It Looks Like Insta360 Is Making a Micro Four Thirds Camera

Back in January, Insta360’s CEO and founder, Jingkang “JK” Liu posted an eye-catching image on Chinese social media site, Weibo, that showed two new products. Liu was using an unknown camera to photograph another unknown product. A recent leak sheds new light on the camera Liu teased, and it looks very interesting. Micro Four Thirds is getting a fancy new camera.

As 4/3 Rumors posted yesterday, a pair of leaked photos, which were initially shared on Bilibili before being deleted, have been making the rounds online that show a new Insta360 camera. It looks a lot like the one Liu shared on Weibo in January, including the white body design and chunky buttons.

There was very little information about the camera in January, due in large part to much of it being obscured. However, the new images tell a much more complete story, and it’s a mighty interesting one.

The leaks show the front and top of the camera, including an array of traditional camera controls, like a command dial, shutter release, and mode dial. It also shows that the camera will have some sort of a shoe, presumably a hot shoe. It also shows the camera’s lens mount, and it’s Micro Four Thirds. It doesn’t appear to have a viewfinder.

Micro Four Thirds is an interesting choice for a few big reasons, not the least of which is that Insta360 and its parent company, Arashi Vision, are not members of the Micro Four Thirds system. DJI, arguably Insta360’s biggest competitor in the imaging technology space, is. Now, this alone is not necessarily a major issue. GoPro just announced its new Mission 1 camera and unveiled that it is making a camera later this year with a Micro Four Thirds mount, and GoPro isn’t in the Micro Four Thirds family yet either. Insta360 hasn’t even actually announced a Micro Four Thirds camera yet.

Insta360’s leaked Micro Four Thirds camera is also interesting because, unlike GoPro’s upcoming MFT camera, Insta360’s effort looks a lot like a traditional SLR-style camera. Insta360 doesn’t really do “traditional.” The company is best known for its 360-degree cameras and action cameras, and it has never made an interchangeable lens camera — being able to swap lens modules on an action camera doesn’t count.

It’s challenging to make a new camera. Of course, Insta360 has extensive experience with imaging technology, including hardware design, autofocus, stabilization, and UI/UX. However, a full-blown interchangeable lens camera is a different beast altogether, and it will be very interesting to see what features Insta360’s leaked camera offers and what sort of performance it delivers.

It’s not clear when this camera will be officially unveiled, but it’s sure to turn some heads when it does.

Image credits: Originally shared by TechoyMatrix on Bilibili in a now-deleted post.