When it comes to handheld photography gear, there are really a lot of choices these days. In the past, I often brought a small handheld gimbal camera like DJI Pocket 3 out to shoot simple vlogs, but later I left it at home and ate dust. The main reason is that the focal length is fixed and close-up shots are limited. The most suitable scene is self-portraits for vlogs, and its versatility is not as high as expected. The Luna Ultra launched by Insta360 this time is obviously aimed at this pain point. It directly adds a detachable OLED image transmission remote control screen, Leica dual lenses, telephoto zoom, depth tracking and Mic Pro radio ecosystem. The whole intention is quite obvious. Next, let Ada introduce to you the interesting aspects of this Insta360 Luna Ultra from the perspective of a long-term user of handheld photography equipment and frequent Vlog shooting.
Detachable screen and dual lenses are the key points, Insta360 Luna Ultra unboxing
The accessories include the Luna Ultra body, protective box, carrying bag, manual, rabbit fur windshield, Mic Pro microphone, handle, and a battery life handle that can be combined with the body. What’s more considerate is that the main body has a storage box directly, so you don’t have to buy another protective case when you go out later; the creator set also comes with a carrying bag, Mic Pro and battery life handle. For those who are buying this type of product for the first time, there is no need to buy additional things:
There are two types of handles, one is a battery-operated handle, and the other is a small handle without batteries, which is mainly used to increase the grip length and provide a 1/4-inch gimbal lock hole. Because there is no gimbal lock hole at the bottom of the Luna Ultra body, only USB-C, so if you want to put it on a tripod, put it on the table, or use it with other accessories, these two handles become very important:
Luna Ultra official website (Creator Pack includes Mic Pro)
The protective case, handle, and hidden tripod are all smart, and the carrying method is easier than expected.
I personally think the Luna Ultra’s protective case design is good. The entire lens and body are protected, and the lens won’t shake or fall out easily. If you have used the Pocket series, you should know that some protective cases just click in, and the body and case can be easily separated; the design of Luna Ultra is relatively reassuring:
After taking out the main body, you can see that there is also a magnetic storage mechanism inside. The magnetic wide-angle lens can be stored at the top, and filter accessories can be placed at the bottom.
Turning on the machine is very intuitive. Just turn the screen over and it will turn on. In addition, there is a physical switch on the lower left corner of the machine. A short press can start recording, and a long press can turn the machine on and off. Both methods can be used:
The detachable 2-inch OLED image transmission remote control screen is the most genius design of Luna Ultra
The most interesting thing about Luna Ultra is not simply its higher specifications, but its 2-inch OLED detachable video remote control screen, which is rare in the industry. I think this design can be said to be the soul of this machine, because it directly separates the “camera body” from “monitoring, control, and sound collection”:
After the screen is detached, you can still control the direction of the lens, control the push-pull zoom, start recording or taking photos, and you can also set face lock and adjust filters. This means you don’t have to hold your phone to open the app, and you don’t have to stand next to the camera all the time. This method is really flexible for one person to shoot, a couple to shoot each other, or multiple people to shoot together.
If you are shooting a Vlog alone, you can also place the machine at a fixed point, use the remote control screen to adjust the composition, control the lens, and start recording. It can also be paired with depth tracking to allow the camera to always lock on a person’s face. This means that you can move around and shoot at the same time without having to go back and adjust the machine all the time. The entire one-person operation process will be much easier. What’s even better is that the remote control screen itself also has a microphone function and can be picked up directly to collect sound. Of course, if the wind is very strong, it is still recommended to use Mic Pro and Rabbit Fur, but if it is just a general indoor, tableside, or close-range oral broadcast, this design can already save a lot of equipment:
Insta360 Luna Ultra official website (please click me)
The Leica dual-lens configuration makes up for the fixed focal length problem of traditional small gimbals.
Another big selling point of the Luna Ultra is the dual lenses. It does not only have a wide-angle lens, but an 8K wide-angle main lens with a 1-inch sensor, plus a telephoto lens with a 1/1.3-inch sensor. This makes it very different from traditional Pocket products. The main lens is a Leica wide-angle main lens, which supports 8K/30fps video and can also shoot 4K/120fps slow motion. It has a large sensor and a large F1.8 aperture, which is more beneficial for daily vlogs, travel, street photography, portraits and night scene recordings: 
The telephoto lens is where I think this camera really makes up for its shortcomings. Traditional small handheld gimbals usually have a fixed focal length and can only rely on cropping to zoom in. The sense of compression for close-ups, long shots, and portraits is limited. Luna Ultra’s telephoto lens supports up to 12x digital zoom, including up to 6x lossless zoom. When actually pushing and pulling, it magnifies from 1x all the way to 12x without any obvious frustration, which is really important for filming.
Luna Ultra official website (Creator Pack includes Mic Pro)
For other actual testing parts, we have shot detailed unboxing videos, as well as sample photos taken with real machines. You can take a look at:
Summary: Luna Ultra brings new tricks to handheld gimbal cameras
To sum up, the biggest breakthrough of Insta360 Luna Ultra is that it is not just a “Pocket product with better image quality”, but starts from the shooting process itself to solve the pain points of previous products such as fixed focal length, inconvenient composition, troublesome single-person shooting, and reliance on mobile apps for remote control. The detachable OLED image transmission remote control screen is its most creative design. The dual Leica lenses and 12x zoom make up for the focal length limitations of traditional small pan-tilt cameras. Coupled with Mic Pro, depth tracking, built-in storage, hidden tripods and AI smart editing, the entire machine is quite complete.
If you only occasionally take photos of life records, a mobile phone is actually enough; if you pursue professional commercial photography, monocular or mirrorless is still more complete. But if you are a Vlogger, travel creator, solo photographer, or want a small device that can easily complete shooting, composition, sound recording, tracking and fast editing, Luna Ultra is indeed worth considering. After using it myself, I feel that Insta360 has really brought new tricks to this type of device this time, and it is also quite easy to use. The above is shared for your reference.
Source: KOCPC Chinese