Insta360 Luna Pro launches as single-lens rival to DJI Osmo Pocket 4

The Luna Pro uses a 20mm f/1.8 Leica Summicron lens with a 1-inch sensor, according to Engadget, and supports 8K video at up to 30p, 4K at up to 120p and 1080p at up to 240p. It has 47GB of internal storage, a microSD card slot that supports up to 2TB, and a 1,550mAh battery rated for up to four hours of 1080p recording. TechRadar listed a 2-inch detachable OLED screen, 9MP JPEG and RAW stills, a 37MP UltraPhoto mode and panorama shooting. The camera weighs 215g in Cosmic Black and 218g in Stellar White, with dimensions of 52.78 x 155.7 x 38.47mm.

Engadget said that from the neck down the Luna Pro is almost identical to the Luna Ultra, with the main visual difference being a wider frame along the top edge of the display carrying the word Luna in cursive. Above that, the Pro has a smaller single-lens gimbal head that shaves about half an inch from the device's height. It also has the same pop-off front panel that doubles as a wireless remote and microphone. TechRadar described the camera as effectively a single-lens version of the Luna Ultra, with a rubber cap replacing the Ultra's bulky protective case.

In video testing, Engadget said the Pro delivered a crisp, high-quality image in 4K, with bright, gently saturated colors and good depth and subject separation from the f/1.8 aperture. It found the Pro gave slightly more bokeh than the Osmo Pocket 4 with close subjects, though DJI's camera had richer color depth. On default settings, Engadget said the Luna Pro's detail and blacks were a little punchier, and that the two cameras are very close in image quality. It also praised the Pro's native 4K shooting in 9:16 portrait mode, which the Luna Ultra, Osmo Pocket 4 and Osmo Pocket 4P did not offer at the time of writing, when portrait mode topped out at 3K. TechRadar similarly said the Pro produces sharper 4K vertical video than the pricier Luna Ultra.

TechRadar said the Luna Pro fits almost everything that makes the Luna Ultra appealing into a slightly smaller, slightly cheaper package, including reliable tracking and stabilization plus a detachable touchscreen remote. It said subject tracking locks on and stays locked on whether the user is walking, gesturing or otherwise difficult to follow. The Pro costs $170 less than the Luna Ultra in the US, less than £50 less in the UK and AU$370 less in Australia, according to TechRadar. The publication called that a narrow gap given that the Pro has one lens and the Ultra has two, and said it suspected many buyers would stretch to the more versatile flagship instead.

TechRadar also found that digital zoom quality drops off noticeably past 2x, that the small wire tripod tucked into the handle is fiddly off flat surfaces, and that battery life was closer to 90 minutes when shooting 8K with the screen on, rather than the quoted 240 minutes for 1080p. It called photo quality weak, describing stills as soft and low in contrast and saying a smartphone would do a better job in most cases. Engadget took a more favorable view of stills: it used Luna Pro photos for its Mission 1 Pro ILS review and said it was impressed enough for a video-first camera to use them for publication, though it would not suggest the camera as a main stills option.

Engadget said the Pro handled a variety of lighting situations as a B-roll camera, moving smoothly between dark and well-lit areas, but sometimes the exposure transition was not subtle. It said bright backgrounds or sunny, overcast skies occasionally overexposed in standard color mode when dynamic range was wide, while 10-bit I-Log recording provided enough headroom to tame them. Engadget noted the camera's Dolby Vision support and 10-bit I-Log. Engadget also said accessories should be largely compatible between the Pro and Ultra unless they attach to the gimbal head; a fill-light accessory provided for review connects to the gimbal collar, making it incompatible with the Ultra.

Engadget reported that the detachable displays can be swapped between the Pro and Ultra and still work wirelessly, but the screen updates its firmware to match the new camera each time. When Engadget tried this, it lost the 4K portrait menu option on the Pro and needed a factory reset to resolve the problem. It said this was something a user can do, but probably should not. TechRadar said only one bundle was available at launch.