Insta360 X4 LOW LIGHT Best Settings

The Insta360 X4 is capable of capturing good footage in low lighting with the right settings. In this video I share the settings that I recommend for best results when filming in low light with the X4.
🌐Buy the Insta360 X4 here: bit.ly/3w3Y6aB
____________________________________________________________________________________________
Join my channel to get access to perks:
/ @greatdayforahike
Some of the following links are affiliate links. If you click on an affiliate link and make a purchase, I may receive a small commission. This does not result in any additional cost to you, and the affiliate commission I earn helps contribute toward the costs to keep this channel up and running. Thank you for your support!
MUSIC TRACKS FOR MY VIDEOS:
🎶 Track Club is a great source for high-quality music for KZbin videos. I get all of my music from Track Club. Get a FREE, FULL-ACCESS 1 Month Trial of Track Club using my link: bit.ly/3t28y0I
CAMERA GEAR I USE:
- GoPro Hero 12 Black: amzn.to/3IviBzD
- GoPro Hero 11 Black: amzn.to/3SuQipa
- Sony a7S III Full-Frame Mirrorless Camera: amzn.to/41jTrw2
- DJI Osmo Action 4: amzn.to/3sYRusk
- Insta360 One RS 4K Edition: bit.ly/3HCo0UJ
- Insta360 X4: hbit.ly/3w3Y6aB
- DJI Wireless Mic: amzn.to/3rqymmt
- Freewell ND filters. I get all of my ND filters from Freewell: amzn.to/3Zok7eo
- SanDisk 256GB Extreme MicroSDXC UHS-I Memory Card with Adapter: amzn.to/2Cu9dhc
- ANKER USB-C Charger I USE: amzn.to/3O6ce7u
MY FAVORITE GOPRO ACCESSORIES:
- Media Mod (Hero 9, 10, 11): amzn.to/3qaBjEx
- Dual Battery Charger + Battery (Hero 9 and 10): amzn.to/3jmy5c6
- Dual Battery Charger + Battery (Hero 5,6,7,8 Black): amzn.to/3jcpBV6
- Protective Housing (Hero 9 and 10): amzn.to/3jlCgoG
- Protective Housing (Hero 8 Black): amzn.to/3xgwwla
- Shorty Mini Extension Tripod: amzn.to/34EYPhe
- Suction Cup Mount: amzn.to/2WSOei7
- USB Pass-Through Door (Hero 9 and 10): amzn.to/3nn5fLN
- Anker External Power Bank: amzn.to/3s3ODKh
- Anker USB-C Wall Charger: amzn.to/37fCnN9
HIKING GEAR WE USE:
- Black Diamond Trail Ergo Cork Trek Poles: amzn.to/2OCkA9r
- Osprey Poco Plus Child Carrier: amzn.to/32vU8Gy
- Salomon Men's X Ultra Mid 3 Aero Hiking Shoes: amzn.to/2Ch9u7p
- Salomon Women's X Ultra Mid 3 Aero Hiking Shoes: amzn.to/3ji2iIK
Not looking for any of this sweet gear right now, but still want to support my channel? If you use this link to start your Amazon search it will benefit my channel with a small commission from some of your purchases on Amazon: amzn.to/2WAgbbt Thank you for your support!

[@Kaibromoto]

Thanks for this tip... I have tested it with my motorcycle during night. I will try your recommended settings

[@SuzoSenpai]

So how did it go?

[@xplizit21]

Hi, thanks. I just got my 360 and will definitely follow your advice. Regarding ISO I was wondering if something like Auto ISO max 800 would be useful so the camera can decide which one to according to the available light?Advantage would be that you dont need to change that manually.

[@liverpoolvista17]

Very useful. Thanks.

[@horacedupont]

Thank you for your tips!

[@GreatDayForAHike]

You’re welcome!

[@j2alomar]

Would you pretty much recommend this setting type for doing 360 video on dark disney rides? Thank you so much for any help!! Insta360 X4 SuperNewbie here :(

[@roninr8199]

With flat profile do we have to edit video in davinci or something? Is it like dlog of dji action camera

[@bluepawn]

low light and HDR are the most important for me... in the bright sun... any camera are similar... this is different in low light, you can see how much they spend in getting the lenses from Sony or any other companies... and of course lots of software engineering...

[@GreatDayForAHike]

Yes, low light and HDR are both challenging for smaller sensor cameras, but it is amazing to see how far some of these smaller sensor cameras have come with their capabilities in low lighting.

[@MaryJelBalmes-cv6ub]

Hiii Thank you for this. How about DJI camera? Have you tried to use one? I'm planning on buying an action camera for my bike rides. However, I don't know how to decide.

[@Luke_improvement]

So what do I do if I walk into a bright building do I need to go through my settings again and change it?

[@GetCreativeWithV]

Thanks for the tips! Do you feel/think it’s better to move slower or keep the same pace when recording?

[@GreatDayForAHike]

Moving slow and smooth in low lighting will technically help the footage look even better in most cases.

[@andreyzubkov8435]

Thank you, these settings work well! Just one thing to add regarding the 8K30 noise when shooting on auto in low light; the Insta 360 Studio software does a "good-enough" job denoising video. If no other options available, Insta 360 software is a decent fallback plan IMO (if you only use Insta 360 software in your workflow).

[@GreatDayForAHike]

Thanks for your feedback. Yes, good point on the denoising using the Insta360 studio. It is a usable fallback option.

[@IAwarenessI]

@@GreatDayForAHike I don't see a denoising option in the studio software at all. - I see one for Audio, but nothing for video. Where it at?

[@SuzoSenpai]

You can also put the ISO on auto and scroll up to max 400 or max 800 to give the camera range and flexibility within those parameters.

[@GazBarton]

I can't seem to find a nightlapse video that you have done for the x3, which i could use on the new x4. Are you thinking of doing a video for the best nightlapse settings?

[@GreatDayForAHike]

Yes, you requested this at a good time as I am actually working on this video presently.

[@GazBarton]

@GreatDayForAHike the Northern lights were strong in the uk last night and I messed up big time with my action cameras (accidentally started in the wrong mode) luckily I got what I needed with my dslr. By the way your milkyway settings for the gopro hero 11 were bang on for the northern lights, much appreciated 👏.

[@GreatDayForAHike]

@GazBarton Awesome, love to hear you were able to capture this display with your DSLR and the GoPro. I did some captures last night as well and will be sharing those captures soon. It was a stunning display.

[@sterianviorel7311]

one question please, I filmed 8k 30 frames, why is there no 8k export option in the insta studio desktop program? How can I export 8k? Why did I buy this video camera if the program does not export 8k video recording? Thanks

[@GreatDayForAHike]

This is because the full 360 degree footage is in 8K. Once you reframe the highest you can export in is 4K. This is because reframing is taking just part of that overall 8K 360 video and exporting it as 4K in a 16:9 aspect ratio.

[@GazBarton]

Would you personally use the same settings as the X3 for nightlapse?

[@GreatDayForAHike]

For a night lapse I would recommend different settings, especially if you’re trying to capture stars at night (this would involve a stationary camera and a much slower shutter speed). For low light video filming on the X3, these same settings should work well.

[@KingKola01]

Question, why are smartphone's camera so much better in low light, especially at night compared to action cameras? Is it because of the processor?

[@GreatDayForAHike]

Sensor size, optical image stabilization vs electronic image stabilization, aperture value, noise removal algorithm, etc are some factors.

[@roninr8199]

I was expecting pure night mode like ace pro with x4. Very disappointing.

[@devisback3698]

Hi, I have X3 and pretty happy for social media video clips. Do you recommend to upgrade to X4 ...is there day & night difference? thanks

[@GreatDayForAHike]

Great question. I own the X3 and love it. The biggest difference between the X3 and X4 is the 8K 360 footage. After reframing the 8K footage and exporting, the finished product has much detail and higher resolution than the 5.7K footage on the X3. In low lighting I find the X4 footage looks a bit better than the X3, but the difference is not huge since this camera is not designed to excel in low lighting anyway.

[@devisback3698]

@GreatDayForAHike Thanks for the quick reply. If we talk about in good lighting condition...Will they both perform similar, of course X4 will have little more edge due to 8K, however if we shoot something from X3 in Log mode and then readjust the colours...can we make footage little close to X4 ?

[@GreatDayForAHike]

@devisback3698 Yes, overall I would say so since the sensor on the X4 appears to be the same as the X3, but the X4 has a more powerful chip to handle the 8K. Sensor size isn’t bigger vs the X3.

[@devisback3698]

@@GreatDayForAHike Thank you!

[@GreatDayForAHike]

@devisback3698 You’re welcome!

[@kwinzman]

I would instantly buy a 1inch sensor version of this camera for better low light performance. I hope they update the Insta360 One RS 1inch version to 8K and give it the 200Mbit/s H.265 upgrade like they did for the X4.

[@GreatDayForAHike]

Yes, the 1 inch sensor should easily outperform this in low light. Then again Insta360 doesn’t appear to market this as a low light camera.

[@kwinzman]

@@GreatDayForAHike Currently there is no consumer 360 camera with 8K resolution that is low light capable. The Insta360 X4 is the closest we have right now. I hope they update the One RS 1inch next.

[@GreatDayForAHike]

Yes, would be a great update.

[@semkobalcerski]

I wouldn't qualify conditions where you can use 400 iso, 1/120 sec, f:2.0 for really low light.

[@GreatDayForAHike]

Yes, these settings work well for low light such as night time in a city but for “really low light” I wouldn’t recommend using any action camera.

[@ShakeelIsmail99]

Got my X4 this weekend. My wife is so disappointed with the single lens still camera mode at night vs an average cellphone photo at night😢. Is there anyway the X4 can take a photo that is similar or better than an average cellphone at night?

[@GreatDayForAHike]

A modern smartphone with a good camera is still going to perform better than most action cameras. This is due too at smartphone cameras having optical image stabilization, which works better than electronic image stabilization in low light. Also, many smartphones have equal or larger sensors than most action cameras. Combine these two features/specs and smartphones will perform better.

[@ShakeelIsmail99]

@@GreatDayForAHike Great video and thanks for the explanation and prompt response. Was planning to take it with me on Dubai holiday in September....now wife has me thinking twice if I should return it. What to do🙃.

[@GreatDayForAHike]

@ShakeelIsmail99 It’s strength is 360 video in the daylight. The Ace Pro does great in low light though (but it of course isn’t 360 degree footage that you can reframe).

[@ShakeelIsmail99]

@@GreatDayForAHike Thanks, I'll test the X4 out thoroughly during the day before the return period expires. Hopefully the daytime pros outshine the nighttime lowlight cons.

[@ShakeelIsmail99]

@@GreatDayForAHike I assume your video covers video lowlight settings only. I meant to ask, is there any particular lowlight X4 camera settings for night photos to improve image lighting and quality?

[@DrunkPhotography]

I see many creators are scared to do this review and share the settings, because the settings would be wildly different per creator. lol The do video comparisons but they're not sharing those settings, so I appreciate you being brave-- they're doing post-production cleanups I see. They're trying to say X4 is better than the ONE RS 1inch sensor and DJI Pocket Osmo 3 at night, which is complete nonsense. So, I appreciate you being brave here, but I'm certainly not using this at night while moving, which is why I have the ONE RS 1inch and DJI Pocket Osmo 3.

[@GreatDayForAHike]

Thank you for your feedback! Yes, with this footage I did not do any post production cleanup. No denoising, etc. Just a little bit of grading with the flat color profile which means adding a little contrast and color but not much since the footage is pretty limited with those aspects in 8-bit. The X4 is an incredible camera for 360 daylight filming and I love it for that, but yes, I certainly am not going to say it’s better than the ONE RS 1inch or Pocket 3 in low light 😂

[@DrunkPhotography]

@@GreatDayForAHike lol I saw like 5 videos in a row and then I saw the sharpening and was like "wait, it doesn't even have that sharpness at 4pm noon how is it that sharp at 11pm? "

[@GreatDayForAHike]

@DrunkPhotography LOL

[@johnnysepulvedatv]

Wouldn’t a lower fps be brighter. Like 24fps with a 1/48 shutter with boosted ISO.

[@johnnysepulvedatv]

You can denoise in post pretty well. Haven’t tested this camera but plan to buy it.

[@GreatDayForAHike]

If you have it on a gimbal with FlowState turned off, yes. With FlowState on you have to maintain a certain shutter speed in order for the EIS to work properly. Otherwise the footage will have lots of ghosting and jitter.

[@MuineToday]

1/120 too dark, 1/100 better. ISO 1600 not enough for night - need 3200

[@GreatDayForAHike]

I find 1/100 to have a bit too much jitter and ghosting. ISO 1600 or 3200 can be used but those ISO levels either have a lot of noise or the footage ends up a little too smooth/lack of detail for my liking.

[@marklola12]

Glad i never got this, low light still look crap

[@GreatDayForAHike]

Small sensors can only do so much in low lighting, especially when working with electronic image stabilization which requires a fast enough shutter speed to work properly. That being said I don’t see Insta360 marketing the X4 as having good low light capabilities. For that, I see the Ace Pro or the 1-inch 360 camera still being the best. The X4 is solid in good lighting from my perspective of using the camera but in low light, there are better cameras for sure.

[@albertoarcos5822]

Is anyone else having trouble downloading 360 videos into phone album? They do not show as 360 images even when I specified to export as 360 images from insta360 app…. 😢

[@GreatDayForAHike]

I haven’t tested exporting a 360 clip that isn’t reframed on the phone yet but depending upon your phone the default album may not support showing the video as 360 degree video. That is one possibility.