Insta360 Link 2C Review | Trusted Reviews

Verdict

If you like the look of the Insta360 Link 2, but don’t need its robotic auto-framing abilities, the Link 2C gives you the same quality and most of the same features at a more affordable price. For a lot of people, it’s the sensible choice.

Introduction

Alongside its Link 2 webcam, Insta360 has also introduced a more affordable model, without the gimbal, called the Link 2C. It’s the first time that Insta360 has offered a traditional webcam design, without robotic control of its pan and tilt axis.

The pan and tilt functionality of the original Link and Link 2 are crucial for some, but most people don’t need such a complex webcam. If you’re just looking for excellent image quality and can do without the robotic camera movement, then the Link 2C might be the product you’ve been waiting for.

It has the exact same image sensor and microphone setup as its gimbal-mounted sibling, and it utilises the same software, too. This means the audio-visual quality is identical, and the feature set is almost exactly the same.

On paper, the Link 2C seems like a more sensible choice for the majority of people, but how much do you lose out on by selecting the cheaper option? I made it my mission to find out, and after using it for the past week, here’s what I learned.

Design and Build

• Magnetic mounting system
• Tripod-compatible
• USB-C connectivity

The Link 2C housing is essentially identical to the Link 2’s housing, only it’s not attached to a gimbal. The two units are the same size, have the same large microphone grille on top, and have the camera positioned off to the left side with a concave area on the right.

When you look a little closer, though, differences start to emerge. There’s a slider on the left side of the device, and this is used to activate a privacy shutter that covers the camera lens. The Link 2 doesn’t need one, as it uses the gimbal to point downwards, giving some assurance that you aren’t being watched.

The concave area on the Link 2 looks like a touchpad, but it isn’t, it’s just a random bowl-shaped area encircled by a status LED ring. However, on the 2C, it actually does function as a touch button, and there’s no status ring, just a small LED indicator in the centre of the device.

These differences aren’t really impactful when it comes to the functionality. Both cameras have a privacy mode, a status indicator and a touch button, they’re just positioned and executed differently on each.

The Link 2C has the same magnetic mounting base as the Link 2, the only difference is that the 2C attaches to it directly, without the gimbal in between. It’s an all-metal unit with a soft-touch rubberised coating, and it acts as a monitor mount as well as having a 1/4-20 threaded hole for tripods and photographic accessories.

Just as with the Link 2, there’s no way to mount this webcam in portrait orientation using the included mount. So you’ll need to get a little creative if you want to use the webcam to record vertical content. Since it’s magnetic, I found sticking the camera to the side of my PC case was a good solution, but a tripod with a ball head will do the trick, too.

When I reviewed the Link 2, I noticed some pogo pin contacts on the base of the gimbal, presumably designed to be used with some unannounced future accessories. Interestingly, those contacts aren’t present on the 2C, it’s all just solid plastic. So whatever Insta360 has planned for the future, the Link 2C isn’t likely to be compatible.

The only connector is a USB-C port on the rear. You get a USB-C to C cable included in the box, as well as a USB-C to USB-A adapter. This means you’re good to go with pretty much any computer, whether that’s a desktop, laptop or even a tablet.

Performance and Video Quality

• 1/2-inch sensor
•  26mm equivalent f/1.8 lens
• Up to 4K 30fps HDR video recording

The Insta360 Link 2C has the same sensor and lens combination as the Link 2, and as a result, the image produced by each camera is indistinguishable. Obviously, the big difference is that the Link 2 can move about on its own, while the 2C will need to be manually adjusted.

In lieu of physical movement, the Link 2C offers Auto Framing instead. It works a lot like Apple’s Centre Stage feature, the camera itself stays fixed in position but it’ll digitally zoom to follow you around the frame, creating the illusion of a PTZ camera. The downside is that you aren’t using the full sensor readout, and therefore you lose some quality when zoomed in.

The Whiteboard and DeskView modes both work on this camera, too, so long as you have your whiteboard in the frame, or you’ve tilted the webcam to show your desk. It’s a tiny bit of extra work to frame the shots manually, but even the Link 2 requires some adjustment to properly show a desk, so the difference is minimal.

Personally, I don’t use the gimbal functionality very often, but I still used the original Link as my main webcam for years. The reason is simple: it just looks better than the majority of webcams on the market, even those with a higher price tag, like the Elgato Facecam Pro.

It’s sharp, detailed, and the autofocus is lightning-fast. It’s very useful if you like to showcase products by holding them up to the lens. The dynamic range is more impressive than most webcams, too, and it can be further enhanced by enabling the dedicated HDR mode. 

By default, the camera has a little more contrast and sharpening applied than I would prefer, but thankfully, it’s very easy to tweak the image in the Link software. Reducing both by a notch or two made for a much more pleasing image, in my opinion. In any case, it’s nice to have options.

It has a 1/2-inch sensor, which is very small in the world of cameras, but it’s quite large in the webcam world. In fact, to find a camera with a meaningful upgrade in sensor size, you’d need to look at something like the Razer Kiyo Pro Ultra, which is double the price.

This means it has great light sensitivity (for a webcam) and it’s capable of capturing a relatively clean image, even in low light conditions. For the best results, you’ll want to make sure you have a good amount of light, and since this is a product that you’ll use at home, that shouldn’t be too hard to achieve.

Software and Features

• Insta360 Link Controller for Windows and macOS
• Smartphone remote control
• Gesture control, AI tracking, AI noise reduction

The Insta360 Link 2C uses the same desktop software as its gimbal-mounted sibling, and the features available in the app are largely the same, too. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, the only difference is that it doesn’t move on its own, so all panning and tilting controls disappear from the software.

You can still use the same gesture controls, including raising your palm to start tracking, a peace sign for Whiteboard mode and an L shape to zoom in or out. They all work just as reliably as they do on the Link 2, and the only one that gave me trouble was the Whiteboard gesture. It had no trouble recognising the peace sign, but it also recognised it when I wasn’t intending to make it. Thankfully, each gesture has its own toggle in the app, and I just disabled that one.

I was surprised to see that this camera supports remote control with your mobile phone, just like the Link 2. Obviously, it’s less crucial with a camera that doesn’t move about, but it could still be handy to switch settings remotely if you have it mounted somewhere unusual.

As mentioned earlier, there’s a brand new microphone on the top of the Link 2C, with a large grille that looks like it means business, but it’s the audio processing that makes the biggest difference.

By default, the camera comes set to “Voice Focus” mode, which effectively eliminates all background noise and focuses on your voice only. It works shockingly well, and with some pretty loud music playing the in background, the Link 2C could filter it out almost entirely.

The downside to the heavy processing is that audio sounds a little unnatural as standard, a bit like you’re on a phone call. Switching to “Music Balance” mode results in a more natural sound, but loses some vocal presence. Meanwhile “Voice Suppression” mode is designed to filter out people chatting in the background. It sounds very similar to “Voice Focus”, to my ears.

Most people investing in such a fancy webcam will have some kind of headset or desktop microphone that sounds better than this, so all these audio processing options might not matter too much. But, if you find yourself in a noisy area with nothing but your webcam mic to rely on, they could potentially save the day.

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