Insta360's Webcams Now Come in Cheaper Models

The Insta360 Link webcam remains one of my favorites -- and an Editors' Choice even after two years. Now, the company has introduced two completely redesigned models to complement it, offering similar features at more affordable prices. Both models are essentially the same camera, with similar components and capabilities as the older version, but with a sleeker design and improved performance, thanks to upgraded firmware and software.

The $200 Link 2, like the original, is a PTZ (pan/tilt/zoom) webcam with a gimbal for stabilization, allowing it to automatically track and follow your movements. Now, it has a little sibling: the $150 Link 2C, which is more of a traditional work-focused webcam. It has manual tilt on a standard limited mount, but it's more compact and better suited for laptops. It's the same camera as the Link 2, just stripped of the frills and features that won't work for a fixed device. That means both models have gesture controls and the same video quality as the older model.

I like the redesign's look for both models, which makes them look less like security cameras and more like something for your desktop. Plus, they now attach to the mount magnetically. The 2C has a manual shutter, since it can't tilt down to hide the way the Link 2 can, and it uses digital auto framing to keep you centered. The Link 2 adds Pause-Track, which lets you define up to six areas where it won't follow you, and it restarts when you reenter the trackable zones. An updated Smart Whiteboard Mode automatically detects the board and corrects distortion, eliminating the need to mark it in advance.

On the Link 2, the indented area doesn't seem to do anything; the double-tab area is that target on the gimbal instead.

Most of the stated improvements come via AI, according to Insta360, including better image quality and improved audio through upgraded microphone noise cancellation. The latter adds three new modes: Voice Focus (the standard webcam setting), Voice Suppression (to reduce nearby voices and background noise) and Music Balance (to keep background music at a lower, more subtle volume).

Via the virtual camera (which processes the image in software before streaming it out and is how all webcams handle things like background removal) you can now replace the background and blur it, plus the background ostensibly renders bokeh better.

I'm not finished testing yet, so stay tuned to see how they stack up against the original.