Two days ago, the typhoon in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai blew a little fiercely.
Originally, Tony was a fat house who didn't like to go out.,As a result, I caught up with a typhoon during the holidays.,I had to squat at home and play games to watch the live broadcast or something.。。。
Live broadcast is indeed a common thing, but these days during the holiday are idle anyway, Tony, who has a bit of an occupational disease, found that there are different types of live broadcast rooms, and the painting style looks quite different.
For example, the anchor who takes the route of appearance, focuses on a high-definition lossless picture quality, and the game anchor focuses on a person who can watch it...
Twitch - niki / space
One of these is that the live broadcast needs are different, and the other is related to the cost of live broadcast equipment and the quality of the camera.
According to Tony's less rich live broadcast experience, a slightly more professional live broadcast team will basically have a series of live broadcast equipment such as cameras, microphones, debugging consoles, etc., and some even have special hands to operate the camera...
Mobile phones can broadcast anywhere, but if you want to create a live broadcast room that makes the audience feel comfortable, you have to have a camera and fill lights to look better.
So looking at it this way, it seems that it is not an easy task to create a high-quality live broadcast with sound and picture?
This problem may not have been easy before, but Tony quickly remembered that he received a very interesting new product two days ago, and it really solved so many complicated problems in the live broadcast process...
This new product is the new product created by Insta360 specifically for live streaming, Insta360 Link 2.
Insta360 is a brand that everyone should be familiar with, and their panoramic action camera series has become a frequent visitor to our editorial department, plus thumb cameras and action cameras, it has become the "three musketeers" of the editorial department.
Not only our editorial department, but also many colleagues who do self-media also like to buy these cameras to make content, and Tony sometimes even uses "cyber prosthetics for self-media people" to describe this company...
And this feeling has also continued to the new Link 2 this time, Tony has been using it for the past few days, and he feels that the media friends who do live broadcasts may have to think about this little guy.
Because Insta360 Link 2 has the potential to become an emerging force in the field of live video streaming in the coming period.
Of course, many people have the same question as me when they first see it: what can a camera do?
But it turns out that we still underestimate Insta360, because they can be said to have put all the experience they have accumulated in the field of imaging and AI in the last few years into this live camera.
As I said at the beginning of the article, all the live broadcast rooms with a good look and feel must have been carefully prepared, but the equipment alone can stump many anchors who don't know about digital products...
What is the best choice for mobile phones? How to use the microphone? How to do the sound card? Do you want to buy a camera? Where does the tripod go? How do you get so many wires? What do I do when I'm connected to my computer?。。。
That's where Link 2 comes in, because Insta360 wants to solve your streaming worries with this small camera and a single cable.
Gear like cameras, tripods, chargers, sound cards, microphones, capture cards, and a power cord are all needed.
Don't underestimate this camera.,Just this built-in gimbal.,It's already not in the same dimension as the usual camera.。。。
Not only the gimbal, Link 2 also supports 4K image quality, intelligent tracking, real-time bokeh, AI noise reduction, and other functions that can be used during live broadcasting.
再搭配官方的 Insta360 Link Controller 客户端
(Available for Windows and Mac), which covers almost every kind of features you can and can't imagine.
For example, Tony strongly recommends that streamers turn on the AI tracking function, and when they turn it on, the camera will recognize faces and automatically follow them, so that you won't deviate from the frame.
You can also zoom in and out of the screen by making gestures directly, and you don't need to use the mouse to operate it.
These features are very suitable for those who do yoga, dance and sports-related streamers, so you don't have to worry about running off the screen, and you can focus on live streaming.
Not only that, but it also supports multi-person tracking, even multi-person live broadcasts have a good tracking effect, and you can also frame the tracking range, and will not track the location that is out of range.
The Link 2 also uses the same PDAF phase focus technology as the camera, which will be familiar to those who play with cameras a lot, and in short, the focus speed is blazing fast.
So even if you use it for live streaming, it's no problem at all, and the focusing speed is still quite fast.
Link 2 can also use algorithms to simulate the bokeh effect of the camera, which is a bit similar to the feeling of portrait mode on our phones.
If you feel that the scene behind you is a bit messy, then you can turn on the background blur.
In fact, at this point, Link 2 is a 4K phase focus camera with its own gimbal, which can already meet the live broadcast needs of a considerable number of people, but this time it didn't even let go of the audio...
Seeing such a large radio filter on the top of the camera, you know that its radio quality will not be bad.
Not only does Link 2 come with a sound that rivals professional microphones, but it also offers different audio modes just like the iPhone 16 Pro, so you can choose whether you want to cancel noise or preserve the sounds around you.
At this time, some poor friends should have discovered Huadian, and now many platforms are live broadcasts on vertical screens, but you are a 16 : 9 composition, so what should you do?
As a result, Insta360 has already predicted your prediction, and another feature of Link 2 is that it supports 4K native image quality in both landscape and portrait orientation, and will not sacrifice image quality by cropping it into portrait screen.
All you need to do is find a tripod with a 1/4 threaded port, put the Link 2 on it, and turn the camera 90 degrees to turn on the lossless 4K portrait mode, which is almost not difficult.
In other words, whether it is a live broadcast platform with a majority of horizontal screens such as Station B and Douyu, or a live broadcast platform with a majority of vertical screens such as Douyin and Xiaohongshu, Link 2 has it all.
However, in addition to the above features, Tony's personal favorite is actually the desktop overhead shot.
This feature is perfect for those of us who need to show off the box and product details, just adjust the lens to a downward tilt angle, and click on the desktop to take a shot with one click.
This overhead feature is also especially suitable for those who play games, because many streamers don't aim the camera at their face in order to show off their actions, but instead shoot the keyboard and mouse.
In this case, Link 2's desktop overhead shooting can solve this need with one click.
Of course, this may also be done to prove that you are not open...
So Link 2's mission is simple: it's the easiest way to get high-quality live streams, and it's very versatile.
How wide is it? In addition to live streaming, Link 2 can also be used for meetings and online classes...
After all, even the environment of live broadcast can be competent, and it is definitely not a problem to have a meeting.
And Insta360 really thought of this.,Specially made a whiteboard mode.,Just so that you can see what is written in front of you when you're in a meeting.。。。
Although using Link 2 will feel like overkill, for some professions that have high requirements for their own image, the image of video conferencing is really important, and it is not a problem to get a camera with the best image quality.
Moreover, Tencent Meeting, DingTalk Meeting, Feishu Conference, etc., which are commonly used by major companies, are all adapted, and there is zero threshold for plug and play.
So looking at this, you will find that this is another Insta360 camera launched based on the market segment, which has made its own features while maintaining the advantages of simplicity and ease of use.
By the way, its price is 1398 yuan, while the Link 2C without a gimbal is 998 yuan, not to mention the camera, which is even cheaper than the price of many mobile phones.
That's why Tony feels it's going to be an emerging force in live video, because Link 2 can solve most of the pain points of live video at once, and there's no barrier to use at the same time.
Don't think there is no market for this thing, the previous generation Link can still rush to the top three of the Amazon list in North America with a price of $300 in the global market where the average price of cameras is $300...
As the world's largest webcam market, North America accounted for 43.51% of the global market share in 2023, which is enough to illustrate the gold content of the top three.
In the second generation, Insta360 has paid a more sincere price, hoping to bring a little "Insta360 shock" to the domestic live broadcast market.
For the domestic live broadcast industry, each anchor has his own understanding of the device, and Insta360 is equivalent to providing a one-stop service, from picture to radio, to gimbal and focus, all condensed in this camera.
If you think the camera is not smart enough, then I will add a gimbal; You don't think it's clear, I have landscape and portrait screen native 4K; You don't know how to do radio, I bring my own professional-grade microphone and AI noise cancellation; You don't have a photographer, I'll give you intelligent tracking; You don't want to shoot people, I have desktop overhead shots...
That's what's amazing about Insta360, it's always able to make a product that's different from what comes on the market, which looks weird at first glance, but it's also very good for some people.
While improving image quality, Insta360 X4 uses AI and software to further lower the threshold for using panoramic action cameras, so that you can shoot and cut at any time.
The Go 3S thumb camera is ultra-light at 39 grams and extremely small in size.
The action camera Ace Pro is one of the best action cameras in night scene quality at present, and the flip screen is also very convenient to use, not to mention that it is an action camera with a Leica lens + Leica filter.
Therefore, these advantages of Link 2 are not made casually, but the result of Insta360's countless technologies and experiences after so many years of innovation and product development, and then put them into the next product.
This even makes Tony feel that after the panoramic camera, thumb camera and action camera, Insta360 has opened up a new market - live camera...
For those who want to make their live streaming experience better, but can't afford the complexities of streaming, Link 2 may be a great help.
Tony didn't doubt Insta360's vision, their previous product was really fresh when it first came out, and the subsequent sales and word-of-mouth proved them right.
For example, they have ranked first in the world in the panoramic camera category for six consecutive years, accounting for 67% of the world's market share in 2023, and in the first half of this year, their action camera category also surpassed the old GoPro and won another city in the segment.
These products may not be suitable for everyone, but once they are professional to one person, they will quickly gain good reviews and produce excellent content.
For example, some time ago, the Insta360 X4 was strapped to the rocket, taking everyone to experience the first-person view of the sky and vertical take-off and landing, which is particularly exciting.
And this is what Insta360 has been doing, using product innovation and rich features to gain recognition from the market and everyone.