The Insta360 ONE X camera is predestined for capturing sequences of actions. Although of solid construction, it must be protected when the environment is rough enough, risk of shock or immersion. The solution is the Venture case which is a protective shell of the camera. Description and practice tests to find here.
PROTECTION
The Insta360 ONE X is a quality construction, which however suffers from a few defects, for example, it is not waterproof and therefore will not support very well any contact with water. In addition, it also has the same defect as all cameras 360 market, namely a certain fragility that results from the prominence of lenses lenses. The slightest shock and the very survival of the camera is at stake. I know something since my last camera 360 was completely inoperative with a small fall.
For all these reasons, there is a protective shell that meets these needs. It completely covers the insta360 one x, including lenses. The seal announced for a depth of 10m is provided with several joints: one around the closure of the shell, two others at each lens
The closure of the hull is done with a solid fastener, no risk that it opens by accident. Then a hoop completely encloses the hull and has a Gopro type attachment at its base. Thus, all Gopro mounting accessories are usable.
PRACTICAL USE
The assembly of the assembly is not instantaneous, consequence of the protection levels, that is quite logical, and will have to be reiterated with each change of battery.
For my tests, I fixed all on the invisible stick. The manipulation is the same whether the camera is with the box or not, the buttons react well despite the tightness, and the readability of the screen is slightly altered by the protection.
One point to note is that the sounds of the camera are no longer noticeable. This can be embarrassing for capturing photos. Indeed, the capture of an image is made from a pressure of the trigger button which must not be too short or too long. A good way to check the capture is precisely the sound indicator. With the hull, the remaining indicator is the blinking of the capture led, moreover by very visible outside.
All this does not impact the capture of 360 video, I use the quick capture mode, in this case, the camera is in recording as soon as it starts.
Now, the remaining questions concern the image, the volume taken by the protection is it visible on the images? And does it alter in one way or another the quality of the images?
RESULTS ON IMAGES
By opening a 360 photo with the studio of the insta360 ONE X, we immediately notice the transition between images that is marked with a black curved line. No worries, the software includes an option to indicate the presence of the Venture box and erase all traces.
The results are generally satisfactory:
In some situations, I observed a degradation of the image. In the following examples, you may notice that the boom is a little more visible, the transition zone sometimes leaves a slight darkening on the image or that the fusion is not always perfectly aligned.
CONCLUSION
Overall, the venture case fulfills its role well, the impact on the final image is generally very small. That said, I do not plan to generalize its use because of manipulations to access the camera (battery change, memory card change). I reserve the use of this shell in case of hostile environment (water, dust, risk of shock …).