Insta360 Link 2C review – a tiny AI-webcam with massive ambitions

The Link 2C is, in essence, the camera from Insta360's Link 2 webcam but taken from the gimbal which allows tracking to make it more of a daily workhorse camera. Something you can throw into a bag without worries about damaging any moving parts.

It's still a high end 4K webcam, and it has excellent features, like a very elegant physically switched privacy guard, but is smaller and more portable without the gimbal so – if you're not moving around too much when you're using it – this is likely the cheaper and more practical choice.

That makes it a clear contender for one of the best webcams, not only because it's budget-friendly but because it includes Insta360's software. This suite unlocks everything from Makeup effects to voice suppression.

Price

This camera launched at $149 / £149 putting it at less than a lot of dedicated 4K office camera systems, but above a simple webcam, so the quality and features need to prove themselves. And they do.

Specifications

Build and handling

Undeniably a high-end experience, the plastic is light but of good quality while the design touches are apparent in the microphone grille in the top and the lens hidden behind a protective screen.

The most impressive touch of the lot is the physical sliding switch on the side to move the blades of the privacy guard in place, and thanks to the shielded design, you can be confident this mechanism should last a good long time. It's practical and elegant.

The weighted magnetic mount has a very premium feel, but to protect your beloved laptop there are thin rubber bases top and bottom which run around it (and you get the joy of peeling back protective plastic which stops dust from sticking to it in transit).

The camera has a corresponding magnet so it can be placed atop the hinged support and angled as you choose in a very natural way. (Unlike the competing Obsbot Meet 2, there is only one magnet, so it can only be used in horizontal format without more than gravity's help).

The only slight downside to this approach is that the lower rubber doesn't reach the edges, so if you don't place it gently and in-line against your computer you might still get a metal-on-metal moment. The extra weight, though, does make the stand feel more robust than some and means Insta360 has chosen to place the tripod thread in the base of the folding element

Performance

The video quality of the camera when plugged straight in via the USB-C port in standard plug-and-play is impressive; the camera is crisp and does well. Autofocus is quick and the overall image is good, with just enough natural boke when used close that you don't actually need to resort to AI.

If I were looking for problems, I'd note that the stated 36cm/14-inch minimum focusing distance is not as close as some, but in my tests I found it able to focus at closer to 12cm / 4 inches, which is fine.

I was able to occasionally confuse the gesture controls – using my phone in front of the camera was mistaken as a gesture – but for the most part the AI was impressive and, while it could be quicker to follow, if you're just walking about the room, it won't lose you.

Install the Insta360 Link Controller app (a free download) and the camera's capabilities improve no end. The options for camera control – including a very straightforward Exposure, AF/Manual Focus and White Balance settings – become available, and these will help with lower light too.

It is also this app that enables you to switch on the HDR, make subtle picture tweaks with Brightness, Contrast, and Saturation sliders (these come into their own in HDR mode). Personally I found the Sharpness was best left alone, but perhaps my aging skin and beard don't need any exageration.

Some features in the Link Controller (which, incidentally, is the wrong side of 650MB on Macs) don't work in 4K mode, notably the Make Up modes.

These will definitely soften the skin, though it was telling that (unlike the Obsbot Meet 2) all the examples seemed to suggest these features were feminised. I'm not actually going to share the clip of me with luscious eyelashes and smooth skin here, but suffice to say that it can do it – at 1080P.

I was impressed that you could layer these effects with softened backgrounds, including not just a blurred background but a more subtle Bokeh effect.

Other software features include whiteboard recognition and even remote control using a phone app – all of which might not always be necessacary, but is very useful to have and, with 4K resolution, actually works.

Overall verdict

If you're looking for a webcam that can beat the quality of the one built-into your computer (or you don't have one at all), then this would seem an obvious choice. It is certainly at the higher end, quality-wise.

If I have any reservations, it is that the best of the camera's quality is only really realised with the software. Thankfull, though, the software is amongst the best out there – it even has a tutorial, as if it were needed. It can pass its effects onto other apps easily.

When you get the device out of the box and as you use it, the camera's quality seems to be it's main selling point, at least for someone like me who often needs to replace the crummy built-in camera in a laptop for more serious work. What impresses more is that, as you explore the software, the camera seems to just get better, to the point of threatening lecure theatre equipment that costs many times more.

Just as with the company's winning entires on the best 360-degree camera list, Insta360 have brilliantly harmonised device and software to get more than the sum of the parts.

Alternatives

The Obsbot Meet 2 has a very similar approach to design and pricing and, like the Link 2C, it also has gimbal-based brethren. Obsbot, however, seem to offer even more choices in software AND the camera has the option to be positioned vertically, so TikTokers might find this of interest!

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How I tested the camera

I test a lot of web and conferencing cameras, and I always go about it the same way, by using it the same way anyone else would! In the case of the Insta360 Link 2C the camera has some great features, some which seemed to be gendered, so I also asked my girlfriend to help me test the Makeup filters.

My testing involves working through the app features as well as using the camera in plug-and-play modes to assess the difference. I'm also all about the travel with a device like this, so believe me it had to survive a few trips in my bag!