.

[@travellerhappy2058]

N'achète pas, la zone de connexion se voir traire claire

[@FriedToast]

Just tried out the Air 2S + Sphere combo (1st test). Terrible. I think it's fine if you want to use it for fun jump cuts, but anyone wanting a normal 360° video is going to be disappointed. The stitching is very, very bad (unless I have a bad unit).

[@hughhou]

Why you think it is bad?

[@FriedToast]

@@hughhou The video quality overall looks great. However, the area where stitching is applied from the two cameras is terrible. The edges constantly move over each other, but not in sync, so there's a line across the video of unmatched (but constantly moving) stitching. Hard to put into words, but hopefully that makes sense. Do you have any issues with the stitched area? If not, then maybe I have a defective unit.

[@Indpendent01]

👍 666

[@googliola]

Titan on a quad 😅, seriously? Go Hexa for more reliability, stability and flight time. You don't want to see your 15k cam dropping from high above...

[@hughhou]

Alta X is better than most if not all drone. I know Quad look not as good as Hexa - but if any leg on Hexa fail - it still go down. So you want a good drone instead of more legs. More legs def is better tho but they don't make that...

[@googliola]

@@hughhou Ok, I believe you. I had a Hex that continued flying despite 1 faulty motor. No notable payload tho. Quad with same problem dropped like a 🦴