Insta360 Flow review: Unleash your creativity with this advanced 4-in-1 gimbal
Smartphone creators need this tool
Hyperdrive Hits
5/5 Medals of Yavin: Finally a gimbal that’s easy to use, extremely capable, and affordable
Elegant design and solid build quality
Reliable, easy controls
Snap on, rotate, and go
Powerful smartphone application
Intro
Last year I finally bought a dedicated camera, a Sony A7 IV, and it is fantastic for recording high quality video and helping me capture perfect photos. However, it is huge and requires planning for shooting content.
Like millions of people, I typically shoot content with my smartphone and as they say the best camera is the one that is always with you. Over the past couple of years I have tried out a few very capable gimbals from Zhiyun and DJI. Those are capable gimbals that I also use as tripods.
Insta360 is known for its extensive camera collection that includes swappable lens action cameras, advanced 360 cameras, and much more. It also has a full-featured smartphone application that helps people expand their creativity with its cameras while also making video production quick and efficient.
For the past few weeks, I have had the opportunity to test out the new Insta360 Flow smartphone stabilizer as the company is helping people who want to continue to use their phones for video and still content creation. It’s the best gimbal I have personally ever tried and the $159.99 price is competitive.
Rating:
As explained in my palmsolo’s Refresh Rating Scale post, I’m awarding the Insta360 Flow gimbal five (5) Medals of Yavin. It performed its primary role reliably, offers more than stabilization, was very easy to learn, and pairs up with the amazing Insta360 application.
The Good and the Bad
Despite all of the internal testing and trials, it’s rare to find a perfect product. Reviewers tend to push things to the limits and find unique situations where things may not perform perfectly.
Pros
Elegant design
High quality construction
Long battery life
Quick and easy startup and usage
Simple operation/control with two fingers
Tripod and selfie stick modes
RODE mic mount
Competitive price
Full-featured smartphone app
Cons
Selfie stick may be too short for some
Tripod legs may be a bit short
Experiences
Hardware
The Insta360 Flow creator kit package that I was sent to review included the optional Spotlight accessory that provides a small LED light with variable lighting and brightness levels through a USB-C connection. The standard Flow packages includes the magnetic phone clamp, USB-C charge cable, grip cover, and protective pouch.
The Flow smartphone stabilizer is in the folded, closed, position in the box. The magnetic phone clamp extends out to fit a phone that is 84mm wide and up to 10mm thick. I used it with my Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max since the Android functionality wasn’t quite ready during my early testing period. The clamp has ample silicone inside to protect your phone and I found it fit much better on a naked phone than with a case in place.
The magnetic phone clamp attaches securely with a power magnet on the end of the Insta360 Flow, with an obvious notch to help you align it perfectly. After attaching your phone, simply rotate the Flow (it only rotates one direction) and it powers on while balancing your phone.
Start the smartphone application in order to control the experience with the gimbal and after you have it setup the first time you can actually enable the app to launch automatically as soon as the gimbal is activated and connected.
I prefer to extend the handle down due to the size of my hands and the better control that it gives me over my phone and the stabilizer. It extends down about two inches. If you want to use the tripod, slide out the ends of the extension for more than another inch of distance. The tripod is quite stable when the gimbal is in the default position.
You can also raise the mid-point of the gimbal, above the two controls, and experience selfie stick mode. The selfie stick length is 8.5 inches (215 mm).
The primary controller is found on the side of the gimbal facing you. It has a center directional pad for moving the gimbal in four directions, three buttons, four white LED indicator lights, and a dial around the controller. The record/capture button is red and on the left, the power button is on the bottom, and the switch button is on the right. The right switch button toggles between front and rear cameras, horizontal and vertical orientation, and video/photo mode. This is one of my most used buttons so get familiar with the options.
I keep forgetting to use the zoom wheel around the front controller, but I don’t zoom too often while recording either.
To switch gimbal modes you simply swipe around the front face about 2/3rd of the way to the right or left and the indicator light changes modes. The mode is also confirmed in the Insta360 app on your phone.
The other key controller is the trigger button on the back side of the gimbal. A single press activates Deep Track 3.0, a double press recenters the gimbal, and a triple press flips the phone around so you can use your best cameras for selfies.
I keep forgetting to use the zoom wheel around the front controller, but I don’t zoom too often while recording either.
The shooting modes include:
Auto: Default mode that is great for beginners. The roll axis is locked while tilt and pan follow your movements.
Follow (F): This is preferred for shooting content in vertical orientation. Like Auto, the roll axis is locked while tilt and pan follow your movements.
Pan Follow (PF): This is typically used for horizontal (landscape) orientation or around a subject with a locked horizon. Tilt and roll axes are locked, pan axis follows your movements.
FPV: The Zoom Wheel controls the movement of the roll axis so you can spin your smartphone. Typical for simulating drone movements.
Lock (L): All three axes are locked so good for hyper lapse capture.
Smartphone application
The Insta360 smartphone application is available for Android and iPhone devices and while it supports connection to Insta360 cameras, it is also needed for the full Flow experience.
The touch buttons on the display are easy to access and do not overwhelm you with options. There are filters, enhancements, flash settings, resolution settings, and even integrated Shot Genie options to help guide you through scenario content creation. Voice commands are also available in Shot Genie for the templates.
Flow settings are available in the software so you can set the mode without using the gimbal buttons, choose you follow, joystick, and zoom speeds, as well as adjust the tracking sensitivity.
The power of the Insta360 smartphone application is not just contained in its ability to customize your Flow settings and capture content with the Flow, but in the editing capability. With the Insta360 app you can quickly and easily take your captured content and create exciting videos in minutes. Shot Lab and FlashCut are available for quick editing while there is even an Auto Edit option. Editing video content is often a long and tedious process, but Insta360 helps make it fun and quick.
Specifications
Specifications alone don’t mean much, but they are useful for comparing similar devices and checking that you are getting value for your money.
Phone thickness compatibility: 6.9 - 10 mm
Phone width compatibility: 64 - 84 mm
Phone weight compatibility: 130 to 300 grams
Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.0
Battery: 2900 mAh for up to 12 typical usage. 2 hours to charge the gimbal
Weight: 369 grams (gimbal) and 32 grams (smartphone clamp)
Dimensions (folded): 79.6 x 162.1 x 36 mm
Dimensions (extended): 73.6 x 269.4 x 69.9 mm
Colors: Summit White and Stone Gray
Bottom Line
Complicated gimbals with a host of buttons and options can be overwhelming and then they end up sitting idle. Even though this is Insta360’s first attempt at a smartphone gimbal, it is compact, elegant, easy-to-use, and very functional. I used it extensively and will continue to use it regularly for capturing content with my smartphone.
Gimbal size and the overall package size of the attachments is often a deterrent to using a gimbal wherever your smartphone can be found. Thanks to the compact nature of the Insta360 Flow and the handy case, it’s easy to pack it along when you plan to capture content.
The battery life is advertised as 12 hours and that’s about what I’ve been seeing in my testing. Something that goes a full day and that exceeds what my smartphone can provide is just fine. You can even connect to the onboard USB-C port and top off your smartphone if you need to keep capturing content.
The ability to quickly add a light or clip on a RODE mic (or other cold shoe mic) are great examples of how Insta360 was thinking about the entire content creation environment and needs of the creator.
I highly recommend the Insta360 Flow smartphone stabilizer and am excited to get out there and get creative.