Quick background: I got my first digital camera in 1996, and was taking one-shot 360 photos back in 2005. Basically, I’m old and have been doing this for decades. However, I am still new to the Insta360 cameras. I have only been using them since the ONE X2.
Many companies will send out pre-release hardware to various YouTubers so they can have “review” videos ready to post the day the product is announced. The Insta360 ONE X2 was my first Insta360 product, and it was already for sale when I got mine. Since then I have watched the launch day “review” videos for the X3, the X4 and now the X5.
Insta360 requested changes to videos?
The X4 release had a bit of controversy around it when some YouTubers came forward explaining some of the terms that Insta360 had “requested” for their videos. They had been “asked” to edit things out or make changes to their “honest” review. For some, it was the end of them dealing with Insta360 (or so they said at the time; I have yet to see if they have an X5 launch day video). For the rest, we wondered what changes they made at the request of Insta360 in their “honest” reviews.
This shouldn’t be a surprise with any paid or sponsored video, but most of these folks will say they are giving an “honest review” or are “not sponsored.” While we can’t read minds to know how honest they are being, we certainly know that a hardware sponsor is indeed a sponsor. Whether someone is providing hotel rooms (a lodging sponsor) or lunch (a food sponsor) or hardware, these are indeed sponsorships and in the USA the F.T.C. requires this to be disclosed. So while it may be legal in other parts of the world to not disclose sponsorships, there are quite a few USA folks who have been in violation of this for years.
UPDATE: Several of the launch videos I have watched have said — up front — that Insta360 sent them the gear for free! Huzzah! I wish all would do this.
But I digress…
The X5 launch was different…
Unlike all the other X series launches I have watched over the past three releases, this time pre-release YouTubers were allowed to share video clips the day Insta360 announced something new was coming out. Multiple videos appeared on YouTube showing sample video, often a side-by-side comparison between an X4 and “whatever this new camera will be” (they couldn’t tell us yet). It was these low-light demonstrations that really got my attention.
Whatever this new device was, it sure looked more capable in low light situations.
But we also noticed something … odd.
…and “reviewers” seem to be following a script?
The official “launch teaser” video released by Insta360 ended with an up-facing video of someone with a hammer who then “smashed” the lens, breaking it. This was followed by clips of what looked like them unscrewing the current lens and replacing it.
Whatever this new device was, it sure looked like breaking a lens would be less of a big deal.
The odd part was seeing, over and over, different YouTubers posting short and cryptic “we can’t tell you what this is yet” videos showing them doing the same thing. Many used a hammer to break the lens, with the same up-facing video, and clips of them replacing it.
They were recreating that part of the Insta360 ad.
Coincidence? Maybe…but that seems unlikely.
Uncreative? Seems unlikely, since these folks all produce videos and the other samples were different.
Instructed by Insta360? Seems quite likely.
Launch videos echo marketing bullet points…
In most (all?) of the launch videos I have watched (so far) about the X5, I note they all have been giving us marketing bullet points for things they haven’t tried or tested. For example, they tell us the X5 lens is more durable. How do they know? Did they test breaking an X4 and try that same force on an X5? Not that I have seen. But the marketing says it is, so it is stated. That is not a review. That is reading the specs.
It is not a “review” if you are telling us a feature you haven’t even tried.
(And yes, this is just semantics. All they have to do is “According to Insta360, they say…” and we get it. But instead most/all have presented it as an untested, unverified fact. Whether it is or not, that is not a review. That is just echoing marketing specs.)
So…
As you watch all the X5 launch day “review” videos, keep in mind the ones that say:
- “Honest review” – if you have to tell us that, there must be a reason. Have they been dishonest in the past?
- “Unsponsored” – surely they had a hardware sponsor. How else would they have all this gear before they could even buy it?
…and then start noticing the things they all say (phrases) or point out (which could come from talking points provided by Insta360), as well as things they do in their “review” videos.
And now, back to binging dozens of X5 launch day videos… Comment with your favorite ones!
To be continued… (My videos will be available maybe as early as tomorrow night.)
