Remember the mysterious traditional-looking camera that was subtly teased by Insta360’s CEO earlier this year? It has appeared once again via a new leak, revealing its front design. And based on the lens used, it looks like the company will be entering the Micro Four Thirds space to compete against the likes of Olympus, Lumix and, most recently, DJI.
The images, shared initially on Chinese social media platform Bilibili before they were deleted, but were saved and shared later by 4/3 Rumors. The design lines up closely with an earlier teaser shared in January by Insta360 CEO Jingkang Liu on Weibo.
A Traditional Camera With Interchangeable Lenses
The newly leaked images appear to confirm that device, showing a white-bodied camera with prominent physical controls, including a shutter button, command dial, and mode dial. Interestingly, the camera does not appear to feature a built-in viewfinder, which may indicate a focus on compactness or reliance on the rear display for framing.
As mentioned earlier, what gave away the Micro Four Thirds compatibility is the lens that’s attached to the camera, namely a Olympus M Zuiko 14-42mm kit lens. It is unclear whether Insta360’s new camera will ship with it, though this seems very unlikely. Perhaps the company will introduce its own first-party M43 lens?
Mostly A Mystery For Now
Interestingly, the timing of this leak is notable. It comes shortly after GoPro unveiled its new GoPro Mission 1 series, which also adopts a Micro Four Thirds mount. While GoPro’s approach leans toward modular action camera design, Insta360’s take appears closer to a conventional camera body – a first for the company.
All that said, there’s still no information regarding the camera’s product name nor its expected launch window. Even though the cat’s seemingly out of the bag thanks to this leak, it currently doesn’t appear that Insta360 will make an official announcement anytime soon.
(Source: 4/3 Rumors)
