New King of 8K 360 Cameras? Qoocam 3 Ultra vs. Insta360 X4 | 30-Minute In-Depth Review

Is the Qoocam 3 Ultra the new king of 8K 360 cameras, or does it fall short? In this 30-minute in-depth review, we dive into the pros and cons of the Qoocam 3 Ultra compared to the Insta360 X4. From superior 8K 10-bit video and 14K photo quality to unforeseen issues in the field – we cover it all. Discover how the Qoocam 3 Ultra handles low-light conditions, stabilization challenges, and post-production complexities. We also explore its unique features like 4-channel ambisonic audio and GPS-enabled Google Street View mapping. Perfect for immersive filmmakers, virtual tour creators, real estate agents, and tech enthusiasts. Find out if this camera lives up to the hype or if it’s just not worth the investment!

0:00 - Qoocam 3 Ultra Overview
1:59 - Image Quality
9:18 - 5.7K 60fps
12:40 - Low Light Test
14:25 - Stabilization Test
16:31 - Stitching Test
17:35 - Spatial Video
18:48 - 360 Photo / Virtual Tour
21:06 - 360 Livestream and GPS GSV
22:08 - The Cons
26:58 - Who's Qoocam 3 Ultra for?

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Code: HUGH (The discount will auto-apply when you use the link above)
How to claim your freebie: Add both the QooCam 3 Ultra and the Battery to your cart. The battery will show up as FREE at checkout. But hurry—this secret deal is only good for one week after this video goes live! Don’t miss out!

📸 Qoocam 3 Ultra Detailed Specs 🎥
Sensor: CMOS 1/1.7”
Aperture: F1.6
35mm Equivalent Focal Length: 9.36mm
Exposure Compensation: ±2EV
ISO Range: 100-6400
Shutter Speed Photo: 1/6400s-50s
Video: 1/6400s
White Balance Auto, 2500K-1000K
Maximum Resolution of Photos: 96MP (13888×6944)
Video Resolution / Frame Rate:
Video Bitrate: 150Mbps
Photo Modes: Standard panoramic photo, Interval Photo, DNG8, AEB
Video Modes Standard panoramic video, Timelapse, Loop Recording
Image Format: JPG/DNG/HEIF
Video Format: MP4
Color Range: 8bit BT.709 / 10bit BT.2020 (HLG)
Audio Output: AAC (16 bit/Quadraphonic/48 KHz)
External Microphone: 16 bit/Stereo/48 KHz
Charging Port: USB-C
Battery Capacity: 2280mAh
Dimensions: 71.5mm x 103.2mm x 26.6 mm
Weight: 296g (without battery) / 336g (with battery)
Water and Dust Resistant: IP68
Touch Screen: 2.19''
Gyroscope: 6-axis gyroscope
Microphone: 4
Speaker: 1
Wi-Fi: 2.4 GHz/5 GHz 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax(WiFi6)
Bluetooth: BLE 5.2
Storage:
128GB Built-in memory and support microSD card storage
MicroSD Cards:
Support microSD cards with a speed class of UHS-I V30 or higher, up to 1TB
File system: exFAT
Charging Voltage and Current: 9V/2A, 5V/3A
MSRP: $599

[henkgroenen]

At 17:12 if you look at the white building, the x4 shows much more details on the wall. It seems like the qoocam smoothens the wall surface like the X3 did.

[yuidfbse]

I will take with a grain of salt any enthusiasm for QooCam products till there are long term reviews and user feedback because all of their previous cameras proved to be overall very mediocre.. just the facts. Plus, from the start I know that the editing and software features of the X4 will be superior to the QooCam's. For me 50% of the user experience of using Insta360 products is how awesome and easy it is to edit on their software. Curio8, will it be possible somehow to import the QooCam's files into the Insta360 desktop studio app and edit/reframe there?

[yuidfbse]

Thanks for the video Hugh! I'm extremely happy about the developments on 360 cameras and the release of this new camera. However the reality still stands that reframed, cropped and edited, even with 8K captured the images barely looked like good 1080p. Till 360 cameras can shoot 16K, we will not have IQ that after edited and reframed actually looks like 4K, this is just the harsh reality.. and that means we are years away from such reality. And no, 12K that is the natural next step will still not be enough either.. will be better, but not enough. Also, I find the output of the X4 much more natural looking, smooth and with less artifacts. It might not be as sharp as the new QooCam, but the images are far more pleasing and less artificially processed. There is a long way to go before 360 cameras have actual IQ comparable to 4K resolution on a finished edit.

[salvoproietto]

Hi Hugh, as usual great reviews. I have a question, what do you recommend or suggest to create GSV... PANOX V2 or Qoocam 3 Ultra? Which of the 2 is more efficient and better to create blueline?

[adrianwilliams]

I’ll still choose the x4 mainly because of form factor and those difference aren’t too big for someone who only films as a hobby. Love to see where this is going tho! I’ll upgrade maybe in about two years when the differences are night and day.

[alexeytrusovru]

Kandao has turned out to be an excellent semi-professional camera without unnecessary entertainment functions. Just a good practical tool for creating content. I've been waiting for such a camera from Kandao for a long time!
Insta360 has taken the path of creating quick content for social networks with compromised quality.

Thank you very much for the wonderful review!

[herrlehmann]

Great review again, thank you! One Question: which mode did you use on the insta360 x4? dewarp, ultra or mega? looks like you used dewarp?

[ChristiaanRoest]

Hey Hugh, if i may ask have you tried stabilizing the drone footage with the ultra in resolve with the vr stabilizer? If you, did it make the footage stable?

[vlastimiljesina]

Hi, do you think two Qoocam 3 ultra cameras next to each other would be better for 180° + 3d videos than Canon Eos E5C+dualfishEye? Or would you recommend another camera for this type of video?

[captteemo]

@hughhou Why do you recommend upscaling over upframing? Isn't it more accurate to interpolate the movement of a pixel (mostly, if not covered before) instead of crafting information that is just not there befote? Furthermore with 8k30 → 8k60 I already have half of the frames perfectly correct since they are original, instead of all frames being edited by Topaz... A detailed explanation here would help a lot. Also for 3D?

Furthermore: What if you need 12k90fps. Would you still record in 5.7k60 rather than 8k30?

[mochouinard]

What I don't understand, is why was your insta360 x4 review had really nice looking image, and not here the x4 look like a x2...

[LivinginCoachellaValley]

I just got Qoocam 3 Ultra and would love to know what you would say are the best settings. I'm a Realtor, so I will be using it mostly for virtual tours of properties. But, I also want to use it when I travel to capture our trip in 360 video.

[hisbox]

While using QOOCAM 8K, it was replaced more than twice due to the issue of battery expansion, but it expanded again and gave up. In South Korea, I had to send it to KANDAO, so I couldn't use it for months.

The quality of the QOOCAM 3 Ultra looks really good.

Qoocam 8K's experience is...

Your video made me worry about QOOCAM 3 Ultra.

I wish a hybrid VR camera would be released in Canon this year.

Thank you for always great videos.

[FlyerThanDrones]

As far as google street view ease, shall i continue to use my labpano pilot one EE for features like direct 360 photo upload with native gps data on platform?

[armesPaopao]

As usual an excellent review! But will the Qoocam 3 Ultra really be able to stream high quality 8K video? It only has Wi-Fi and no RJ45 port... And no word of Live Streaming for the Qoocam 3 Ultra on the Kandao website. Or will there be a "Qoocam 3 Enterprise" and one has to pay extra for this feature?

[gorri]

I got my Qoocam 3 Ultra and so far I am very happy in well lit situations. Finally the videos in my Quest 3 looks kinda sharp. Very nice!
What I am interested: Can you please compare the QC3Ultra with the insta pro 2? The only benefit I can see so far is that with the insta pro 2 you create not only 8k 360 Videos, but spacial 3D Videos as well. I am wondering if this benefit is relevant, cause file handling with SD Cards, many stitch lines might outweigh the spacial 3D capability.
What is your take on this topic? Would love to see a comparison with the QC3Ultra vs. Insta pro 2 - and maybe if you have it laying around the titan :)
Thanks for your great tutorials and reviews.

[_Oregon_Sunday_Drives_]

Fingers crossed. I have and love the QooCam 8K, all Kandao needs to do is make some small enhancements via the Ultra. Looking forward to a better sensor with and more "manual" control PLEASE.

[SteveandLizDonaldson]

The sharpness looks much better in the Ultra at 15:30. See the rock cliffs behind you. So for me, right now, Ultra for tripod and walking, X4 for my quadcopter and airplane, since vibration reduction is not nearly as good. I own the X4 already. Thank you, Hugh, for a very useful review.

[salehbaker]

The only 360 camera review channel i need in my life, i can't wait to use Qoocam 3 ultra for 3d gaussian splatting 👏👏👏

[stéphane_bab]

Ok thank you! Do you think it will be possible to do long blu lines (several km and hours of hiking) using a low rate of video or a timelapse shooting and an external powerbank ?