Insta360 Roadie Remote ($29 available here) is a remote control for Insta360 One R (and in the future, the Insta360 One X2) that can help you control your camera without taking your eyes off the road. Should you get it?
Insta360 Roadie Remote is a steering wheel mounted remote control for Insta360 One R and in the future, Insta360 One X2. It was first announced together with a slew of updates for the One R, which added Loop Recording and other new features:
There’s already a GPS remote for the One R and One X2 but the Roadie is designed to enable you to control your camera without taking your eyes off the road. Roadie mounts next to where your hands would usually be on a steering wheel, so you can press the buttons safely without fumbling for your camera. The buttons are large and there are only a few of them, making it easy to press without looking at the remote.
The tradeoff versus the GPS remote is that the Roadie does not have built-in GPS. GPS can otherwise be used on the One R, One X2 or One X to add Insta360 Stats overlay of your speed, altitude, and other information that can make your motovlog video more interesting. If you want to use GPS, your camera has to be connected to your phone so that the camera can use your phone’s GPS signal. You can then start and stop recording with the Roadie and the video will have GPS.
ROADIE REMOTE TUTORIAL
To use Roadie Remote, the process is similar to pairing with the GPS remote. First, turn on the Roadie by inserting the battery face down. Next mount it to your steering wheel. You’ll then have to pair the Roadie with your camera. Make sure your One R is updated to firmware 1.2.64 or later (if your One R needs to be updated, you can do that by connecting to the phone app, going to the settings, and scrolling down to About Insta360 and tapping on firmware).
If your One R firmware is updated, go to the One R settings and tap on Bluetooth Remote. You should see the Roadie Remote appear as “Ylfk” (I don’t know why it’s called that). Once paired, you can simply press the Roadie buttons to start and stop recording.
IS ROADIE REMOTE COMPATIBLE WITH INSTA360 ONE X2?
As of May 2021, Roadie Remote works only with One R. However, Insta360 stated that it will also be compatible with One X2 in the future.
SHOULD YOU BUY ROADIE REMOTE?
Should you get the Roadie? It depends if you plan to shoot videos in your car. If you do, the Roadie can help you drive more safely. IMHO, the $29 cost is nothing compared to the benefit of reducing the chance of an accident. If you don’t need to shoot videos in your car, then the GPS remote is more useful.
Mic,
I understand the Roadie remote is not waterproof/resistant and would not be practical for use on a motorcycle primarily for that reason and secondarily because its attachment doesn’t appear secure enough for that application. However, I do like the 4 different buttons for immediate access to each of these shooting modes, including the loop recording, etc.
I have no interest in using it in my car but I use my cameras a lot on my motorcycle, especially for road trips and these features could be quite handy. Do you know if the GPS Smart Remote will do all that the roadie does with the latest firmware update features, and is at least water/rain resistant?
It may be possible to cover it in plastic wrap in case of inclement weather. The GPS remote is not waterproof either. But it might be usable inside a ziploc bag.
These are the things that are a complete puzzlement to a lot of us regarding Insta360. They make a product that is “waterproof “ but the accessories to use them are not. 🤬
I wish the geniuses at Insta360 would make a remote control with the following parameters:
1) Attaches to you wrist.
2) Is water proof.
3) Has a very bright screen that has FEEDBACK. In other words, I press record, I know it’s recording. I hit stop recording, I know it stops recording.
4) Does not GLITCH like that other crappy remote that’s difficult for my aging eyes to see.
5) Does not crash.
6) Does not go bonkers and takes several minutes to power cycle my camera and remote while missing valuable recording scenes.
And furthermore, let me reiterate item 4, not all people are young and pretty and have perfect teenage eyes. Listen design team: I need a large bright screen that I can see while I’m white water rafting or some other “action sport” that tells me exactly what my Insta360 is doing and doesn’t crash every now and then, like when I’m trying to get a once a year video of some section of a river.
Not everyone is swinging the camera around their head wile pigeons are in flight.
Just seems that a company that makes such brilliant camera would also have a remote that doesn’t seem to be made by the summer co-op students.
PS.: Insta360 Team, look at some of the Sony action camera wrist remotes. I don’t mind paying for a good product for my Insta360 that is useful and actually works well.
I just wish they would make a WearOS app. That would accomplish everything you just listed and I already own the watch.