The 360 camera company Insta360 has entered the drone market with a spin-off brand called Antigravity. This new company hasn’t released a drone yet, but it’s coming soon and will likely have a slightly different take from current market leaders like DJI. Antigravity’s drone is expected to feature 360 cameras with 8K resolution. It will also fall under the 250-gram weight limit, meaning it won’t require a license.
The 360-degree camera makes sense from the company that makes our favorite 360 camera, though the usefulness of shooting straight up into the drone is questionable. Think of it as a 360 camera with about 260 degrees of usable footage. This isn’t a new idea. There are mounts to attach Insta360’s X5 camera to drones, but it’s awkward to take off and land such pairings, something Antigravity’s drone will likely simplify.
Antigravity’s new drone should arrive later this month. We’ll have a full review once we’ve had time to test it out. —Scott Gilbertson
DJI Unveils a 360 Camera
Ironically, as Insta360 encroaches on DJI’s drone supremacy, DJI is wading into the world of 360 cameras with its first-ever Osmo 360. It can capture 8K video at 50 frames per second, slightly outpacing Insta360’s X5 camera, which shoots 8K at 30 fps. The Osmo employs a square 1-inch HDR sensor, can connect directly to DJI’s wireless microphones using OsmoAudio, and maintains the Osmo Magnetic Quick-Release system for quick mounting.
More interestingly, DJI claims the Osmo 360 can shoot 8K video at 30 fps for 100 minutes, which is a full 20 minutes longer than the Insta360 X5. It also only weighs 183 grams, 17 grams lighter than its top competitor. You can shoot with just a single lens at 4K 120 fps, and you can switch between the front and rear lens without pressing pause.
The Osmo 360 isn’t launching in the US (yet), but it costs $550 and is available globally. Like DJI’s Mavic 4 Pro drone, those in the US can still preorder it from retailers like B&H and Adorama.
Netgear Announces Entry-Level Wi-Fi 7 Mesh System
Courtesy of Netgear
The first wave of Wi-Fi 7 mesh systems was seriously expensive, but they’ve been getting steadily more affordable. Netgear’s latest release is the Orbi 370 Series, an entry-level, dual-band Wi-Fi 7 mesh. While you only get the familiar 2.4-GHz and 5-GHz bands, not the 6-GHz band, you do get some of the other advantages of Wi-Fi 7, including enhanced security, lower latency, and multi-link operation (MLO), enabling you to connect on both bands simultaneously. MLO works for backhaul, too, which is the traffic between the main router and nodes.
