Insta360 X3 glass lens guard review and best settings

Would you like to protect your Insta360 X3 without sacrificing too much image quality?  Here’s a review of a third party lens guard made with optical glass.

Insta360 X3 (reviewed here) and other 360 cameras are extremely versatile but have lenses that are somewhat fragile.  If you put a plastic lens protector, the lens protector will have a lot of glare.  Moreover, plastic scratches easily and micro-scratches will make glare even more prominent.  I tested a 3rd party glass lens guard by Puluz ($29).

EASE OF INSTALLATION

The glass lens guard is simple to install – you just peel off the cover and stick it.  But note that the front lens and rear lens guards are not identical so you need to pay attention to which one is labeled “front” and install it over the lens on the side of the LCD.  Also note that there are no guides to help you center it on the lens so you need to be very careful.  The adhesive also cannot be repositioned so if you screw up, you’ll need to remove it and use another sticker.  The package includes 2 sets of spare adhesives and a guitar pick to help peel off a lens guard.

DURABILITY

The glass seems to be decent quality and I’ve tried letting it fall from a tabletop stand on a wood table and it has survived without scratches.  I also tapped it several times on a granite countertop with no scratches.  (Normally, I’d risk its destruction with tougher tests but I bought this with my own money.)

GLARE

Noticeable increase in glare but still usable in my opinion.  The sample above shows the worst case scenario with a very bright sun, lens perpendicular to the sun, and a shaded object that emphasizes the glare. The lens protector’s reflection can also sometimes be visible near the stitch line.  To compensate:

• If possible, aim the stitch line toward the sun or brightest light source.
• In Insta360 Studio, turn on chromatic calibration.  This will blend the glare from the glass facing the sun with the glass on the opposite side.  Note: I shared this tip before; see here for other tips.
• I recommend turning on Clarity Plus to mitigate some of the lightness in black areas.

STITCHING

This one took a lot of experimentation.  If you don’t do anything, Insta360 Studio thinks the glass guard is a sticky lens guard and will use that stitch setting, but it’s not going to look good.  After experimenting, here are the settings I found for the best results:

• Use Normal not Sticky Lens Guard or any of the others.
• Find a scene where the stitch line has detail along the stitchline.  In the sample below, the sign provided details that help with stitching.
• First turn off Dynamic Stitching and Optical Flow, then click on Calibrate.
• After calibration, you can now turn on Optical Flow (it works better than Dynamic Stitching for the glass guard).

WATER REPELLANT; OLEOPHOBIC

I tried pouring water on the lens to see if water droplets would remain.  Most of the water flowed off although there was a little water on it.  I also rubbed the lens with my fingers to see if it was a fingerprint magnet and it seemed to be ok.  Not totally oleophobic like GoPro Hero 11 but pretty good.

COMPATIBILITY WITH INVISIBLE DIVE CASE

Can you use the glass guard with the Invisible Dive Case?  The glass guard fits but I haven’t tested it underwater yet to confirm that the stitching will work.

CONCLUSION; WHERE TO BUY

If you damage an Insta360 X3, there’s no way to replace it.  I use my X3 to shoot while riding my electric unicycle and other vehicles, which puts my camera at risk.  Although the glass lens guard isn’t perfect, I do intend to use it going forward for now.  It’s available here on Amazon.  Thanks for using my affiliate links at no extra cost to you so I can do more tests and reviews for you.