Insta360 Ace Pro Review (13 Things) Best Vlogging Action Camera

On November 21, 2023, Insta360 released two new action cameras: Ace Pro (flagship) and Ace (more basic). And they are both positioned as robust vlogging action cameras.

In my hands-on Insta360 Ace Pro review, you’ll learn about all the Ace/Ace Pro specs. A beefy sensor and AI tools are game-changers for creators and vloggers. Note: Insta360 sent me a prerelease model of the Ace Pro, and I’ve been playing with it for the past couple of weeks.

The Ace Pro is made for creators and vlogging. The more basic Ace camera is also a great choice, with many of the same features but at a lower price.

Some notable features of the Ace Pro include a flip touch screen, great low light filming, a larger sensor (1/1.3″), 8K@24fps, 48 MP still photos, and 2X zoom. The Ace Pro and Ace also include AI Highlights Assistant, AI Warp, and the app can even auto-generate a highlight reel of your adventure.

Here is a photo of the new Ace Pro camera – we had a little pre-winter blizzard yesterday afternoon when I took these photos of this new camera. Ahh, Atlantic Canada weather.

The Ace and Ace Pro cameras are the latest in the Insta360 lineup.

In this guide, I’ll break down 13 new or important features of the Ace Pro camera. But first, who is this camera for?

Ace Pro: The Best Action Camera for Vlogging

The Ace Pro is a great vlogging camera. Here’s why.

1. Speed: The Ace Pro is fast. It has almost no lag time when powering on, changing settings, or to start filming. If you’ve used older action cameras, you’ll notice the difference. This isn’t a feature they’re promoting, but I noticed this the first time I turned it on.
2. Large Sensor: The larger sensor combined with the denoising AI chip means great low-light, low-noise footage.
3. Flip screen: For vlogging and creative filming, this is exceptional. Of course, Insta360 already made the GO3 with the same flip screen. But they are kind of in a different class of camera.

Find Ace Pro and Ace on Insta360 or Amazon.

Other features like uploading in the background, AI editing, and voice and gesture control, make this a great choice as a camera for creators and storytellers.

Positioning action cameras for vlogging is nothing new. Since GoPro released their MediaMod on the Hero8 Black (October 2019), GoPro has had features for vloggers. And even with the recent release of the GO 3, Insta360 created a blended action camera/vlogging camera.

But with the improved low-light sensor, functional flip screen, and AI editing support, the Ace Pro makes a great vlogging camera.

Below this spec summary, you’ll find the major specs organized in 4 charts, comparing Ace vs Ace Pro cameras.

Insta360 Ace Pro Review (13 Things)

The Ace Pro is loaded with new and premium features. Here are the 13 features you need to know about the Ace Pro camera.

1. Flip Touch Screen (2.4″): The large, articulating back screen is probably the first thing you’ll notice about the Ace Pro. It rotates a full 180 degrees – giving you a full view of composition and camera settings.
2. Night and Low Light (Pure Video Mode): In my tests, I was surprised by the clarity of this feature. It reduced noise and brightened the footage in a natural way. This improvement is thanks to two features: 5nm AI chip (denoising) and a 1/1.3″ sensor.
3. Sensor Size: The 1/1.3″ sensor is larger than the Hero12 (1/1.9″) and matches the DJI Osmo Action 4 (1/1.3″). This larger sensor size, combined with the AI denoising chip means exceptional low-light shooting.
4. Video Resolution: The Ace Pro shoots a mammoth 8K at 24fps. Or, for some exceptional slow-motion footage, shoot 4K video at up to 120 frames per second or even 1080P at 240 fps. This video resolution is pretty standard with current action cameras.
5. Photo Resolution: 48 MP. Compare against 27 MP still images of the Hero12 Black or the low 10 MP of DJI’s Osmo Action 4.
6. Battery Life: Shoot about 100 minutes at 4K30 resolution. And the Ace Pro fast charges to 80% in 22 minutes.
7. Clarity Zoom: Get 2X zoom by double-tapping on the screen. This is better than the 1.4 digital video zoom of the Hero12. And in my initial tests, I didn’t notice any loss of detail. I’ll test and publish more in a future post or video.
8. AI Highlight Assistant: This feature will auto-edit your footage and let you choose which moments you want to keep/delete. And when you connect to the Insta360 app, it can output a finished video that’s ready to share. I’ll be testing the feature more in the coming weeks, watch for a video showing how well it does.
9. App Background Downloading: I like this feature a lot. Now you can upload your footage to your computer and still use your phone. If you’ve used the GoPro or DJI apps, you’ll know these must remain open to upload. This is a seemingly small detail, but it’s a nice improvement.
10. Pause Recording: The ability to pause recording – and combine numerous shots in one clip is a nice feature. It helps workflow by grouping footage from a single event in one clip. You can also pull up a finished video and start recording on the end of that clip. A related feature is Cancel Recording, which allows the clip to be canceled and deleted. This is a notable help in managing clips and SD storage space.
11. Gesture Control: Just like their Link webcam, the new Ace Pro also comes with Gesture Control. The camera is accurate and responsive with gestures. Easily shoot a photo or start/stop video recording. And it’s been made to work even with helmets and gloves, but I haven’t tested this feature yet.
12. Voice Control 2.0: The camera also has improved Voice Control as an alternative to Gesture Control. They each have their place, depending on the setting. Both features (Voice and Gesture) can be turned off to prevent accidental filming.
13. AI Warp: This is the next step for AI editing. Inside the app, you can use their AI effects to really change your footage – some examples include costume overlay, or a full video warp. You can select just specific elements (like the subject) or the whole frame. I expect to see more skins and themes in AI Warp.

Find Ace Pro and Ace on Insta360 or Amazon.

Insta360 Ace/Ace Pro vs Other Action Cameras

Curious how the Ace Pro measures up to other action cameras? Here are our comparisons with the Hero12 Black, Osmo Action 4, and the GO 3.

5 Primary Specs Compared: Insta360 Ace vs Ace Pro

Here are some key factors to compare between these two action cameras.

1. Battery life: Equal Ace and Ace Pro both have a published life of 100 minutes. Of course, this varies with temperatures, video resolution, and other camera settings. My initial tests revealed a little less, I’ll test further and update in the future.
2. Cost: Ace (USD$379.99 MSRP) vs Ace Pro (USD$449.99 MSRP). 
3. Image Stabilization: Equal. Both Ace and Ace Pro have FlowState Stabilization and 360° Horizon Lock (can be toggled on/off).
4. Image Resolution: Ace Pro. Ace Pro shoots 8K@24fps compared with the Ace video resolution of 6K@30fps. Both Ace Pro and Ace shoot slow-motion video at up to 4K120 or even 1080p at 240 fps. And both shoot a significant 48 MP still photos.
5. Waterproof: Equal. Both cameras are waterproof to 33 ft (10 meters).

Find Ace Pro and Ace on Insta360.

The primary differences between the Ace Pro and Ace cameras are sensor size, video resolution, and lens.

• Ace Pro: 1/1.3″ sensor, up to 8K video, and a lens co-engineered with Leica
• Ace: 1/2″ sensor and up to 6K video resolution.

While the body dimensions are the same, the Ace Pro weighs 3 grams more. And while the battery life is almost the same, the Ace battery has a slightly higher capacity (1700mAh vs 1650mAh).

Specs and Pricing: Insta360 Ace vs Ace Pro

While both cameras are the same size and weight, there are some key differences. Ace Pro’s larger sensor, Leica lens, and higher video resolution also cost slightly more than the base Ace camera.

Both cameras were released on November 21, 2023.

Specs	Insta360 Ace Pro	Insta360 Ace
MRSP	$449.99 USD	$379.99 USD
Sensor Size	1/1.3”	1/2″
Video	8K24 / 4K120	6K30 / 4K120
Photo	48MP	48MP
Battery	1650mAh	1700mAh
Battery Life	100 minutes	100 minutes
Weight (grams)	179.8g	176.8g
Size (inches)	2.8 x 2 x 1.5″	2.8 x 2 x 1.5″
Waterproof	Waterproof to 33 feet (10 meters)	Waterproof to 33 feet (10 meters)

Appearance, UI, and Battery

The appearance is very similar between models. Both have a flip screen and standard action camera mounting options. Battery life is the same, although they use different batteries.

Something I noticed from the beginning was how fast the UI was. It loads and responds faster than any action camera I’ve ever used.

Here are the battery specs for both cameras:

Battery	Insta360 Ace Pro	Insta360 Ace
Battery	Removable	Removable
Battery Life	100 minutes	100 minutes
Same Battery	1650mAh (CINSBNAJA – CP6)	1700mAh
Charging Time	45 minutes (30W), 63 minutes (5V/3A)	70 min (5V/3A)

Capturing Photo and Video: Insta360 Ace vs Ace Pro Specs

This is the first time I’ve shot with an 8K camera. And while I’m not certain of all the applications, I like that I can shoot in 8K and crop in and still get a decent 4K (or better) video clip.

Both cameras come with FlowState Stabilization and 360° Horizon Lock (can be toggled on/off). My tests were impressive, I’ll publish more in the future.

I like the option to use AirPods as external mics. These are pretty common, so many of use don’t have to spend more money on a bluetooth mic. Just connect your AirPods via the camera menu and you can combine Apple’s mic quality with Insta360’s 8K video.

Two other features I like include Photo Grab (capture an actual still image while filming) and Pause/Resume Recording (to combine smaller clips into one).

Capture	Insta360 Ace Pro	Insta360 Ace
Video	8K24 / 4K120	6K30 / 4K120
Photo	48MP	48MP
FOV	TBD	TBD
Image Stabilization	FlowState Stabilization	FlowState Stabilization
Audio (Mic)	3	3
Accepts External Mic	Yes, via AirPods Bluetooth	Yes, via AirPods Bluetooth
Wind Noise Reduction	Yes	Yes
Sensor Size	1/1.3”	1/2″
Aperture	f/2.6	f/2.4
Zoom	2X Digital Zoom	TBD

Find Ace Pro and Ace on Insta360.

AI Capture and Editing: 4 Features

This release incorporates more (and better) AI features than we’ve had before.

1. AI Highlights Assistant: Let AI tag and even build highlight reels of the adventure.
2. AI Warp: In-app editing feature. Control how much is edited and modified.
3. Gesture Control: Combined with Voice Control, easily control start/stop filming or take a photo. Great to have the option, depending on the setting.
4. PureVideo: This shooting mode used a 5nm AI chip to improve low light and night footage. I was impressed with how much it lightened dark scenes – and how crisp the footage was.

“With Insta360 Ace and Ace Pro, we’re bringing smarter action capture to thrillseekers around the world,” shares JK Liu, founder of Insta360. “We’re making significant steps in AI, which has allowed us to bring in new features that we think not only make the video creation process easier for users, but unlocks completely new ways to make shots truly stand out.”

Features and General Specs

Here are other specs and details on the Insta360 Ace Pro and Ace cameras.

General Info	Insta360 Ace Pro	Insta360 Ace
Release Date	November 21, 2023	November 21, 2023
Release Year	2023	2023
Serial Number Begins With	TBD	TBD
Webcam Function	Yes	Yes
Weight (ounces)	6.3 oz	6.2 oz
Weight (grams)	179.8g	176.8g
Size (inches)	2.8 x 2 x 1.5″	2.8 x 2 x 1.5″
Size (mm)	71.9 x 52.15 x 38.5 mm	71.9 x 52.15 x 38.5 mm
Connectivity	Wi-Fi + Bluetooth	Wi-Fi + Bluetooth
GPS	Yes, via Garmin device or Apply watch	Yes, via Garmin device or Apply watch
micro HDMI	No	No

Test Footage:

These videos are in editing and will be published later in the week.

For now, I’ll share the demo video from Insta360.

Which One Do You Like Most?

After our Insta360 Ace Pro review, which model do you have your eye on?

Find Ace Pro and Ace on Insta360 or Amazon.

Both of these new Insta360 cameras will be great for creators – for travel and vlogging.

Final Thoughts

Which model are you considering? Have a question? Please drop it below and I’ll do my best to answer it.