Insta360 Intros Leica-Branded 360 Lens for One RS

pcmag.com:

Insta360 is adding a new lens for its modular One R and One RS action cameras. The new dual-lens camera captures 360-degree footage at 6K quality and uses oversized 1-inch sensors and Leica-branded optics, bettering the smartphone-sized sensors used by the basic One RS 360 camera, reviewed earlier this year. The One RS core supports swappable lens modules, a difference-making feature when comparing with other action cams.

The new module is called the One RS 1-Inch 360 Edition and is available a la carte for current One RS owners for $649.99, or in a kit along with the camera core module for $799.99 for customers who don't already own the modular RS action camera. The add-on also works with the original One R Core.

The first thing existing One RS owners will notice about the 1-Inch 360 Edition lens module is its form factor. It changes the shape of the One RS camera a bit. With its basic 360 camera, the RS is shaped much like a GoPro, with screen to the side of the lens.

With the 1-Inch Edition the lens sits on top, with the Core processing and display module below it, and the camera battery below the Core. This vertical arrangement better matches up with fixed-lens 360-degree cameras like the Ricoh Theta series and matches the form factor of the Insta360 One X. With spherical 360-degree video it doesn't matter if you hold the camera vertically or horizontally.

The 1-Inch Edition sports dual Leica Super-Summicron lenses, each backed with a 1-inch class image sensor. This type of sensor is about four times larger (in terms of surface area) than the imagers used by most smartphone cameras and the basic dual-lens module that's bundled with the One RS.

A bigger sensor has some real advantages for imaging—we expect to see