With its fully modular design, the Insta360 One RS is one of the most versatile action cameras money can buy. Comprising core, battery and interchangeable camera modules, the One RS can be used as a 4K or 360 camera and modified on the fly. Key specs – Sensor: 1 x 1in; Sensor pixels: 21 megapixels; Max recording resolution: 6K (30fps); AV connections: USB-C; Size (WDH): 53 x 50 x 129mm; Weight: 239g; Waterproof: No (IPX3 only) The Insta360 One RS 1-inch 360 Edition is certainly not going to appeal to everyone. It’s larger and heavier than the Insta360 One X2, offers limited IPX3 water resistance and carries a hefty price tag. For demanding users looking to bump the quality of their 360 videos, however – especially those already invested in the Insta360 One R and One RS ecosystem – it’s well worth considering. The Insta360 One X3 can also be run in a more traditional single-lens mode for capturing 4K clips at up to 30fps. It’s also capable of creating impressive 72-megapixel photospheres. The new HyperView view mode is also very interesting. Squashing the full 8:7 sensor image into a standard 16:9 frame, this mode is able to create videos with an ultra-wide feel, compressing the vertical plane and giving the impression that the horizontal plane has been stretched. While this won’t work for every shot – the distortion is quite noticeable on people and faces – it does add to the intensity of fast-paced action.

The camera is compatible with the standard Insta360 One RS Core module, so existing One RS owners can save by pairing the 1-inch camera, battery and handle modules with their existing Core. The sensor’s near-square native aspect ratio enables horizontal and vertical clips to be easily cropped out of the same shot. While I’d still recommend shooting a little wide to maximise your framing options, the camera’s super high resolution 5.3K recordings give you plenty to work with. When it comes to small, lightweight cameras, few devices come close to rivalling the Insta360 Go 2. Little larger than a thumb and weighing a paltry 27g, the Go 2 can go places that more traditional action cameras simply can’t. The One RS 1-inch 360 Edition’s image quality is excellent, with the larger 1-inch sensors providing a noticeable detail boost over the older One X2 in lower light situations. The camera’s image stabilisation is also superb and there’s support for full 360-degree horizon levelling. If you’re looking for a high-quality, keenly-priced GoPro alternative, the DJI Osmo Action 3 is the real deal.

Want to find the best GoPro for you? Here's our comprehensive guide to the best GoPro action cams on the market today

For well over a decade now, GoPro’s flagship Hero line has defined the action camera genre. And, while we’re certainly fans of GoPro’s current camera lineup, the firm rarely strays far from its tried and tested formula. The best GoPro alternatives offer a different take, with specifications, features and designs that may better cater to the kind of subjects you plan to film or the environments you plan to record in. Mounts are a big deal as these determine how and where you can affix your camera. If you plan on using your camera on a bike, for example, you’ll want to make sure that a compatible handlebar or helmet mount is readily available. If you’re looking for a flagship action camera that can do it all, few devices come close to matching the flexibility of the Insta360 One RS.

Offering competitive specs at a competitive price point, the DJI Osmo Action 3 is an excellent alternative to the traditional GoPro Hero. While it can’t quite match the GoPro’s top-end 5K recording options, with 4K video capture at up to 120fps, it’s certainly not far behind. Specs – Sensor: 1/1.7in CMOS; Sensor pixels: 64 megapixels; Max recording resolution: 4K (60fps); AV connections: Apple Lightning output, USB Type-C output; Size (HWD): 125 x 38 x 30mm (total); Weight: 117g; Waterproof: No Rather than using GoPro’s classic 4:3 native aspect ratio, the Hero 11 comes with a nearly-square 8:7 chip. Combined with the camera’s high-resolution 5.3K recording options, this should allow creators to cut landscape and vertical videos from the same take.

Popular Categories

Both the 4K and 360-degree lenses produce crisp, vivid footage and Insta360’s FlowState stabilisation is effective at taming even the jerkiest of clips. The One RS even offers full-360-degree horizon levelling – although this does require applying after the fact using Inst360’s app. The Max makes capturing superb-quality video and nd sharing the footage a breeze. 360 videos are stitched automatically in-camera, you can then opt to upload the files to YouTube as interactive videos that users can pan and zoom around in, or “reframe” the footage using GoPro’s smartphone or desktop app. Reframing allows you to take your favourite angles from within the 360 clip and export them as standard video files – essentially, it’s like filming with multiple cameras at once. Key specs – Sensor: 1/2.3in CMOS; Sensor pixels: 9 megapixels; Max recording resolution: 1440p (50fps); AV connections: USB Type-C; Size (HWD): 60 x 24 x 21mm (total); Weight: 27g; Waterproof: 4M Akaso may not carry GoPro’s brand recognition, but the firm’s affordable line of action cameras has built up a cult following in recent years.

Given GoPro is renowned for point-and-shoot simplicity, this feature is therefore a little niche. It's also slightly at odds with the fact that GoPro doesn't offer any desktop editing software, and is instead funneling everyone towards its Quik app instead. But it's definitely something that'll please pro shooters who are looking to drop GoPro footage into a timeline shot by more advanced video cameras. Built off of Insta360’s modular One RS platform, the RS 1-inch Edition is the firm’s most capable consumer 360 camera yet. Featuring a pair of 1-inch imaging sensors and lenses designed in partnership with Leica, the 1-inch 360 Edition supports 360 video recording at up to 6K30 and can capture 360 still images at up to 21MP. I will note, however, that it would be nice to have some in-camera 16:9 grid lines to overlay whilst filming in 8:7. As it is, GoPro only offers some basic rule of thirds guides, which leaves you guessing as to how to frame your shots. The Go 2 records 1440p video at up to 50fps, can create 4x slow-motion clips in Full HD and there are dedicated modes for timelapses and hyper-lapses. Insta360’s FlowState electronic stabilisation is on hand to keep the videos nice and steady and a neat horizon levelling function ensures your shots are level no matter how you orient the camera.For more traditional videos, you also have the option of using a single lens and engaging GoPro’s incredible Max HyperSmooth stabilisation. Max HyperSmooth is not only capable of keeping your footage incredibly stable but it also offers a full 360 degrees of Horizon Leveling correction, ensuring your videos remain perfectly level too. He is a Fellow of The Royal Society of Arts, holds a Foundation Degree in Equitation Science and is a Master of Arts in Publishing. He is member of Nikon NPS and has been a Nikon user since the film days using a Nikon F5 and saw the digital transition with Nikon's D series cameras and is still to this day the youngest member to be elected in to BEWA, The British Equestrian Writers' Association. The benefit of this approach is that, rather than taking a crop from a horizontal frame, you still maintain very high image quality with the vertical exports. For example, if you shoot in 8:7 and export a 9:16 vertical video from that footage, its resolution will be about 20% higher than 4K. So this feature is certainly a big boon for social media creators, particularly those posting on platforms that are stylistically different like YouTube and TikTok.