📷 Insta360 X5 vs X4 (2025): The Ultimate Showdown in 360 Cameras for Canadian Creators

📷 Insta360 X5 vs X4 (2025): The Ultimate Showdown in 360 Cameras for Canadian Creators

Posted by Gear for Greatness

I remember the first time I held the Insta360 X4 in my hands — that feeling of “finally, I can capture everything around me without missing a moment.” It felt like unlocking a new way of seeing Winnipeg, from the river walks to those crisp downtown mornings where the skyline almost glows. But when the X5 came out, that excitement came back all over again, except this time it hit harder. The X5 felt like someone had taken all the things I loved about the X4 and sharpened them — more light, more stability, more detail, more room to breathe in the shadows. It’s wild how a camera upgrade can make you feel like your city suddenly looks different, like the same streets have new stories hidden inside them. 🎥✨

I spent days switching between the two — filming sunsets along Provencher Bridge, biking around The Forks, even capturing those quiet late-afternoon timelapse moments when the sky moves slower than you expect. With the X4, the footage always looked clean and dependable, almost like a solid baseline for 360 shooting. But the X5… the X5 felt alive. Those larger sensors pulled in more colour and texture, especially when the sun dipped low. Shadows didn’t just sit there anymore — they had detail, shape, mood. And PureVideo Mode honestly surprised me the most; it made low-light scenes feel like they were meant to be shot that way, not fought against. The X4 never disappointed me, but the X5 made me want to revisit places I thought I’d already filmed to death. 🌅🔮

Something else I felt right away was the endurance difference. The X5 kept rolling long after I expected it to stop — something Canadian creators really notice because cold weather drains batteries fast. When I walked through downtown in early fall, shooting cloud movements and wide-angle rotations, the X4 battery dipped quicker, while the X5 still felt like it had more to give. Little things, like charging speed and waterproofing, don’t sound like much on paper until you're in the field juggling gear while the wind bites your fingers. The X5 just feels built for those unpredictable days — the ones where Winnipeg throws three seasons at you in six hours. 🍁❄️🌤️

And I’ll be honest — having replaceable lens guards on the X5 is a massive sigh of relief. The amount of times I brushed the X4 lens against a railing or clipped it getting into my backpack is embarrassing, but it happens. The X5 gives you this quiet confidence — like it's ready to take a few hits while you focus on actually filming. That matters when you're chasing a moment and not babysitting your gear. The little quality-of-life upgrades like InstaFrame and Twist-to-Shoot sound gimmicky until you’ve used them during a bike ride or while adjusting angles on the move. Suddenly they feel like they were designed by someone who films the way I do — fast, reactive, trusting the gear to keep up. 🚲⚡

Even going back in the edit, the difference shows up. The X5 footage feels richer when I reframe it in Insta360 Studio — smoother transitions, better highlight retention, colours that feel more “true.” The X4 is still fantastic, don’t get me wrong, but the X5 gives me this sense of not settling. It’s the camera that makes me want to stay out longer, chase more light, and push harder into moments I might’ve skipped a year ago. Both cameras have their place in my kit — but only one feels like it’s nudging me forward. 📍🌆

📷 Insta360 X5 vs X4 (2025): The Ultimate Showdown in 360 Cameras for Canadian Creators

📦 Buy on Amazon USA

Insta360 X5

Insta360 X4

🌄 Final Thoughts

What struck me as I shot with both cameras is how much a small upgrade can shift your entire mindset. The X4 feels like that dependable friend — the one who shows up, stays steady, and gets the job done without fuss. But the X5? It feels like a creative invitation. Like it’s daring you to do more with the moment — to shoot past sunset, to capture more detail, to go somewhere with a bit more risk, a bit more character. The extra battery life, deeper shadows, and sharper slow motion didn’t just give me better footage… they pulled me deeper into the process.

I realized pretty quickly that choosing between these two cameras isn’t just about specs. It’s about the way each one makes you feel when you’re shooting. The X4 reminds me of where my 360 journey really took off — those early days of reframing the world and realizing I could show viewers an angle they didn’t expect. But the X5 feels like who I am now — more confident, more intentional, more invested in the story behind each clip. That shift alone says everything.

What I love most is how these cameras capture time in ways traditional cameras just can’t. The way the X5 pulls in dusk light feels almost symbolic — like it’s built to hold onto moments that would otherwise slip away. The way the X4 bends the world into smooth hyperlapses still feels like magic. Shooting with both reminded me that creation is really a form of time travel: you’re freezing motion, bending perspective, and leaving behind little versions of yourself scattered across your timeline.

If I had to sum it up, I’d say the X4 is the camera that taught me how to explore my world… and the X5 is the one that makes me want to explore it deeper.

🛒 Buy on Amazon Canada

Insta360 X5

Insta360 X4