Overview#
Insta360 uses an own stabilization method on their consumer cameras. During the camera evolution starting with One, followed by OneX, OneR, OneX2 and - as a single lens camera - Go2 this stabilization method - called FlowState - has also evolved. With current devices FlowState 2.0 is used.
FlowState does not only provide stabilization data based on gyroscope data combined with an intelligent way to apply that to video data, it also includes a horizon levelling feature. By that it does not matter if the camera is turned around the lens axis, the view recorded will stay upright in any case. Related to 360° video and images this means the horizon line will be where it should be even if the camera is mounted in an angle or is moved around it axes.
FlowState 2.0#
Provides enhanced levelling and stabilization based on camera gyro data to
- level the horizon and stabilize the horizon line
- stabilize the video.
By that it's a kind of software based gimble which does a pretty amazing job. You can set / enable it in Insta360app and Studio2021 during editing after the recording is done.
Direction Lock#
This feature has two aspects it works with:
- It ensures the view follows the camera's motion and is not "locked" to the starting view direction
- It ensures the view is centred to the view of the primary lens
This ensures that the view follows the movements of the camera and is not independent of them. Unlike keyframes, this option also works for 360° videos and thus provides a kind of recommended default viewing direction.
SteadyCam (150°) / One Lens#
Pro Mode#
In this mode the mp4 created by the camera is enhanced by Insta360 metadata which includes gyro data for horizon correction and stabilization. By that you can change the display aspect ration during editing in the app or Studio2021. Furthermore you can change stabilization options to have horizon levelled or not. On the app you can also move the view point a little bit because the view recorded is the complete round fisheye view of the camera from which the 1440p is a cut out.
Basic Mode#
This mode saves a kind of standard mp4 with pre-selected display aspect ratio and applies a basic stabilization compared to "Pro" mode. The resulting mp4 file can directly be used in other tools without the need to be processed with Insta360app or Studio2021. Note that you can not change display aspect ratio or stabilization during edits, turning the camera will turn the view. For example having display aspect ration set to 16:9 but mounting the camera sideways like in the Power-Mount, you will get a 9:16 view.
Quick Flowstate#
This mode is used on OneR 1" and 4k modules. It is an upgrade to stabilization included in "Basic" mode and besides pro the choice for those modules since firmware v1.3.8. Like the "Basic" mode a mp4 file is saved with a pre-selected display aspect ratio ready to use in other tools with no need to process it with Insta360app or Studio2021.