Insta360’s new viewfinder turns the action cam into a retro shooter

There’s surely immoderate retro entreaty to Insta360’s caller enactment camera accessory.

The pill-shaped Insta360 Go 3S 4K enactment camera launched successful June 2024 arsenic an updated mentation of the 2.7K Go 3 that debuted a twelvemonth prior. While last year’s Go Ultra introduced a redesign with a larger sensor and higher framework rates, the Go 3S has stuck astir arsenic a smaller but inactive precise susceptible alternative. To broaden its appeal, the enactment cam is present disposable with a caller optical viewfinder accessory for framing shots erstwhile utilizing it arsenic a handheld camera, but you whitethorn beryllium amended disconnected splurging connected Insta360’s much costly dock that adds an LCD screen.

The Retro Viewfinder accessory is disposable contiguous done Insta360’s online store connected its ain for $47.99, oregon arsenic portion of a caller Go 3S Retro Bundle starting astatine $299.99 that includes the 64GB mentation of the enactment cam. That’s cheaper than the $349.99 Standard Bundle that pairs the aforesaid mentation of the Go 3S with Insta360’s Action Pod dock.

Insta360 GO 3S Retro Bundle

Where to Buy:

• $299.99 astatine Insta360 (64GB)
• $319.99 astatine Insta360 (128GB)

As with most tiny enactment cameras, the Insta360 Go 3S lacks a surface of its own. You tin link it to a smartphone app to spot unrecorded previews and set camera settings, but the Go 3S is designed to beryllium mounted wherever you wouldn’t beryllium capable to spot a surface (like atop a helmet) wherever it captures astir each the enactment successful beforehand of you utilizing a wide-angle lens.

The caller Retro Viewfinder is an effort to repurpose the enactment cam arsenic a handheld shooter that lets you framework subjects similar a classical camera. It works akin to the Insta360’s Action Pod wherever the Go 3S slots into the beforehand of the accessory. There’s nary spring-loaded latches to support it securely attached, but a beardown magnet kept the camera successful spot during a vigorous shingle test.

Instead of holding the accessory up to your oculus to framework shots, you clasp it astatine thorax level and look down into the viewfinder. The beforehand sheet of the Go 3S functions arsenic your shutter button, snapping photos with a azygous property and starting and stopping video signaling with a treble press. It was designed this mode to make a “vintage shooting acquisition inspired by classical movie cameras,” according to Insta360.  And portion framing and snapping photos this mode does person immoderate novelty (at 1 constituent I felt a small similar Ansel Adams arsenic I framed a enactment of assemblage mailboxes alternatively of mountains), Insta360’s execution comes with immoderate frustrations. 

The viewing space is highly limited, and tilting the Retro Viewfinder conscionable 15 to 20 degrees front, back, oregon broadside to broadside results successful you seeing thing astatine all. The representation successful the viewfinder is besides flipped horizontally. Even aft a week of practice, I struggled to intuitively cognize however to determination oregon set the space of the camera to presumption a taxable precisely wherever I privation them successful frame, oregon to conscionable guarantee a changeable is level. The process inactive feels similar trial-and-error.

The Go 3S is an fantabulous camera, but its wide tract of presumption doesn’t assistance the Retro Viewfinder. As a result, the accessory doesn’t supply an close preview of the photos and videos you’re capturing. Walking astir my vicinity 1 evening, I tried to drawback photos that focused connected histrion lines and a beauteous cloudy entity but ended up with images that included random people, houses, and cars that I deliberately tried to support retired of frame. It’s casual to hole with a speedy harvest successful the Insta360 app, but it feels counterintuitive for an accessory designed to marque framing much deliberate. There’s inactive an constituent of sprout and spot what you get.

Framing is much close erstwhile capturing selfies with the Retro Viewfinder, but inactive tricky. You tin usage the beforehand lens arsenic a selfie mirror, but it’s hard to framework photos due to the fact that of acheronian reflections — particularly indoors. 

Battery beingness is limited, adjacent with an included clunky clip-on artillery pack/charger that much than doubles the Go 3S’ artillery beingness from 310mAH to implicit 700mAh. I was capable to drawback astir 150 photos during an hr locomotion earlier the camera wholly died. Capturing 4K video volition drain it adjacent faster, arsenic does connecting it to the Insta360 mobile app.

Changing immoderate settings, including selecting film-emulating filters oregon antithetic colour profiles, requires a nonstop Wi-Fi transportation to your smartphone. The Retro Viewfinder includes a hidden NFC tag that streamlines launching and connecting to the app with a pat (the process inactive takes astir 15 to 20 seconds to afloat connect), but it’s inactive acold little convenient than pairing the enactment camera with Insta360’s Action Pod whose touchscreen provides on-device entree to astir settings.

Turning the Insta360 Go 3S into a pocketable handheld camera is simply a clever thought fixed how popular tiny retro cameras similar Kodak’s Charmera inactive are. But the execution present isn’t ideal. The Retro Viewfinder succeeds successful making the Go 3S easier to hold, but its different functionality is often frustrating. On its own, the accessory is inexpensive capable to see if you already ain the Go 3S, but spending an other $50 for a bundle with Insta360’s Action Pod volition service you amended successful the agelong tally nary substance however you program to usage the camera.

Photography by Andrew Liszewski / The Verge