Do either the Insta360 Ace Pro or Insta360 Ace overheat? How long can they record without overheating? I tested their endurance and found that under some circumstances, they can overheat but in other circumstances, they can shoot for more than 13 hours. Here are the results:
Insta360 Ace Pro
Insta360 Ace Pro ($449) is Insta360’s new flagship action camera. It’s their first action cam that isn’t 360 degrees or 180 degrees and is the first action cam to feature 8K video. Reviewed here.
8K 24fps (Powered by internal battery):
– Trial 1: 28 mins. 13 secs with Sandisk Extreme (red and gold). Test conditions: indoors, no air conditioning.
– Trial 2: 44 mins 22 secs with Sandisk Extreme Pro 128GB (check prices here: 128GB, 256GB, 512GB). Test conditions: indoors, no air conditioning.
– Trial 3: 44 mins 12 secs with Amazon Basics 256GB. Test conditions: indoors, no air conditioning.
8K 24fps (USB power only): 24 mins. 50 secs. with Sandisk Extreme 128GB (red and gold). Test conditions: indoors, no air conditioning.
4K 30fps (powered by internal battery):
– Trial 1: 43 mins. 26 secs. (overheated) with Sandisk Extreme Pro 128GB (red and black). Test conditions: on a car dashboard.
– Trial 2: 1 hr 35 mins. (did not overheat; ran out of battery) with Sandisk Extreme 400GB (red and gold). Test conditions: indoors, no air conditioning.
4k 30fps (USB power only): 13hrs 17 secs.* with Sandisk Extreme 400GB. Result: no overheating (400GB card filled up). Test conditions: indoors, shot overnight, no air conditioning, battery removed. Powered by USB only. The video was broken up into 27 files of about 30 minutes each. Insta360 Studio merged them all automatically with no gaps.
Insta360 Ace
Insta360 Ace ($369) is the more affordable little brother of the Ace Pro. Its sensor is smaller (1/2.0 inch) and is limited to 6K video, but it has most of the features of the Ace Pro including the waterproof flip touchscreen and Purevideo mode. Reviewed here.
6k 30fps (powered by internal battery):
– Trial 1: 23 mins 47 secs. with Sandisk Extreme 400GB. Tested indoors with no air conditioning.
– Trial 2: 21 mins 33 secs with Amazon Basics 256GB. Tested indoors with no air conditioning.
6K 30fps (USB power only):
Trial 1 (Sandisk Extreme 400GB) – 15 mins. 57 secs.
Trial 2 (Sandisk Extreme Pro 128GB) – 15 mins. 13 secs.
Both tested indoors with no air conditioning.
4K 30fps (powered by internal battery): 1hr 31 mins. with Sandisk Extreme Pro 128GB (did not overheat; ran out of battery). Tested indoors with no air conditioning.
4k 30fps (USB power only): 7 hours 56 secs.* with Sandisk Extreme 400GB. Result: no overheating (400GB card filled up). Test conditions: indoors, no air conditioning, battery removed. Powered by USB only. The video was broken up into 27 files of about 30 minutes each. Insta360 Studio merged them all automatically with no gaps.
*Note: It appears unusual that the maximum duration of the Ace at 4K 30fps with USB power is only about half of the 4k 30fps recorded on the Ace Pro. This is because the amount of space occupied by a video file varies depending on the complexity of the video images. In the case of the Ace Pro, I shot it overnight and for many hours, the Ace Pro was shooting in the dark. While shooting in the darkness, the files occupied very little space (only about 6GB per 30 mins instead of the typical 24GB per 30 minutes).
Conclusion
It appears that Insta360 Ace Pro and Ace’s maximum recording time can vary significantly depending on resolution, framerate, shooting conditions, power source, and speed of the Micro SD card. They can overheat under some circumstances but when powered by the internal battery, they can get ample recording time and can record for several hours at 4K 30fps with USB power. To extend the duration of recording, make sure you use fast micro SD cards such as Sandisk Extreme Pro, Sandisk Extreme, Insta360 brand, or Amazon brand.
Love your blog, it is now days video bloggers difficult to find such tests ) mass test work, thanks to read such information))
Thanks Aleks!
Has anyone released an Ace Pro “take down” yet? Love to see someone actually replacing the lens guard with those ones you posted. Those guards look nice and would be a great option to use ‘snap’ on ND filters like the GoPros.
This great action camera can also be used as a dashcam and a webcam. I sure would like to know if it can handle an 8 hour trip as a dashcam or 4 hour zoom meeting as a webcam.
my ace pro overheated at 8k after 80mins of recording.
I am planning to use my ace pro as a dashcam for a 4 hour drive. Any suggestions as to avoid overheating and make continuous recording?
Hi Hm ang. I strongly recommend getting a fast micro SD card such as Sandisk Extreme Pro (red and black). Also, using the lowest resolution and lowest framerate that is acceptable for your needs will enable the Ace Pro to record longer without overheating.