Akaso may not carry GoPro’s brand recognition, but the firm’s affordable line of action cameras has built up a cult following in recent years. The sensor’s near-square native aspect ratio enables horizontal and vertical clips to be easily cropped out of the same shot. While I’d still recommend shooting a little wide to maximise your framing options, the camera’s super high resolution 5.3K recordings give you plenty to work with. Specs – Sensor: 1/1.7in CMOS; Sensor pixels: 64 megapixels; Max recording resolution: 4K (60fps); AV connections: Apple Lightning output, USB Type-C output; Size (HWD): 125 x 38 x 30mm (total); Weight: 117g; Waterproof: No When it comes to small, lightweight cameras, few devices come close to rivalling the Insta360 Go 2. Little larger than a thumb and weighing a paltry 27g, the Go 2 can go places that more traditional action cameras simply can’t. Both the 4K and 360-degree lenses produce crisp, vivid footage and Insta360’s FlowState stabilisation is effective at taming even the jerkiest of clips. The One RS even offers full-360-degree horizon levelling – although this does require applying after the fact using Inst360’s app.

For more traditional videos, you also have the option of using a single lens and engaging GoPro’s incredible Max HyperSmooth stabilisation. Max HyperSmooth is not only capable of keeping your footage incredibly stable but it also offers a full 360 degrees of Horizon Leveling correction, ensuring your videos remain perfectly level too. The new HyperView view mode is also very interesting. Squashing the full 8:7 sensor image into a standard 16:9 frame, this mode is able to create videos with an ultra-wide feel, compressing the vertical plane and giving the impression that the horizontal plane has been stretched. While this won’t work for every shot – the distortion is quite noticeable on people and faces – it does add to the intensity of fast-paced action. Offering competitive specs at a competitive price point, the DJI Osmo Action 3 is an excellent alternative to the traditional GoPro Hero. While it can’t quite match the GoPro’s top-end 5K recording options, with 4K video capture at up to 120fps, it’s certainly not far behind.

New Sensor with Higher Resolution and Good Image Quality

The Insta360 One X3 can also be run in a more traditional single-lens mode for capturing 4K clips at up to 30fps. It’s also capable of creating impressive 72-megapixel photospheres. If you’re looking for a high-quality, keenly-priced GoPro alternative, the DJI Osmo Action 3 is the real deal. The camera is compatible with the standard Insta360 One RS Core module, so existing One RS owners can save by pairing the 1-inch camera, battery and handle modules with their existing Core. Given GoPro is renowned for point-and-shoot simplicity, this feature is therefore a little niche. It's also slightly at odds with the fact that GoPro doesn't offer any desktop editing software, and is instead funneling everyone towards its Quik app instead. But it's definitely something that'll please pro shooters who are looking to drop GoPro footage into a timeline shot by more advanced video cameras. I will note, however, that it would be nice to have some in-camera 16:9 grid lines to overlay whilst filming in 8:7. As it is, GoPro only offers some basic rule of thirds guides, which leaves you guessing as to how to frame your shots.

The Insta360 One RS 1-inch 360 Edition is certainly not going to appeal to everyone. It’s larger and heavier than the Insta360 One X2, offers limited IPX3 water resistance and carries a hefty price tag. For demanding users looking to bump the quality of their 360 videos, however – especially those already invested in the Insta360 One R and One RS ecosystem – it’s well worth considering. If you intend on filming in or around water then water resistance is essential. Most modern action cameras offer some degree of water resistance straight out of the box but we’d always recommend being conservative with depth limits and following the manufacturer’s recommendations. If you’re looking for a flagship action camera that can do it all, few devices come close to matching the flexibility of the Insta360 One RS. Video recording is supported up to 4K60, stills can be shot up to an impressive 64-megapixels and there are creative modes for producing hyperlapses, timelapses and panoramas. The camera can be used standalone or you can connect it directly to your smartphone to take advantage of your phone’s larger display. DJI’s smartphone app also allows you to share and edit your clips on the go.For well over a decade now, GoPro’s flagship Hero line has defined the action camera genre. And, while we’re certainly fans of GoPro’s current camera lineup, the firm rarely strays far from its tried and tested formula. The best GoPro alternatives offer a different take, with specifications, features and designs that may better cater to the kind of subjects you plan to film or the environments you plan to record in. Key specs – Sensor: 1 x 1in; Sensor pixels: 21 megapixels; Max recording resolution: 6K (30fps); AV connections: USB-C; Size (WDH): 53 x 50 x 129mm; Weight: 239g; Waterproof: No (IPX3 only) The Max makes capturing superb-quality video and nd sharing the footage a breeze. 360 videos are stitched automatically in-camera, you can then opt to upload the files to YouTube as interactive videos that users can pan and zoom around in, or “reframe” the footage using GoPro’s smartphone or desktop app. Reframing allows you to take your favourite angles from within the 360 clip and export them as standard video files – essentially, it’s like filming with multiple cameras at once.

The benefit of this approach is that, rather than taking a crop from a horizontal frame, you still maintain very high image quality with the vertical exports. For example, if you shoot in 8:7 and export a 9:16 vertical video from that footage, its resolution will be about 20% higher than 4K. So this feature is certainly a big boon for social media creators, particularly those posting on platforms that are stylistically different like YouTube and TikTok. Built off of Insta360’s modular One RS platform, the RS 1-inch Edition is the firm’s most capable consumer 360 camera yet. Featuring a pair of 1-inch imaging sensors and lenses designed in partnership with Leica, the 1-inch 360 Edition supports 360 video recording at up to 6K30 and can capture 360 still images at up to 21MP.The camera sports both front and rear-facing colour LCD displays, is waterproof to 10m without the need for an additional housing and is compatible with GoPro’s latest Mod accessories, including the Max Lens Mod. Rather than using GoPro’s classic 4:3 native aspect ratio, the Hero 11 comes with a nearly-square 8:7 chip. Combined with the camera’s high-resolution 5.3K recording options, this should allow creators to cut landscape and vertical videos from the same take. Key specs – Sensor: 1/2.3in CMOS; Sensor pixels: 9 megapixels; Max recording resolution: 1440p (50fps); AV connections: USB Type-C; Size (HWD): 60 x 24 x 21mm (total); Weight: 27g; Waterproof: 4M The One RS 1-inch 360 Edition’s image quality is excellent, with the larger 1-inch sensors providing a noticeable detail boost over the older One X2 in lower light situations. The camera’s image stabilisation is also superb and there’s support for full 360-degree horizon levelling. He is a Fellow of The Royal Society of Arts, holds a Foundation Degree in Equitation Science and is a Master of Arts in Publishing. He is member of Nikon NPS and has been a Nikon user since the film days using a Nikon F5 and saw the digital transition with Nikon's D series cameras and is still to this day the youngest member to be elected in to BEWA, The British Equestrian Writers' Association.