Insta360 Luna Ultra review: Let the gimbal camera wars begin

The company's first gimbal camera is a high-powered Osmo Pocket rival that you can actually buy.

Insta360 recently launched the Luna Ultra gimbal camera , effectively ending DJI's monopoly on the category . The Luna Ultra combines dual cameras with 3x optical zoom, a 1-inch sensor and 8K video. The timing is hard to ignore.

Insta360's launch comes just ahead of DJI's own dual-lens Osmo Pocket 4P , which is speculated to have similar features — including optical zoom. Whether that's a coincidence or calculated timing (hint: it's never a coincidence), one thing is clear: DJI finally has some serious competition in the handheld vlogging space.

The Luna Ultra shoots up to 8K/30 fps video or up to 120 fps in 4K with support for Dolby Vision. It includes 47GB of internal storage, expandable via a microSD card, and a 1,550mAh battery that delivers roughly four hours of recording time. The dual camera setup comprises an f1.8, 20mm lens, with a 1-inch sensor alongside an f2.0, 60mm telephoto paired with a 1/1.3" sensor. This twin-lens setup provides 3x true optical zoom plus 6x "lossless" (in-sensor) zoom and 12x digital zoom.

The shooting modes available are the same as you'd find on any of the company's other cameras: regular video mode, PureVideo (low light), Timelapse, TimeShift ("hyperlapse") and Barrel Roll. Vertical shooting is supported, either through the menu or by rotating the 2-inch display 90-degrees. Sadly, portrait video is limited to 3K, the same as DJI's Pocket 4. Dolby Vision and I-Log color modes are available and even the "standard" color mode is 10-bit. Photos come in two flavors: "Standard" 9-megapixel or the beefier 37-megapixel "UltraPhoto" mode.

Easily, the most interesting hardware feature on the Luna Ultra is the removable front panel that transforms into a wireless display for remote control and framing. Even better, you can pan, tilt, zoom and navigate the onscreen menus over 60 feet away from the camera. My favorite part is that there's also a microphone nestled just above the screen so you can record stand-ups to camera without needing an external mic. You still might want to, though. While the audio the display provides is perfectly acceptable, it's not quite as robust as you'd get with a dedicated mic kit.

Much of the functionality of the wireless display is also available via the mobile app (minus the microphone), but it's much nicer to use the device's physical controls. I've also never really been a fan of camera companion apps. Insta360's is perfectly fine, but it's still prone to the occasional connection issue, and still requires bringing your phone into the mix. Insta360's display innovation here genuinely feels useful — with bonus points for being fun.

For gimbal camera fans, the optical zoom is likely the most interesting feature of the Luna Ultra. With the Osmo Pocket you have 2x in-sensor zoom which is helpful but limited. The 3x optical zoom on the Insta360 brings a lot more flexibility. I even think the 6x in-sensor zoom looks sharp enough in most cases that you won't see any visible artifacts. Once you hit the 12x digital zoom, you can definitely see things starting to get a bit fuzzier, but if the lighting is good, even that feels quite usable sometimes.