I'll be honest, when I first picked up the Insta360 X5, I wasn't sure how much I'd actually use it on commercial jobs. My main camera does the heavy lifting, right? But after bringing it along to a shoot for Aus Venue Co, I've started treating it less like a bonus and more like a piece of kit I don't leave home without.
BTS from the Aus Venue Co shoot, captured on the Insta360 X5
The Shoot
Aus Venue Co hired me to come in and create content for them, the kind of clean, polished imagery that does the work on a website or socials. That part's my bread and butter. But while I was setting up shots and moving through the space, I had the X5 running in the background capturing everything, the behind-the-scenes moments, the in-between shots, the stuff that never makes it into the final gallery but tells a really honest story about how a shoot actually goes.
That BTS content? It's become some of my best-performing social media material. People love seeing the process. They want to know what goes into making those polished images. The X5 gives me that without asking me to do anything extra, I clip it somewhere, hit record, and forget about it while I focus on the actual job.
What the X5 Does That Nothing Else Can
The 360° thing sounds gimmicky until you actually use it. You can reframe the footage after the fact, pull out a wide shot, a close-up, a totally different angle, all from a single clip. On a commercial shoot where I'm already juggling a lot, that flexibility is massive.
The stabilisation is also genuinely impressive. Walking through a venue, moving between rooms, the footage comes out smooth without me needing a gimbal or a second operator. It just works.
"I clip it somewhere, hit record, and forget about it while I focus on the actual job."
And the image quality on the X5 is a big step up from what I expected. I'm not embarrassed to post this stuff. It holds its own.
BTS Content Is Part of the Job Now
If you're a photographer doing commercial work and you're not creating behind-the-scenes content, you're leaving a lot on the table. Clients love it, it builds your brand, and it shows potential clients what working with you actually looks like.
The Insta360 X5 makes that side of things almost effortless. It's not replacing my main camera, nothing's doing that, but it fills a gap I didn't fully appreciate until I had it filled.
Get the Insta360 X5
If you're thinking about picking one up, use code INRIX8Q for a discount at checkout.
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