We Swapped Our Insta360 X5 for the New X6 at Car Week
If you’ve been following our car content over the past year, you’ve seen a lot of it shot on the Insta360 X5. It became our go-to for tight cabin shots to wide-open reveal footage — mounted on dashboards, windows, hood, you name it. The 360-degree capture meant we could shoot first and reframe later, which is a lifesaver when you’re chasing a car down a canyon road and only get one take.
So when Insta360 dropped the X6 on August 12, we knew exactly where its first real test would happen: Monterey Car Week.
What’s New on the X6
Insta360 is calling this the biggest leap in the X series’ history, and on paper it backs that up:
- 8K 360 video at 50fps, with a dedicated PureVideo low-light mode
- Dual custom Sony 1/1.1″ square sensors — 33% more sensor area than the X5, roughly 4x the light intake per frame
- Triple AI chip setup: an 8-core 3.3GHz 4nm flagship processor plus two dedicated imaging chips, adding up to 500% more compute than the X5 and 35% lower power draw
- First 360 camera with native in-camera Dolby Vision, along with 10-bit color and I-Log profiles
- 2600mAh battery rated for up to 140 minutes of continuous 8K30 recording
- 47GB of built-in storage — onboard recording for the first time on an X-series camera
- Four 360° omnidirectional windproof mics, including a Hidden Engine Mic mode built specifically to isolate engine sound — which, for what we do, might be the single best feature on the spec sheet
- Starts at $699.99 for the Standard Bundle
That engine-isolating mic alone made this an easy upgrade for us. Anyone who’s tried to capture clean exhaust note over wind and road noise knows how much of a pain that’s normally been.
Why This Matters for Car Content
The X5 already changed how we shot cars — no more choosing between an interior cam and an exterior cam, no more missing the shot because the action happened just outside the frame. With the X6’s bigger sensors and better low-light performance, we’re expecting cleaner footage in the golden-hour lighting that Car Week is famous for, plus sharper detail when we’re pulling stills from 360 footage for social.
One of the upgrades we’re most excited about is the low-light performance. A lot of our best car content happens right at dusk — garage walkthroughs, night cruises, cars and coffee before sunrise — and that’s historically where 360 cameras have struggled the most. With 33% more sensor area than the X5 and roughly 4x the light intake per frame, our early review is backing up Insta360’s claims here: even in poorly lit scenes, with denoising, the X6 footage looks clean instead of grainy. That alone should open up a lot more shooting windows for us at events like this.
We’re also fans of the smaller form factor. Despite packing bigger sensors, a bigger battery, and a more powerful chipset, the X6 actually shrunk down from the X5 — it’s roughly 2 x 3 inches while keeping the same thin, stick-like shape that makes it easy to mount, grip, or tuck into a pocket between shots. That’s a big deal when you’re moving fast through a packed car corral and need something that stays out of the way until you need it.
A Few Other Details Worth Pointing Out
- Hidden Engine Mic — a dedicated mic mode built to isolate engine sound over wind noise, which multiple reviewers flagged as a standout feature for anyone shooting vehicles
- 14.5 stops of dynamic range on the new sensors, which Insta360 says translates to better highlight and shadow retention in mixed lighting
- Star-Ridge cooling system, which Insta360 claims pulls heat 10% more efficiently than other 360 cameras — useful for long shooting sessions in the August heat
- Hyper charging from 0–80% in 24 minutes, handy for topping off between shoots
- A brighter 1200-nit OLED display with an always-on mode, making it easier to check framing in direct sunlight
- On the downside, a few reviewers (TechRadar included) noted the companion app has been buggy at launch, and that 8K/30fps footage burns through storage fast — about 1GB per minute — so the onboard 47GB fills up quicker than you’d expect
We’re Live at Monterey Car Week
Right now we’re on the ground shooting with the X6 for the first time — car corrals, cars and coffee, the concours crowds, all of it. Expect reframed highlight reels, some wild reveal-style shots, and probably a few clips where we lean hard into that new engine audio mode.
Keep an eye on our socials over the next few days — the first cuts from the X6 are coming. The Insta360 X6 is available starting August 12 from the Insta360 Official Store, Amazon, and select retailers, priced from US$699.99.
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