Insta360 has announced a new firmware for the Insta360 Ace Pro (buy here). The new update adds a feature that many expected to see at launch. The ability to be used as a USB webcam has been in high demand, but now it’s here.
The new firmware update brings a number of other other new features, including the ability to turn Active HDR on and off at will. It also offers wider compatibility with GPS devices and (finally) the Insta360 GPS Action Remote (buy here).
Insta360 Ace Pro – What’s new?
The new update brings some welcome features to the Insta360 Ace Pro. Optimisations have minimised waiting times before shooting photos or starting a video. Active HDR mode sees some new updates, as does the sharpness setting.
Many of these feature adjustments come as a result of user demand. I’ve seen a lot of these requested in the company’s facebook groups since the camera launched. So, it’s nice to see them taking their customers seriously.
It can now be used as a webcam
The headline feature for a lot of people will be the ability to use it as a USB webcam. This means you can just plug it straight into your computer and use it within OBS, Zoom, or whatever you’d normally use a regular webcam with.
This has become a pretty standard feature in all new cameras since the plague hit in 2020, so it was a surprise not to see it come at launch. But it’s here now and will be a very welcome feature for many users – myself included.
Note: I haven’t put the new firmware update into my own Insta360 Ace Pro yet, but I’ll be doing that this week to see how it compares to the Insta360 Link (buy here) and Insta360 ONE RS (buy here) performing the same task. I’ll be sure to update this post and add some thoughts once I’ve had a play.
What else is new?
Here’s a more complete list of changes in the latest update:
- Users now have the ability to turn Active HDR on or off at will
- Clarity Zoom is now available in more shooting modes
- Video: 4K/2.7K/1080p@60fps and below (16:9)
- PureVideo: 4K/2.7K/1080p@30fps and below (16:9)
- Loop Recording: 4K/2.7K/1080p 60fps and below (16:9)
- Photo: 12MP/9MP
- HDR Photo: 12MP/9MP
- Interval Photo: 12MP/9MP
- Compatibility added for Insta360 GPS Preview Remote and Insta360 GPS Action Remote
- Compatibility added for Sena, Cardo and VIMOTO headsets
- New Webcam Mode
- Sharpness is now on the shooting parameters page and can be adjusted independently in different modes.
- Gesture Control stores the last used settings (record a video or take a photo).
- The time to start recording or take a photo is shorter, so you can capture the action as soon as it’s happening.
- The time to zoom in or out of footage during recording is shorter.
The new firmware update can be downloaded from within the Insta360 app on iOS or Android.
