Insta360 Luna Pro review: Your Instagram Reels are about to get an upgrade

There’s now a direct rival to the Osmo Pocket 4 you can easily buy in the US.

It's been a bumper summer for pocketable cameras. DJI kicked off the season with the Pocket 4 , a much anticipated follow-up to the wildly popular Pocket 3. But that was just the warm up. Then came Insta360's Luna Ultra , with a dual-lens/optical zoom setup. This was swiftly answered by DJI with the Pocket 4P , formally establishing a "pro" tier to the gimbal-camera category. In between all that, GoPro delivered the Mission 1 Pro , twice , and both DJI and Insta360 unveiled rugged 360 cams. Today, we can add one more to that list: the Insta360 Luna Pro ($600).

On paper, it's the company's response to the Pocket 4 — a single lens, 20mm fixed focal length gimbal camera. That might not sound like a rousing finale to the pocket-camera bonanza, but Insta360 is smart and saved a few tricks for the Pro version that at least make it a solid encore. If you create for Instagram Reels, TikTok or YouTube Shorts, it might even be the most interesting pick of the pack.

From the neck down, the Luna Pro is almost identical to the Ultra. The only visual difference is the wider frame along the top edge of the display with the word "Luna" printed in cursive. Above the collar, it's a different story, with a smaller, single-lens gimbal head that shaves about half an inch off the total height of the device. The Luna Pro also comes with the same pop-off front panel that doubles as a wireless remote and microphone.

Internally, the Pro matches the specs of the Luna Ultra's main 20mm camera. That means the same Leica Summicron lens (f1.8/20mm) paired with a 1-inch sensor that supports 8K/30 and 4K/120. Dolby Vision, 10-bit I-Log and 37-megapixel photos are all here, too. One notable difference in the Pro's favor (at the time of writing) is support for true 4K shooting in 9:16 mode (screen in portrait). The Luna Ultra, like the Pocket 4 and 4P, currently only offers 3K in portrait mode. So on the Pro, there's no more holding the camera horizontally for true 4K, social media-friendly videos.

The Luna Pro also has the same 47GB of internal storage, expandable via SD card and the same 1,550 mAh battery as the Ultra. The near identical dimensions of the body mean accessories should be largely compatible unless it's something that attaches to the gimbal head. For example, Insta360 provided a fill-light accessory for this review, which connects to the collar of the gimbal mechanism, so it's not compatible with the Luna Ultra. Fun fact, you can swap the detachable displays between models, and they will still work — even wirelessly — but the screen will update its firmware to match the new camera each time. When I tried this, I lost the 4K portrait menu option on the Pro, which meant I needed a factory reset to resolve the problem. It's something you can do, but probably shouldn't.

Like the Luna Ultra before it, the Pro reliably delivers a crisp, high-quality image. In 4K, colors are bright and appear gently saturated to give them a confident pop. The f1.8 aperture provides good depth and subject separation without being over dramatic. I found the Luna Pro gives just a dash more bokeh compared to the Osmo Pocket 4 under the same conditions with close up subjects, although DJI's camera has a richer color depth to my eye.

Both the Luna Pro and the Pocket 4 are very close in terms of image quality, but in casual testing on default settings, the Luna Pro's detail and blacks are a little more punchy. Like the Osmo Pocket, the Luna Pro has full i-Log recording with color restoration for tuning the image to your style or preference. The Luna also supports Dolby Vision.