I’ve been using Insta360’s Luna Ultra for the past few weeks, and I’ve even been able to put it up against its biggest rival, the DJI Osmo Pocket 4. Like DJI’s Osmo, the Luna Ultra is a handheld gimbal-stabilized camera aimed at vloggers and YouTube creators wanting higher-quality, smoother-looking footage than you’re able to get from a phone camera.
As a YouTube creator myself, I’ve used DJI’s Osmo Pocket 3 all over the world — including filming up in the frozen Swedish Arctic — so I was extremely keen to get my hands on the Insta360 competitor. Sporting dual cameras, the Luna Ultra has beaten DJI to the punch, as DJI has confirmed that it’s also launching a dual-camera version of the Osmo, named the Osmo Pocket 4P.
As of right now, though, the Luna Ultra has a significant one-up over DJI with its second lens, but that’s not the only thing Insta360 has on its side.
The biggest win for Insta360 is that you can actually buy the Luna Ultra in the US. Due to ongoing restrictions from the US government, DJI’s products are tricky to get hold of. While DJI’s drones have been banned for sale in the US, the company’s other products — including the Osmo range — are subject to Federal Communications Commission regulations that, at the very least, delay their availability in the US.
The two lenses of the Luna Ultra (left) and the single camera lens of the Osmo Pocket 4 (right).
DJI has officially stated that the Pocket 4 “will not be available in the US market as the application for authorization is still pending.” Arguably, that word “pending” suggests that things could change, but at the time of writing, the Pocket 4 doesn’t even appear on DJI’s US website. Major retailers like B&H Photo and Best Buy only have the older Pocket 3 on sale.
But the Luna Ultra is subject to no such restrictions and will be freely available to buy. Both aforementioned retailers have it listed as “coming soon,” with a starting price of $770 for the standard model or $970 for the Creator Bundle, which includes a battery grip and a wireless microphone. That makes it more expensive than the Osmo, which starts at £445 (which roughly converts to $597), but its more advanced features might make it worthwhile.
For US shoppers wanting a great vlogging camera, which one is “best” in my testing is something of a moot point, as you can only buy one of them anyway. The Luna Ultra wins by default in that sense. But for those of you interested in how these two stack up in real-world use, let’s dive in.
Insta360 Luna Ultra: Detachable display wins over DJI
One of the most innovative features of the Luna Ultra is that the whole front panel of the camera clips off, essentially giving you a remote control and external monitor for your shots. You can control every function of the camera as though it were still attached. It’s super convenient if you’re trying to set your camera up in a position that would make it difficult to see the screen.
I do this often when I’m vlogging, as I will frequently set my camera up on a tripod or attach it to a fence or a tree branch so I can walk through a scene; being able to easily adjust my framing and start and stop recording is a real blessing. Sure, I previously did this with my Pocket 3 using the DJI Mimo app, which gives me wireless control via my phone. But it’s a much longer process of setting up the connection with the app each time you want to use it; that’s a real time suck on a busy day, especially when I can end up doing that around 20 times when I’m filming on location.
Maybe it’s a bit of a gimmick, but I found the Luna’s detachable display a genuinely useful feature for creative filmmaking.
With the Luna Ultra, I simply detach the control panel, wait a few seconds for the Bluetooth connection to establish and then I carry on as normal. It’s not always a super-stable connection, and I have had it drop a couple of times in my weeks of testing. But I am using an early unit with preproduction software, so I can forgive some of this as simply teething troubles.
And as a side note, I’m glad I don’t have to use the Insta360 app with the camera because it could use some serious streamlining. While it technically works, it looks more like a social media app with trending videos being pushed and pop-ups for new things to buy getting in the way of actual filming.
Luna Ultra vs. Osmo Pocket 4: Video quality
The Luna Ultra’s video quality is solid, but you do need to put in some effort to get the best out of it. In its standard mode with default settings, the footage is quite overprocessed. The footage captured has a lot of contrast — sometimes enough to blow out highlights in bright clouds, while shadows can be lifted too much, at least for my taste. It ends up looking more like the sort of video you’d expect from a midrange Android phone: It’s fine for some vibrant social media posts, but it’s not going to get professionals excited.
The Osmo Pocket 4’s video in default settings can also look a little over the top at times, but typically less so than the Luna Ultra in my experience. I haven’t noticed blown-out highlights from the Osmo, and the colors generally look more true to life.
In this screenshot from a video taken in the Luna’s default mode, it’s clear that the high contrast has resulted in the clouds being almost blown out.
But before you cancel your Luna order, let me tell you about a workaround that changes everything. It allows you to shoot in a flat Log color profile called iLog; it basically omits all of the in-built software processing and leaves you with a low contrast, low saturation video file. The idea is that you take this file into an editor like Adobe Premiere or DaVinci Resolve and apply a color conversion lookup table, also known as a LUT, and any of your own edits to get exactly the look you want.
This workflow is more in line with professional cinematography productions, where color grading in postproduction is the norm. I found that Luna’s footage looks so much better when manually graded, with none of the blown-out highlights I noticed in the standard mode. With more control over the color, I was able to tune the tones completely to my own tastes, creating a much more natural look than the camera was able to achieve by itself.
By shooting in Log and then applying a LUT color conversion in Adobe Premiere, I’ve been able to achieve a much more natural-looking image from the Luna. Notice how the clouds are no longer over exposed. It’s a great base for a more creative color grade to go on top, should I want to take it further.
The Osmo Pocket 4 also has its own Log color profile, and the results are much the same: greater dynamic range for protected highlights and much better control over colors. It really comes down to how much effort you’re willing to put into your footage. If you want the best results, you need to factor in a degree of editing into your workflow. And when it comes to the quality of graded footage, I honestly don’t think there’s much to choose between them. Shooting in Log is absolutely the best way to maximize the quality you can achieve from each camera’s 1-inch image sensors.
Both are pretty solid when it comes to shooting at night. While I preferred the colors from the Osmo’s night footage, the Luna Ultra produced noticeably clearer video with less image noise. Overall, the Luna impressed me more for low-light filming.
Luna Ultra vs. Osmo Pocket 4: Film looks
Both cameras have a variety of color filters built in that are designed to give you a more cinematic feel in your footage without spending any time in post. Insta360 worked with iconic camera maker Leica for the Luna, and I was thrilled to see some of Leica’s film looks built in — especially Leica Chrome, which I use almost exclusively on my actual Leica Q3 43 camera.
The preset isn’t identical to what I see on my Q3, but the various Leica looks are fun to experiment with, especially if you just want a vibrant shot to send to your friends without having to apply effects in post.
The Leica Chrome look on the Luna Ultra gives the colors a nice look, but it still has quite a bit of contrast. The film presets are fun to play around with, at least, but if you’re serious about creating a look in your footage, you’re better off doing it in post.
The Osmo Pocket 4 also introduced a handful of film looks, too, including a warming filter and a cinematic look. By default, most of these go pretty hard on their effects, resulting in quite unnatural-looking shots, but you can turn down the intensity if you’re not keen. Personally, I prefer the Luna’s shooting styles, but if you’re especially keen on getting a really cinematic look, then you’re better off shooting in Log and editing it yourself in post anyway.
Luna Ultra vs. Osmo Pocket 4: Zoom lens
The Luna Ultra beat DJI to the punch by equipping its camera with a second lens offering 3x optical zoom. While DJI has teased its dual-lens Osmo Pocket 4P, the standard Pocket 4 I have has just the one wide-angle lens. There is now the option to use a 2x zoom — along with a physical zoom button — but it’s essentially just a digital zoom, where a slight, but noticeable, drop in quality is present when it’s used.
Shot at 6x hybrid zoom, I’m impressed at how much detail the Luna Ultra has retained.
With its dedicated zoom lens, the Ultra absolutely takes the win here. At 3x optical zoom, footage looks crisp, and I’ve even been impressed at the results when I digitally zoom in further to 6x. It makes the camera a more full-featured production setup as it allows you to get compositions and angles not achievable with a single fixed wide-angle lens.
Luna Ultra vs. Osmo Pocket 4: Slow motion
Slow-motion video on the Luna Ultra tops out at 120 frames per second at 4K, which is a step behind the 240 frames per second at 4K offered by the Osmo Pocket 4 (though both are way behind the astonishing 960fps of the GoPro Mission 1 Pro). If high-speed shooting is your thing, then the Pocket 4 has the Luna beat, but overall, I’m not sure it’s that big of a deal.
At 120fps, the Luna’s slow motion isn’t bad at all. (Note that the highly compressed gif doesn’t show true quality.)
But the extra slow motion of the Osmo Pocket 4 does look really cool for fast action shots like these pigeons. (Note that the highly compressed gif doesn’t show true quality.)
The 120fps frame rate is common for cinematic-looking, slow-motion shots, especially when paired with dynamic camera movements. Sure, 240fps allows for even slower shots, but it’s a much more niche application that may simply not be of use for many. If you shoot a lot of action (think rally cars powersliding around gravel tracks or close-ups on horses jumping over fences), then that extra speed might be useful. But for everyday vlogging, I don’t see a huge benefit in going beyond 120fps.
Luna Ultra vs. Osmo Pocket 4: Stabilization and tracking
Stabilization from the Luna is on par with the Osmo. It easily smooths out footsteps when walking and recording, and it allows for cinematic camera movements with no visible jerkiness. You can track a subject by tapping on it (including keeping your face in frame if you’re speaking into the camera). Plus, it allows you to customize the tracking further by selecting where in the frame you’d like the subject to be kept.
For example, when I rigged the camera up inside my car to capture some footage of me driving, I wanted to be framed in the left third with my head closer to, but not touching, the top of the frame. The vast majority of the time, I found it kept me in frame well, only losing the tracking when I walked far away.
Both cameras have good subject tracking skills, though the Luna Ultra (as screenshotted here) allows for more customization of where your subject appears in frame.
Both cameras annoy me with how jumpy their tracking can be, though. If I set them up on a tripod and stand in front of the camera presenting a section, any movement of my head will cause the camera to slightly adjust its position to keep me in the right spot. This results in footage looking a little jerky as the camera makes these frequent small adjustments.
Both cameras suffer from this — as did DJI’s Osmo Pocket 3 before it — and I’d love to see an option whereby I’m offered an adjustable tracking area in the frame and the camera only moves when I leave that area.
Luna Ultra vs. Osmo Pocket 4: Audio quality
The built-in mics on both cameras are surprisingly adept at capturing sound while minimizing background noise and wind interference. And both were good at picking up my voice when I was holding them up and talking to the camera. But both models also natively support wireless mics from their respective brands, and you should definitely look toward these if you’re considering them for presenting in front of the camera.
The DJI Osmo Pocket 4 with the Mic Mini is a clear winner when it comes to audio for a number of reasons. Firstly, the actual quality is higher, with better reduction of background noise (like passing cars or wind) and a better isolation of my voice, giving clear tones whether I was speaking directly toward the mic or if I was looking away but still talking.
DJI’s mic is smaller, captures better audio and automatically reconnects every time you turn the camera off. It’s a clear win here.
The bundled Insta360 Mic Pro with the Luna Ultra’s Creator combo does a good job of capturing clean audio, but it’s just not quite as good as the DJI mic. What does bug me, though, is that the Luna and its mic require manually pairing every single time you turn the camera off. I found this infuriating, as I would have to go into the menu, swipe to the mic section and tap Connect — and then would have to repeat this dozens and dozens of times throughout the day as I turn the camera on and off.
It’s a small quality-of-life issue and one I’m confident can — and will — be solved with a software update, but it’s annoying enough for me that I’d be more likely to reach for my Pocket 4 for a day of vlogging. With that, as long as the mic is turned on, the camera will automatically reestablish connection as soon as it’s turned on.
Luna Ultra vs. Osmo Pocket 4: Battery life and storage
Both models feature roughly 1,550-milliampere-hour batteries, and you can expect to get around 2 to 4 hours of use from each one, depending on what you’re doing. If you only shoot the odd few clips throughout your day, then you probably won’t struggle to capture your whole day out. But for someone like me who shoots hours of clips throughout a day, the extended battery grip for both models is a must.
The extended battery grip adds on at least an extra couple of hours of run time, meaning I’ve not worried about running out of juice once I get into the afternoon. The battery grip is included in the Luna Ultra Creator bundle, but it’s sold as a £59 ($79) extra for the Pocket 4. The handles also equip both cameras with standard 1/4-20 tripod mounts, while the Luna Ultra’s also feature some (very flimsy-feeling) foldout wire legs to allow it to stand upright on a flat surface.
The battery handle adds at least an extra couple of hours of shooting time. The Luna Ultra’s also has these spindly little legs which do at least help it stand up on a table.
Both models offer some in-built storage: The Luna Ultra offers 47 gigabytes while the Pocket 4 provides a much more generous 107GB. While I’d still take at least a couple of high-capacity microSD cards for both cameras on a long weekend of filming, having at least some storage built in can be a real lifesaver if you head out to shoot and leave your memory card still stuck inside your computer at home. Trust me, it happens.
Luna Ultra vs. Osmo Pocket 4: Which should you buy?
Well, if you’re in the US, then the answer is easy: Buy the Insta360 Luna Ultra. Not necessarily because it’s the best, but because it’s readily available, unlike the Osmo Pocket 4. At least not officially.
Availability aside, the Luna Ultra does still have a hell of a lot going for it. Its detachable screen is a unique and genuinely useful feature that immediately makes it stand out against the DJI. The addition of the second zoom lens makes it a more well-rounded camera setup for solo creators. Although with DJI poised to launch its dual-lens Pocket 4P, the Luna Ultra will have increased competition here.
Both great cameras. But only one of them is easy to buy.
The Osmo Pocket 4 takes the edge when it comes to overall image quality, except at night, where the Luna’s noise processing excels, though to get the best from both models requires shooting in Log and spending time doing some color grading. The audio quality from DJI’s wireless mic is better, and its ability to automatically reconnect is a feature I never even knew I relied on. Those wanting epic slow motion shots are better served by the Osmo, too.
Overall, it’s tricky to say that one is absolutely better than the other as each model has benefits in different ways, but the Insta360’s detachable screen and zoom lens certainly make it a compelling choice.
