Insta360 GO Ultra review | Mini action camera tested for motorcyclists

Date reviewed: August 2025 | Tested by: John Milbank | Price: £389 (RRP) | www.insta360.com

The Insta360 GO Ultra on review here makes some significant improvements to its performance compared to the previous GO 3S, putting it on a par in many ways to the Ace Pro 2 (reviewed here), but it is at the expense of size compared to the older model.

I’ve put it through a series of independent and unbiased tests to help you decide if it’s the right action camera for you as a motorcyclist…

Pros & Cons

Why you can trust this review

No manufacturers or distributors ever have any influence on the reviews I write or film, I won’t ever do any paid reviews, and I’ll never agree to affiliate links. All products are tested fairly and equally, and if anything changes over time, I will update the written reviews.

Your purchasing choices should always be your own – Bennetts BikeSocial is just here to help ensure they’re informed choices.

What is the Insta360 GO Ultra?

At its heart the Insta360 GO Ultra is a single-lens action camera, but what makes the GO series special is the fact that the camera itself is removable from the main body – with its own battery and storage – and can be monitored and controlled from the docking ‘pod’.

The pod has its own battery that keeps the camera charged, with a flip-up screen for easy selfies if that’s your thing.

For motorcyclists, the GO Ultra camera makes for a very small unit to clip to your helmet or almost anywhere on the bike, and you can set up the perfect angle with the pod wherever you put it as you don’t need to access a screen on the camera.

Insta360 GO Ultra motorcycle riding

Daylight test in various contrast conditions at 4K 25fps

The camera unit has a strong magnetic back, snapping into the pod with an easy to use yet very secure mechanical lock. It holds firmly onto the supplied magnetic necklace pendant (even through a tee-shirt), or onto the clip that also comes in the basic pack. Of course, you can also pop it onto a ferrous metal surface for quick and easy filming.

However, keep in mind that the entry-level bundle does not include any way of mounting the GO Ultra camera (or pod) to a tripod, selfie-stick or GoPro style adaptor.

The Insta360 GO Ultra standard bundle includes a magnetic pendant, magnetic clip and quick-release wrist strap. The camera snaps into only either a landscape or portrait filming orientation on the pendant

Insta360 GO Ultra price

The standard Insta360 GO Ultra bundle includes the magnetic pendant, magnetic clip and a quick-release lanyard. There’s also a USB-C cable and a lens guard that’s already screwed to the camera. It’s perhaps worth noting that, unlike most single-lens action cameras, the GO Ultra’s lens guard is slightly domed, so will be more easily damaged if dropped. Fortunately though it’s easy to unscrew. When I have the price and availability of the replacement I’ll update this review.

The GO Ultra will also launch as a ‘creator bundle’ that includes the above as well as the essential quick-release mount, a mini 2-in-1 tripod and a pivot stand.

The Insta360 GO Ultra can almost match the Ace Pro 2

Incredibly, the new Insta360 GO Ultra’s video and audio performance is in many cases barely distinguishable from that of the Ace Pro 2 (up to 4K) thanks to a new 1/1.28” sensor: the older GO 3S has a 1/2.3” sensor, and even the Ace Pro 2 is a touch smaller at 1/1.3”.

Insta360 GO Ultra compared to Ace Pro 2

Daylight test of the new action camera. Note that I’d left the GO Ultra in 30fps for this shoot and the Ace Pro 2 in 25fps, causing a small amount of jerkiness in the Ace’s footage on this 30fps timeline.

While it lacks the outright resolution performance of the Ace Pro 2, the GO Ultra packs a lot into its small camera body…

The Go Ultra can also shoot in ‘Free Frame’ mode, which allows you to choose from a horizontal or vertical format in the Insta360 smartphone app (available for Android or iOS), or in the free desktop Studio app for Mac and PC. If you shoot for 9:16 YouTube Shorts, TikTok or Instagram as well as traditional 16:9 content, this is a great feature to have.

Additional shooting modes are:

• Timeshift for hyperlapse recordings

• Timelapse, which is ideal for sunrises, sunsets and capturing other long events

• Loop recording with clip durations of one to 30 minutes, but only the last clip being recorded (unlike a dash-cam mode, which only erases the oldest clip when storage is full)

• Starlapse for shooting the stars’ trails as they track across the sky

• Toddler Titan for filming youngsters from their baseball cap, ideally paired with an accessory close-up lens (£15.99 for the full kit)

• Photo for 12.5MP or 50MP stills (all photo modes have the option of a count-down timer between three and 15 seconds)

• Burst photo for multiple 12.5MP shots of up to 30 in a second

• Interval photo to capture 12.5MP or 50MP at intervals of up to 120 seconds

The Go Ultra also offer the option of pre-recording, which will include the 10, 15 or 30 seconds that occurred previous to you pressing the record button. This allows you to capture just the moment you want, but it will drain the battery as if the camera was recording constantly.

The Insta360 GO Ultra has no internal storage

While the previous generation of GO cameras were available in 32, 64 or 128GB variants, the new GO Ultra has no internal storage, instead featuring a microSD slot compatible with cards up to 2TB in capacity. There’s no card supplied, so be sure to budget for that if you don’t have a spare, though they only cost from £15.99 direct from Insta360 (always be wary of fake memory cards sold on Amazon, eBay etc).

Getting the card into and back out of the GO Ultra is a little fiddly – at least with my fingers – so I find it’s easiest to use my microSD adaptor to poke it in and out.

Insta360 GO Ultra night test STANDARD

Comparison with the Ace Pro 2 in standard video modes at 4K 25fps

The Insta360 GO Ultra has very good low light performance

The GO Ultra has good low light performance as standard, but as with the X4 / X5 and the Ace Pro 2, it can also shoot in ‘Pure Video’ mode, giving excellent low light performance in 16:9 at 4K, 2.7K or 1080P, with 30, 25 or 24fps frame rate options.

The aperture is fractionally smaller than the GO 3S at f2.85 (down from f2.8), and the Ace Pro 2’s f2.6, but the performance is still very good indeed.

Insta360 GO Ultra night test PURE VIDEO

Comparison with the Ace Pro 2 in Pure Video modes at 4K 25fps

The Insta360 GO Ultra’s audio is very good in most situations

You can hear the Go Ultra’s microphone quality in my sample videos, where wind reduction has been set to ‘strong’. You can tweak the settings, but like other Insta360 cameras I do find that at times it can lose the engine and exhaust sounds when cancelling out the wind noise.

It’s a hard balance for any camera, though perhaps unsurprisingly the Ace Pro 2 is better in some of these clips thanks to the built-in wind-muff.

The GO Ultra will not pair with the new Insta360 GPS Remote With Mic, but it can be used with Bluetooth headphones, or the DJI wireless Bluetooth mics. While I haven’t tested it, I’d expect the Insta360 Mic Air transmitter to be compatible too.

Insta360 GO Ultra low-light test

Comparison with the Ace Pro 2 in the garage at 4K 25fps

The Insta360 GO Ultra has excellent range

Separate the camera and pod and it’s still possible to power up and fully control the camera. In my testing outdoors I wasn’t even able to maintain full line of sight as the range was so good – I watched the preview and controlled the camera right out to 80m before the screen showed that the connection was lost. In the house, two walls were the limit, but recording from another room wasn’t a problem.

Equally, the pod and camera can easily communicate from inside a car with the camera outside, so setting up a shot with the camera on your bike is simple.

The Insta360 GO Ultra camera is waterproof, but the pod isn’t quite

The GO Ultra can’t connect to the superb weatherproof GPS preview remotes like the Ace Pro 2 and X4 / X5 can, so controlling it remotely on the bike can be an issue. You might wonder why this matters when the pod has a large screen with full control, but unlike the camera unit (IPX8 rated for 10m underwater) the pod’s only rated as IPX4 (splash proof), so while it should be okay in a light shower, I'd be wary of riding in the rain with it.

That might not be a problem for your use, but don’t have the pod mounted on your handlebars for instance if it starts to rain.

The haptic feedback is great on the Insta360 GO Ultra

While there’s not the remote-control versatility when riding that others in the Insta360 range enjoy, as long as you can reach the GO Ultra camera it’s very easy to start and stop, and you know when it’s working thanks to strong haptic feedback.

Though not labelled, pressing the front of the GO Ultra camera – diagonally opposite the lens – turns it on and starts it recording either in a default mode of your choosing (out of the box it’s 4K30), or in the last mode used.

There’s a speaker built into the camera that gives a reasonably loud confirmation of starting and stopping, but the unit also vibrates strongly enough that you can easily hear it inside your helmet when riding if fixed to it.

Insta360 GO Ultra PoV test

Shot at 4K 25fps while the camera’s attached to the magnetic pendant

If you want to shoot PoV footage, the Insta360 GO Ultra is ideal

Most action cameras can be chest-mounted with a harness, but the GO Ultra’s small form makes it ideal for almost anywhere on the body, and the supplied pendant and clip give you plenty of options. However, if you’re riding I’d still recommend using a secure mechanical clip, rather than trusting the strong magnet.

The footage above was all shot for other content I’m working on, and it was great to have the camera out of the way and taking up very little space. I could also quickly check the angle if I needed to by turning on the pod and looking at the screen, but I did find that it’s not ideal with a loose tee-shirt on. Bending over sometimes put the camera at the wrong angle, and moving rapidly did at times lead to shaky footage. I’ve also noticed that in low light some movements can cause the odd jitter, but this would also likely be better if I wore a tighter top.

It's great that the GO Ultra is so subtle looking for PoV footage as it’s much less intimidating to those around you. You could easily clip it on and people will be unlikely to notice it. There’s even the option to turn off the camera’s LEDs, though do ensure you consider other people’s privacy when recording. The best use for this is when filming people who know what you’re doing, but you don’t want them to keep glancing down at the camera. It can also be valuable to avoid reflections of the LED in footage.

The Insta360 GO Ultra’s battery is good for the size of camera

The GO Ultra camera has its own 500mAh battery built in, while the docking pod has one rated at 1,450mAh.

If the camera isn’t fully charged, as soon as you pop it into the pod it’ll start charging, keeping it ready to go.

Filming at 4K 25fps in the office (around 25°C) with the camera recording on its own and the pod turned off, it filmed for 39 minutes.

I then put the camera back in the pod, which charged it back up to full in just 26 minutes. I could have recorded again as soon as I put the camera back in the pod if I’d wanted.

Removing the camera and leaving the pod turned off, it filmed for 38 minutes.

Popping the camera into the pod, it charged for 24 minutes before reaching 92%, which gave a recording time of 34 minutes.

With the camera in the pod and connected to a Power Delivery charger, the camera was full within 33 minutes – indicated by its yellow LED going out – but the light on the back of the pod stayed on showing that it was still charging (don’t get caught out by this like I did the first time I charged it).

It took a total of 83 minutes to fully charge both the camera and pod via the USB-C port, which surprisingly is open. I’d love to see the pod gaining higher levels of weather-proofing if possible in future.

During my testing, the longest recording time I’ve achieved with the camera out of the pod has been 43 minutes, but with it connected to the camera it managed two hours and 24 minutes.

I did experience overheating at one point while testing indoors at 29°C with the two separated and the pod turned on to monitor the recoding remotely – it was the pod itself that overheated after 31 minutes, not the camera.

Note that neither battery is replaceable, so you’ll need to carry a power-bank if you’re a heavy user (ideally one capable of Power Delivery), and when the batteries become worn the camera will of course record for less time.

This is the GO Ultra compared to a GO 3, which is just a little thinner than the most recent GO 3S

The Insta360 GO Ultra has lost the tiny form of the GO 3S

The GO Ultra’s camera is small at a measured 46.0mm square and 18.5mm thick (24.5mm with the lens), but in gaining significant performance upgrades it has bulked up compared to the previous GO 3S, which was longer at a claimed 54.4mm, but shallower at just 25.6mm. It was pretty much the same thickness.

I borrowed the slightly older GO 3 from a mate to show the difference in shape, which will be significant for some users. The GO 3 camera (not including the pod) weighed a claimed 36g, the GO 3S is said to be 39g and the GO Ultra is measured at 53g…

Some motorcycle riders and skydivers fit the GO inside their helmet behind the visor, eliminating wind-noise, giving a true rider / pilot’s eye-view, and – in the case of parachuting – eliminating any risk of entanglement. But the new GO Ultra is simply too big for this as it doesn’t have a narrow orientation that can be tucked in the brow or side of a helmet.

Fitting cameras inside a motorcycle helmet has been banned on UK track days as in a crash it could become dangerous to have flying around inside, so it’s arguably unwise to ride on the road with it fitted like this anyway.

Mounted to the front or side of the helmet though, the GO Ultra camera is very compact, being smaller overall than the DJI Action 2 (39x39x22.3mm, 56g) or the discontinued GoPro Session 5 (38x38x36mm, 72g), though it’d be great to see Insta360 make the Quick Release mount (an essential for motorcycle use, see below) a little smaller.

The best accessories for the Insta360 GO Ultra

The standard Insta360 GO Ultra bundle is great for PoV shooting, but it doesn’t include any way to mount the camera or pod to a tripod or GoPro-style bracket. The Creator Combo is worth considering, and it’ll be interesting to see what mounting options become available over time, but these are the accessories I’ve tested:

Quick Release Mount, £18.99 | An absolute essential for motorcycle use, this mount clips magnetically and mechanically to the camera or the pod, allowing you to fix to any GoPro-compatible bracket. I used it with a trimmed-down Insta360 Flexible Adhesive Mount (£18.99 for a pair) to fix the camera to the chin of my Arai Quantic.

It is possible to pop the camera on without it fully latching in place, so do check it’s locked, but once on it’s solid and reliable. It is a little wide though – it’d be great to see this made a little more compact if possible, but it really is a vital addition.

A straight GoPro adaptor and a ¼” tripod adaptor are supplied, along with four plastic washers in case the set-up is loose (I’ve never had a problem). The Quick Release Mount can be used with the GO Ultra camera or pod.

Sticky Tabs, £13.99 | These self-adhesive plastic plates clamp the GO Ultra in place and can be stuck almost anywhere. They’re potentially a more convenient and reliable fixing method than Black Tack, but do make sure you’ve got a good fixing, and keep in mind that, while secure, the clips are small and plastic.

You get ten in the box, and while they’re not intended to be reusable you could pop your own tape on the back. They measure 46x60mm, with an extra width of 3mm due to the release clip.

I spent a long time looking for cool areas to use these on the bike, but in the end couldn’t find anywhere flat enough that gave an interesting direct view (you can’t adjust the angle of the camera), or that wasn’t likely to get very hot. In the end I settled on the rev counter, and it did tuck the camera well out of the way of the controls, but it’s a view I could have got with some Black Tack or even a piece of 3M VHB tape to stick the camera down.

Note that these tabs will only work with the camera, not the pod.

Other Insta360 GO Ultra accessories to consider

GO Ultra Action Mount, £11.99 | While I haven't had a chance to test this yet, the simple cage design of this mount, with its GoPro-compatible legs, potentially makes it the most compact and versatile (if not quick-release) mounting system for attaching the camera to your helmet for instance.

Mini Remote, £29.99 | I haven't tested this remote, but it's said to be compatible with the GO Ultra and has a range of up to 10m. It's still only splash-proof though, so besides being a lot more compact – and cheaper to replace – I'd still be nervous using it in heavy rain on the bike.

ND Filter Set, £54.99 | While not cheap, the ND filter set could add superb cinematic motion-blur to your footage, with the pack including an ND8, ND16 and ND32 made my Freewell. For the best results, switch to manual mode on the GO Ultra, select a shutter speed that's double your chose frame rate, then adjust the ISO for the best exposure. It'd be great to see Insta360 build in the option of selecting Auto ISO for this...

Flexi Strap Mount, £13.99 | With two lengths of stretchy silicone strap and a head with 360° rotation, the Flexi Strap Mount allows you to fix the GO Ultra to most handlebars and crash-bars. It’s a potentially handy setup, but I found there’s a fair amount of movement in the clamp, meaning bumps can be amplified through the clamp.

The Flexi Strap Mount doesn’t come with any clamps or brackets, so while it’s compatible with any GoPro adaptor, you’ll need something like the Quick Release Mount to use it with the GO Ultra camera or pod.

Four alternatives to the Insta360 GO Ultra

There are some incredible action cameras on the market now, but few are as compact as the GO Ultra. Think carefully about what you’ll use it for, and here are some others to consider…

• Insta360 GO 3S, £279.99 | At the time or writing, the GO 3S is heavily discounted. It’s a smaller form-factor than the GO Ultra, but it doesn’t have the same image quality or expandable storage. We haven’t reviewed the GO 3S, but here’s a link to the website.

• DJI Action 2, £239 | I’ve not reviewed the DJI Action 2, but it’s probably the GO Ultra’s closest rival. It’s a little larger, and the lens cover isn’t replaceable, plus this review suggests overheating can be an issue, but on paper at least it seems to offer some good performance. The Action 2 is getting pretty old now, and can’t connect to wireless mics, but there have been rumours of an updcoming 'DJI Nano'. For now, here’s a link to the website.

• A ‘standard’ single lens action camera | Do you need the small form factor of the GO Ultra? If not, consider the cheaper, more powerful £319.99 Ace Pro 2 reviewed here, or the more compact and less high-performing, but still excellent quality £289 DJI Osmo Action 4 reviewed here.

• A 360 camera | With incredible potential to capture every angle at once, 360 cameras are more expensive, and the footage requires some post-processing, but the quality now is incredible. Insta360 remains the leader with the user-replaceable lenses of its £469.99 X5 reviewed here, but the £409.99 DJI Osmo 360 reviewed here is a very impressive performer, if a little more vulnerable to requiring back-to-base repair.

These are just four of many alternatives – you can find all the action cameras we’ve tested here  and be sure to regularly check for the discounts available through Bikesocial membership.

Checking the view with the camera mounted to the front of my helmet

Insta360 GO Ultra review: Verdict

While it doesn’t have the rugged feel of some others, the Insta360 GO Ultra is not a pared-down camera by any stretch – it packs in most of the features of the top-spec (at least at the time of writing) Ace Pro 2, yet the camera module is a fraction of the size when disconnected from the docking pod.

The GO Ultra is a brilliantly versatile camera with a lot to love about it, but whether it’s the ideal motorcycle action camera will depend on what you want to use it for. If your content includes PoV footage and on-helmet filming it could be the perfect choice, but the pod has limited weatherproofing so you can’t take advantage of the extended battery life with the camera docked, or use it as a remote control in bad weather at speed.

It’s a shame the quick-release brackets aren’t compatible with Insta360’s X4 / X5 and Ace Pro 2 mounts, or indeed the previous GO series, but as long as you understand the potential limitations created by having such a small camera, this will be a versatile tool for many users. Beyond potentially being able to tuck the camera into smaller spots than you might usually, another advantage is that it’s so small and light that you could get some more funky angles without needing as rigid or heavy-duty clamps and arms. I’m certainly looking forward to using the GO Ultra in my future videos…

I’ll continue to update this review over time with more footage, so be sure to check back and keep an eye on the Bennetts BikeSocial YouTube channel as I always label my footage with the camera I used so you can see them in action. You can also chat to me about this review or anything else motorcycle related at the Bennetts BikeSocial Facebook Group, or at our exclusive forum, BikeClub.Bennetts.co.uk