Insta360 Luna Ultra, Full Review: Finally a Real Rival for DJI?

DJI, which has long been the sole player in the stabilized pocket camera market, is finally facing a serious competitor. With its Luna Ultra, Insta360 is now entering the fray with a compact camera equipped with a three-axis gimbal and a rather unique feature: a dual-lens system. Does this newcomer live up to expectations? How does Insta360’s first foray into this category actually stack up? Does its image quality match its ambitions? And most importantly, does it have what it takes to win over content creators, vloggers, and travelers? Find all the answers in this comprehensive review ofthe Insta360 Luna Ultra.

Insta360 Luna Ultra: Key Takeaways

Don’t have time (or just can’t be bothered 😅) to read the whole thing? Here are the key takeaways about the Insta360 Luna Ultra 👇

• 🧳 A DJI Osmo Pocket-style pocket camera with three-axis stabilization , a detachable 2-inch OLED touchscreen, and 47 GB of built-in storage
• 💡 Detachable 2-inch touchscreen that can be used as a remote control, remote video monitor, and wireless microphone
• 🔋 Up to 240 minutes of battery life (as advertised) and fast charging that restores 80% of the battery in just 23 minutes
• 🎬 Comprehensive video modes with PureVideo for low-light shooting, Slow Motion, Timelapse, TimeShift, and Barrel Roll—inspired by FPV footage
• 🎯 Deep Track 5.0 can track people, groups, animals, objects, and buildings, with framing control across 9 different positions
• 🎤 Four built-in microphones, including one in the detachable screen, with direct compatibility with the Insta360 Mic Air and Mic Pro
• 📷 Dual camera system co-designed with Leica: 1-inch main sensor, 60 mm equivalent telephoto lens, and up to 12× zoom
• 🎞️ Photos up to 37 MP, video up to 8K at 30 fps, 4K up to 120 fps, and 1080p slow-motion up to 240 fps
• 🌙 Excellent low-light performance thanks to the 1-inch main sensor and PureVideo mode
• 🎨 I-Log profile combined with 10-bit recording , multiple Insta360 and Leica color profiles, and good dynamic range in post-production
• 💸 Several packages are available starting at €729, including a very comprehensive Creator Package designed for content creators

📌 A particularly successful first-generation model that finally offers a real alternative to the DJI Osmo Pocket, featuring a dual-lens system, a very well-designed detachable screen, and top-notch image quality.

Insta360 Luna Ultra: Design

Dimensions (L x W x H)	169.9 × 52.4 × 38.5 mm
Weight	233 g (black) to 235 g (white)
Touch screen	Detachable 2-inch OLED display
Storage	47 GB built-in memory; microSD card (up to 1 TB)

The Insta360 Luna Ultra is slightly larger and heavier than the leading models on the market. However, this difference is modest, and the camera remains compact and easy to carry. It even feels quite sturdy in the hand, without being bulky.

The most unique feature of this Luna Ultra is undoubtedly its detachable 2-inch OLED touchscreen. Once removed from the camera, it can serve as a remote control, a remote live view, and even a wireless microphone. According to Insta360, you can control the camera and view the live feed from up to 20 meters away—a range that many users report being able to exceed under ideal conditions.

Special attention has also been paid to ergonomics. The device features a clickable joystick for controlling the gimbal’s movements, a dedicated zoom slider, a record button, and two customizable buttons located below the screen. The interface is easy to learn and accessible even to beginners. User feedback has been generally positive, although some find the joystick slightly less precise than they would have liked.

Insta360 has also included several practical features. The compatible extension handles feature small metal tabs that allow the entire unit to be converted into a mini tabletop tripod. The camera also comes with a windscreen that attaches to the front of the rear microphone to improve outdoor audio recordings.

Finally, the Luna Ultra comes with 47 GB of internal storage, in addition to a microSD card slot that supports cards up to 1 TB. That’s enough to record about an hour of 4K video without needing to insert a memory card right away.

Insta360 Luna Ultra: Battery Life and Charging

Battery	Main battery: 1550 mAh Detachable touchscreen: 210 mAh
Autonomy	240 min
Recharge time	80% in 23 minutes

Battery life is one of the key features highlighted by Insta360. The Luna Ultra features a 1550 mAh battery in its main stabilizer, and the manufacturer claims up to 4 hours of recording on a single charge. This result was achieved under laboratory conditions while recording in 1080p at 24 fps.

In practice,actual battery life will naturally depend on many factors, such as the resolution used, the zoom level, the screen brightness, and the use of wireless features. However, initial user feedback has been generally positive and confirms that the battery life is particularly impressive for this type of camera.

The detachable touchscreen also has its own built-in 210 mAh battery. Insta360 does not provide an official battery life estimate for it, but several users report a runtime ofabout 30 minutes when the screen remains on continuously and is used as a remote live view.

Charging is also very fast. According to Insta360, the Luna Ultra reaches 80% battery charge in just 23 minutes using a compatible USB-C charger. This helps minimize downtime between shooting sessions and lets you get back to filming quickly.

Insta360 Luna Ultra: Features

Photo modes	Photo (Standard/UltraPhoto), Live Frame, Panorama
Video modes	Video, PureVideo, Slow Motion, Time-Lapse, TimeShift, Barrel Roll
Audio modes	Wind reduction, voice enhancement, original audio
Number of microphones	4 (3 on the stabilizer + 1 on the detachable screen)

Photo and video modes

The Insta360 Luna Ultra offers a particularly comprehensive set of shooting modes. On the photo side, it includes UltraPhoto and Live Frame modes, as well as a Panorama mode capable of producing high-resolution panoramic shots.

For video, the camera supports PureVideo, Slow Motion, Timelapse, TimeShift, and Barrel Roll modes, with the latter allowing for dynamic frame rotations inspired by FPV shots. PureVideo mode, meanwhile, is specifically designed to improve low-light performance through AI-assisted image processing.

Among the few missing features noted by several testers is Motionlapse, a feature that allows you to combine a time-lapse with automatic gimbal movement. This feature is available on some competing cameras and could potentially be added via a future software update.

Subject follow-up

The Luna Ultra features Deep Track 5.0 technology, which automatically tracks subjects. The camera can track a single person, a group of people, animals, objects, or even certain buildings and monuments.

When tracking a group, you can also select a specific person so that the camera keeps its focus on that person. This is a handy feature for preventing the camera from switching to another person when multiple people appear in the frame.

One of the most interesting features is the framing option. Users can precisely choose where to place the subject in the image using nine different positions arranged in a 3 × 3 grid. This means the subject doesn’t have to be centered in the frame, allowing for more creative compositions.

Another nice feature is that tracking continues to work with the camera’s various zoom levels, offering more freedom when shooting.

Audio

The Insta360 Luna Ultra features a system consisting of four microphones: three built into the camera and one built directly into the detachable touchscreen. The detachable touchscreen can thus be used as a wireless microphone, allowing the user’s voice to be captured from a distance without immediately requiring the purchase of an additional audio accessory.

The camera also offers several built-in audio processing features, including wind reduction,voice enhancement, and a native audio recording mode. A windscreen is also included as standard to minimize background noise during outdoor shoots.

Finally, the Luna Ultra can be paired directly with the Insta360 Mic Air and Insta360 Mic Pro wireless microphones for users who want to take audio quality to the next level.

Insta360 Luna Ultra: Image

Main Objective	1-inch sensor, 20 mm equivalent, f/1.8
Telephoto lens	1/1.3-inch sensor, 60 mm equivalent, f/2.0
Photo resolution	Up to 37 MP
Video resolution	8K up to 30 fps 4K up to 120 fps 3K up to 60 fps 2.7K up to 120 fps 1080p up to 240 fps
Digital zoom	Up to 12×
ISO range	100-6400
Photo format	jpg, jpg+RAW
Video format	MP4
Color profiles	Standard, Dolby Vision, 10-bit I-Log
Max. bit rate	120 Mbps

Sensors and resolutions

The Insta360 Luna Ultra stands out from most gimbal-stabilized cameras thanks to its dual-sensor system co-designed with Leica. On one side is a 1-inch main sensor paired with a 20 mm equivalent lens with an f/1.8 aperture, and on the other, a telephoto lens with a 1/1.3-inch sensor, a 60mm equivalent focal length, and an f/2.0 aperture.

This setup offers more framing options than a camera with a single lens. In particular, the telephoto lens allows you to capture closer shots and naturally enhance the background blur for a more cinematic look in portraits or certain close-ups.

The Luna Ultra can record up to 8K at 30 frames per second, shoot 4K at up to 120 fps, and reach up to 240 fps in 1080p for the most extreme slow-motion footage. On the side of still photos, the resolution can reach 37 megapixels, while a Panorama mode even allows you to capture images of up to 200 megapixels.

One of the main advantages of this dual-lens architecture is its zoom capability. The Luna Ultra offers five main framing levels: 1×, 2×, 3×, 6×, and 12×. The 2× and 6× levels rely on pixel binning from both sensors, while the 3× level directly utilizes the 60mm equivalent telephoto lens. Insta360 therefore considers the 2×, 3×, and 6× levels to be lossless or near-lossless zoom in most situations. The 12× level, on the other hand, corresponds to a more traditional digital zoom, which is useful for certain specific shots but offers more limited image quality.

Fans of close-ups will also appreciate the exceptionally short minimum focusing distances: just 9 cm for the main lens and 15 cm for the telephoto lens, making it easy to capture shots that are close to macro.

It’s worth noting, however,that there is no true full-sensor vertical video mode. Like the DJI Osmo Pocket, the Luna Ultra cannot physically rotate its sensor vertically and must therefore crop the image to produce videos for social media.

Image quality

Under good lighting conditions, the Insta360 Luna Ultra delivers a particularly impressive image. The 1-inch main sensor, paired with Leica optics, produces detailed, visually pleasing footage with rich colors and sharp contrast, in line with what Insta360 typically offers. Initial tests also highlight good dynamic range management—rated at 14 stops—which helps preserve more detail in both very bright areas and shadows.

Low-light performance, however, is one of the Luna Ultra’s most compelling features. In addition to its 1-inch main sensor, the camera relies on a triple-chip AI architecture as well as its PureVideo mode, which is specifically designed for low-light scenes. Available up to 4K at 60 fps, this mode reduces digital noise while enhancing brightness and detail reproduction. Various tests and comparisons show particularly impressive results, with bright images, natural colors, and a high level of detail that remains consistent even in low light.

The most discerning creators will also appreciate the addition of the I-Log profile, designed for those who want to edit their images themselves in post-production. This profile is paired with 10-bit recording—a first for an Insta360 camera of this type. This combination offers greater flexibility for adjusting colors, recovering details in highlights or shadows, and achieving a final result that more closely matches the creator’s vision.

The Luna Ultra also offers several built-in color presets, including six Insta360 profiles and three Leica profiles, allowing you to quickly achieve different image styles without having to go through a full editing process.

Insta360 Luna Ultra: Bundles and Prices

Standard package	729 €	See on Amazon
Creator Pack	€929	See on Amazon
Other theme packs	From €829 to €858

The Insta360 Luna Ultra starts at €729 for the Standard Bundle. This clearly premium positioning reflects the manufacturer’s ambitions for this dual-lens camera. At this price point, however, the Luna Ultra represents a significant investment and may not be within everyone’s budget.

The Standard Pack, priced at €729, includes the camera, a protective case, a windscreen, a handle with a 1/4” thread, and a wrist strap. The protective case also provides additional storage space for certain accessories, such as the Black Mist filter or the wide-angle lens.

For content creators, Insta360 also offers a Creator Pack for €929. This package includes an Insta360 Mic Pro, a wide-angle lens, a power grip with a built-in extra battery, and a carrying case, providing a more complete setup right out of the box.

The manufacturer also sells several themed packs designed for various uses:

• Endurance Pack (€829): Includes a power grip and a carrying case to extend battery life during long shooting sessions.
• Essentials Pack (€831): includes, among other things, a Black Mist filter and a carrying case.
• Vlog Bundle (€858): Includes an Insta360 Mic Air, a Black Mist filter, and a shoulder strap.
• POV Pack (€837): Includes a POV head-tracking accessory and a neck mount for hands-free shooting.

As is often the case with Insta360, the product lineup is particularly extensive, allowing everyone to choose a bundle that suits their needs.

Conclusion: Should You Buy the Insta360 Luna Ultra?

For its first foray into the market for pocket-sized cameras with gimbal stabilization, Insta360 has made quite an impact. Long dominated by DJI and its Osmo Pocket line, this segment finally has a credible competitor capable of bringing truly innovative ideas to the table rather than simply copying the existing formula.

Of course, the Luna Ultra builds on the key features that made the Pocket series a success: a compact design, three-axis mechanical stabilization, and impressive image quality. But Insta360 adds its own twist with several interesting innovations, starting with its dual-lens system and, most notably, its detachable touchscreen, which serves as a remote control, live view monitor, and wireless microphone all in one.

The result is a particularly versatile camera, capable of producing excellent footage both day and night thanks to its 1-inch main sensor, telephoto lens, PureVideo mode, and 10-bit I-Log profile. The generous battery life, numerous tracking features, and ecosystem of accessories round out a particularly well-rounded package.

However, not everything is perfect. The lack of Motionlapse may disappoint some users, and above all, the price is high. With a starting price of €729, the Luna Ultra represents a significant investment, making it primarily suited for content creators, vloggers, and users willing to invest in high-end equipment.

Despite this, this first generation is a success. More than just an alternative to the DJI Osmo Pocket, the Insta360 Luna Ultra is already establishing itself as one of the most compelling options in its category.

Who is the Insta360 Luna Ultra designed for?

The Insta360 Luna Ultra is primarily designed for content creators, vloggers, travelers, and users who want a compact camera capable of producing high-quality footage without the need for an external stabilizer.

It will be particularly well-suited for people who appreciate the variety of focal lengths offered by its dual-lens system, for users who regularly shoot in low light, and for those who want to take advantage of unique features such as the detachable touchscreen, which doubles as a remote control and wireless microphone.

On the other hand, casual users or those on a tighter budget will likely find better options elsewhere. The Luna Ultra is clearly a premium product designed for those who plan to take full advantage of its many creative possibilities.

💡 See also
➡️ The industry benchmark before the arrival of the Luna Ultra—find out everything you need to know about the DJI Osmo Pocket 4.
➡️ Prefer an ultra-compact mini camera? Discover our full review of the Insta360 GO 3S.