Here is how to configure your Instamic as an external Bluetooth microphone with your Insta360 X2 Camera.
Your Instamic's audio will be embedded into your video. No need to sync the audio in post :)
NOTE We highly recommend upgrading your Pro Plus unit to the latest firmware 2.1.3. It improves the audio quality and connectivity with all Insta360 cameras that support the Airpods mode. Upgrade procedure here.
Let's start
1. Launch the Instamic Remote application and select Bluetooth Microphone on the Home page.
2. Tap to connect on the Connect Page and check that Hands-Profile Mode is activated
Your Instamic is now configured as a Hands-Free Profile device and it will retain its configuration at every boot (with or without connecting to the app)
3. Long tap on the unit to disconnect.
IMPORTANT NOTE. We highly recommend disconnecting from our app to reduce stress on the Bluetooth Connection and improve the audio streaming quality.
4. With the Insta360 X2 turned on, go to Settings and tap on the AirPods icon
5. The camera will start searching for compatible Bluetooth devices close by.
Hint. Tap on No Device to facilitate the connection with Instamic
6. Instamic will appear under Other Devices :-)
If you have renamed your Instamic from our app, it will be shown with its custom name.
7. Tap on it and your Instamic will connect to the Insta360 X3 camera wire-free :)
You are ready to record!
8. Press the Instamic button on the unit to start streaming audio to the camera.
The LEDs will become red and act as a VU meter.
You can start and stop streaming audio anytime even while the camera is recording.
The Instamic button basically behaves as a mute / un-mute button, independent from the video recording.
HINTS
a. Best configuration for the best sound quality
1. Once you have configured Instamic as a Bluetooth Microphone from the Home Page of our mobile app, we recommend connecting Instamic directly to the Insta360 camera, without using our mobile application.
You can press the button on the unit to start and stop the audio feed to the camera, independently from the video recording.
Every time you turn your Instamic on, it will keep the same configuration (Bluetooth Microphone) and the Insta360 camera will be able to connect to it directly from its menu, without using our mobile app.
b. Adjusting the input gain
Using our application might come in handy when you want to adjust the input gain if the input level is too low or too high.
If you want to do that, follow these simple steps:
1. Select Bluetooth Microphone on the Home Page. Press Ok.
2. Tap to connect to the unit on the Connect Page
3. Tap on the unit again or on the Microphone icon to jump to the Capture Page.
4. You will be prompted to pair your Instamic to the phone. Press Ok.
This option has been designed to use Instamic as an external microphone with your phone when capturing audio or video with 3rd party video apps.
For this specific application, we won't pair it with the phone but with the camera.
5. Press the Rec button to enable the audio streaming on the Capture Page OR press the button on the unit.
Your Instamic is now streaming its audio feed straight to the device that you will pair it to.
Instamic is streaming or recording every time you see the LEDs acting as a VU meter. When in standby mode, the LEDs show the battery level (3 full LEDs means fully charged).
Check the VU meter on the app to adjust the gain with the gain fader or tap on the input gain value (blue rectangle) to access all gain presets.
6. Go to the Connect Page and long-tap on the unit to disconnect.
We recommend connecting Instamic directly to the camera without using our app.
TROUBLESHOOTING
If you are experiencing some audio distortion, here are some solutions:
a. Connect Instamic directly to the Insta360 camera without using our app.
b. If you are willing to use our app, stop streaming from the app (or by pressing the Instamic's button) and start it again.
c. If you are willing to use our app, while streaming to the camera, lower the input gain from our app (by default is 10db) all the way down to -79db and back to 10db, until you can see that the VU meter on the app is acting normally and not clipping anymore (full scale to red or all 3 LEDs are on).
d. Make sure that Instamic is configured as below:
- Auto-gain off
- Rec mode 24-bit Mono
- Bit depth 48kHz
#happyrecording #wearestorytellers
Michele and the Instamic Team
For any further questions, we are happy to help at [email protected]
Happy recording,
Michele Baggio