Insta360 has unveiled Insta360 Connect, an AI-equipped dual-camera video bar built for professional video conferencing.
While this new camera is a bit outside PetaPixel‘s typical wheelhouse, it is an exciting bit of camera tech from a company best known for its 360-degree action cameras, like the Insta360 X4. Clearly, Insta360 is undoubtedly no stranger to interesting cameras. It is also familiar with webcam applications, as Insta360 launched an AI-equipped 4K webcam in 2022, the Insta360 Link.
The Insta360 Connect boasts a dual 4K camera setup that comprises a wide-angle camera and a telephoto gimbal camera. The two cameras work together to provide high-resolution, wider group shots and individual close-ups of a presenter or speaker.
The Connect combines 4K cameras with AI Resolution+, which Insta360 describes as a machine-learning algorithm that “transforms image quality and detail.” This helps punch in even further on a distant speaker, ensuring they are “in double resolution for remote interactions that feel like the real thing.”
Audio is a significant part of meetings and presentations, and the Insta360 Connect has a 14-microphone array and 3D audio algorithm. Insta360 promises “better-quality audio capture” and says the Connect can pick up voices from up to 10 meters (33 feet) away with balanced volume and good clarity.
The camera also includes adaptive audio that can eliminate unwanted sounds and distractions, and “intelligent noise reduction technology” analyzes the acoustic environment to correct for reverb in real time.
As has been seen with various cameras, like Canon’s PowerShot Pick PTZ camera, the Insta360 Connect uses subject tracking capabilities to keep the speaker in the center of the frame. The company says Connect uses multi-modal recognition technology, resulting in more accurate tracking performance. The camera monitors all participants simultaneously, ensuring quick transitions as speakers change.
Sometimes, a presentation requires looking at an area aside from the speaker, which is where Whiteboard Mode comes in. When in this mode, Connect will square off and focus on a whiteboard area and can reconstruct the whiteboard even if a participant temporarily blocks the camera.
Insta360 Connect “is the perfect solution for business and professionals demanding uncompromised video conferencing quality,” Insta360 promises. The Insta360 Connect will arrive in the fourth quarter of this year and is available to preorder now. Insta360 is requiring a $100 down payment, but this will deduct $200 from the final launch price, which has yet to be disclosed.
Image credits: Insta360