I mentioned in the last post that I had recently purchased a new camera. It is an Insta360 X3, and I've bought it to upgrade my 'content creation capabilities' and move from blogging into the world of vlogging.
Basically, this means I've got bored of just writing, and fancied having a go at creating some videos!
As this is a Bank Holiday weekend, it means I have some spare time and not much particularly planned, so it seemed like the perfect opportunity to give this a go. It is an action camera similar to the likes of a GoPro, but it shoots in 360 degrees, so helps to give more options regarding capturing clips, and will help provide a variety of different shots.
I bought an action camera as I want to use it while outside and moving. This will be on various walks and hikes and stuff, but I also want to take it while running. And it was for a short run on Sunday that became the first opportunity to test it out. It was out on the path near the bypass, and I picked it here as it was an easy route, and hopefully quiet as well. I spent 90 minutes running backwards and forwards, and the above video is the result.
Link to Run on Strava
Positives
I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out for a first attempt. I'm also really pleased with the quality of the camera, and it feels pretty intuitive to use once I get my head round how it records in 360 degrees. There was a reasonable variety of shots I could get too, some of which like the 'panning' shot I wouldn't have been able to get from a GoPro.
Room for Improvement
I need to check my audio recording settings, the spoke sections seem really quiet. I might be able to use better settings, or maybe it might well be a limitation of the camera itself, and I just need to hold it closer to me while recording. There were also a number of shots not included here as I made mistakes with using the wrong settings. Understandable as a first attempt, but practice is definitely required! The other thing I need more practice with is my actual presentation. I appear to mumble more than I realised, and also lost track with what I was trying to say a couple of times. I also need to work out a better way to end it, as that last spoken bit is a bit rubbish. Thinking about it, my beginning sequence before I start talking is a bit rubbish as well!
On the whole though, I'm pleased with how this turned out, and I know where I can improve for next time. I enjoyed making this, and working through the edits. It was physically harder than I expected, with lots of running back and forth to try and get the sequences I needed. The editing also took quite a while to do, but I suspect that comes down to lack of experience again, and with practice I will be able to make the workflow quicker and more efficient.
So some positives, lots of room for improvement, so we'll see how the next one turns out
Thank you for watching, if you have any comments or questions, then please ask below. I am open to any critique or suggestions for improvements, if you have any.
Notes
All footage captured by Dan Newton
Music: “In The Forest 2” by Oleksii Kaplunskyi from Pixabay
https://pixabay.com/music/acoustic-group-in-the-forest-2-21402/
Camera: Insta360 X3
Editing Software: Started with Insta360 Studio, and then used DaVinci Resolve to finish
If you have any thoughts or opinions on this article then I'd love to see your comments.
And if you really like the content then maybe you would like to upvote or re-hive it.
Check out my website for more of my work.
▶️ 3Speak
Maan you got lucky with the weather and the place you live looks beautiful! I like the footage quality and the stabilization but the sound could be better :P As you've written it could be just a setting or a simple positioning problem. I had a gopro max in the past and I had to turn the can so that the microphones are directly pointing at me. maybe that's a thing here as well (?) The 09:22 mark sounds pretty good (except for the wind noise of course ^^ ) - maybe this is a good positioning :)
But overall: Great first usage of this cool camera! I am jealous :D
Thank You, and yep I suspected as much about the sound!
Lots of potential variables to adjust: camera settings, editing settings, exporting settings, physically holding camera closer to me and then maybe just filming in a quieter place with less wind/traffic! I'll have a play and see if I can improve it for next time.
The other alternative would be just to film in silence, and then dub a voice-over afterwards, but I think it would be good to have at least some 'live' sound included
Thanks for the comments and suggestions, its much appreciated :-)
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Is that the one that can do the view like you’re literally looking down from the sky? Like a fish bowl? A friend who does regular parkrun VLOGs has something similar not sure what it is though you should check him out on YouTube.
Hey! Er yes I think its called 'tiny planet'?...
I dunno what camera he uses in that vid, but any of the 360 degree cameras should be able to do that... I should be able do it with mine, but I could do with more practice to make it work properly, still trying to find the best way to edit it it all.
And thanks for the link, I'm always interested in seeing how different people approach their running (and how they approach their running vids too!)
He used to just have a GoPro I personally hate the tiny planet view but that’s just my preference it’s nice to see some unique courses
That looks like a really cool gadget. It is freaky how it hides the stick. I assume it captures a full panorama and then you can select which parts to use and you could even pan as you run past. Were you worried about leaving it as you ran off to come past it? I see they are not cheap. There are some issues with the audio, but you may find ways to improve that.
Looks like you had a nice day. The last couple of days were nice, but today has been pretty wet.
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Yep really cool how the stick disappears, it happens automatically as well, so no need to edit by me (presumably as the stick is always in the same position in relation to the 2 lenses, it is able to work it out).
And yep that is how the 'panning' action works, a really neat feature, and adds something different to the standard camera shot. The only issue is that it requires an extra step in editing the video clip, as you have to select the area of the image to export into a standard frame, before you can then start making the video itself.
It isn't cheap no, but no decent cameras are. I did try borrowing my partners cheap knock off (£50) and the lack of quality was obvious! I was happy leaving the camera today, as the area is quiet... I wouldn't try this with people nearby!
You've had rain?? We've had 18C and sunny all 3 days... really nice, but totally unexpected!
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Your camera looks really good
It’s so clear
Thank you... it will take a little practice to get the best out of it, but I can start exploring new places with it soon!
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BEERKING.The result of the new camera is much more beautiful, everything looks much clearer and the objects inside the video look even more beautiful.