This year I finally got a 360 camera – the Insta360 X4.  With the image quality increase of the latest camera from Insta360 it’s not as much of a compromise to include its ~2k footage alongside 4k footage from other cameras. Especially on a sailboat – the action can be in any direction and the horizon is always tipping, so a 360 camera enables me to reframe the shot where the action is and to always have a level horizon. One of the caveats with the 360 camera filming in 8k is the battery life. When I’m on a sailboat I can’t always stop sailing in the middle of a race to change the battery or sometimes I don’t even have a dry place to keep a battery with me, so getting the most out of a battery is really important to me.

According to the specs online – Insta360 rates the battery life at 75 minutes when filming with the highest quality settings that I would most like to use for sailing (8k 30fps). While some of the online reviews sort of confirmed this, there were no comparisons between the insta360 batteries and some of the aftermarket batteries that were coming on the market. So I set up some tests for 17 different batteries from 9 different retailers for 187 tests over 227 hours to answer those questions and I wanted to share my findings.

How Long Does the Insta360 X4 Battery Last?

After running the test on 2 Insta360 batteries and 15 aftermarket batteries the results were pretty clear. The insta360 batteries averaged 78 minutes while the aftermarket batteries averaged around 72 minutes.  The insta360 batteries hit the 75 minute mark in 100% of the tests.  The aftermarket batteries only hit the 75 minute mark in 2% of the tests.

Which Battery Lasted the Longest?

If battery life is of the utmost importance – you’ll want to go with the Insta360 batteries.  If you want to save some money, don’t need as long of a duration or can switch batteries easily and don’t mind dismissing a nag screen then the aftermarket batteries will work fine.

Here’s the average runtime for each of the brands:

And here you can see the individual performance of each of the batteries.  Note the range between the minimum and maximum test along with the average.  The Insta360 batteries minimum performance was at or above the max of most of the other 3rd party batteries.

The Batteries

  1. Insta360 X4 Battery
  2. Addpower X4 Batteries
  3. JHTC 360 X4 Battery
  4. METACUCU 2Pcs Batteries
  5. REYTRIC 2-Pack X4 Batteries for Insta360 X4
  6. Aovee 360 X4 Battery with Fast Battery Charger Hub
  7. YONHUIZI Battery
  8. Rszfnjxry Fast Charge Hub with Batteries
  9. COOLSHOW X4 Battery

How did I test?

Insta360 X4 Battery Test Setup

Using the settings I’d most likely be using for sailing – 8k 30fps. I set the camera up in my living room and while it’s not recommended to run the camera at that resolution indoors, I used a small fan to mimic the airflow the camera would get outdoors and keep it from overheating. I used the same two 2-battery chargers to charge all of the batteries.

One other note about aftermarket batteries – Insta360 has introduced a nag screen about a battery anomaly the first time the camera is started after inserting an aftermarket battery. I’ve always been able to dismiss this and use the camera normally with the aftermarket battery.

To see my videos created with the Insta360 Ace Pro – check out No Quarter Sailing on YouTube.

If you are interested in the battery life of the Insta360 Ace Pro – check out a similar test I did for that camera.

Disclaimers: I purchased the camera and some of the batteries myself. Other batteries were received through the Amazon Vine Voices Program. As an affiliate in Amazon’s program I may receive a commission for product links.

By Posted on Posted in Life, Photography, Video No Comments Tagged with , , ,

We had great weather for the final ILCA regatta of the season at FBYC. With 10 ILCA on the line we had mostly sunny skies with winds starting in the 10-15 range and easing down to 5-8 as the day went on. The wind was out the the North so the course was set in the middle of Fishing Bay to have enough fetch, but not be so far away.

I started the first race by being early at the boat, was called over and had to go around the boat to restart. The rest of the day went a little better with mostly middle of the fleet finishes. The very competitive fleet made it so every place was hard-earned racing. Definitely enjoyed having so many people come join. Probably wasn’t my best day on the water after a very long day yesterday and an early morning today commuting to Deltaville from Richmond all weekend.

Thanks to Gene Kendall and his team for running races today.

PICTURES | RESULTS | VIDEO

By Posted on Posted in ILCA Sailing, Life, No Quarter Sailing, Sailboat Racing No Comments Tagged with , , , ,

Saturday

Saturday’s weather started with sunny skies, temperatures in the 60 and wind around 14 out of the North. We had a good start near the boat in the first race and quickly tacked to port to clearer air. Rick called a great layline and we found ourselves at the top mark behind only Nanuq and Afterthought. We set the A2 spinnaker downwind and had a good run. At the bottom mark we managed to get a jib sheet on the wrong side of the spinnaker which we didn’t realize until mid-tack so we lost some ground having to abandon the tack. The rest of the race was sailed cleanly to a changed weather mark and only Orion got around leaving us 4th over the line and 4th on corrected.

The second race start was a lot more crowded with Tradition trying a mid-line port start. We were a little late in dodging the traffic, but did well to hold our line between Orion and Excitation as we headed up wind. Other than a hiccup with the second spinnaker set, we sailed pretty cleanly in a very competitive fleet. With boats all around us all race we had to settle for a 6th, and were less than 30 seconds out of 4th on corrected time. Sting (J92s) sailed a great race and was on our tail the whole time and we had a few crosses with them. They would end up having to give us room on the pin at the finish and were 4 seconds behind us, but corrected to 2nd.

By the 3rd race the wind came down a few knots and with all of the boats jammed up at the pin, we got out to the boat end to start. From there we worked our way up the right side of the course staying close to Afterthought just to weather of us. We rounded just behind the pack of boats and worked on hitting our targets and numbers. We also cleaned up the timing of our jibes and got it nice and snappy like I used to do on the J70. We would go ono to finish this race in 6th as well and putting us in 6th overall for the regatta. While the result don’t show it, we sailed very competitively and were 1-2 minutes out of 3rd in every race on corrected time.

Sunday

We returned Sunday for what should have been a distance race. Only there wasn’t any wind nor was there forecast to be. After a brief skippers meeting the signal boat and a couple of sailboats went out to explore. Afterthought tried to so some sailing, but there wasn’t enough to consistently keep the sails full. After about an hour racing was called. We were out there motoring around and returned to the dock to do some work aloft and then called it a day.

PICTURES | RESULTS | VIDEO

By Posted on Posted in Life, Sailboat Racing No Comments Tagged with , , , , , ,

We had wanted to see polo in Charlottesville for a while and between the weather, sailing conflicts, we never had a good weekend for it. The stars finally aligned for a perfect Sunday for it on the weekend we had planned to be in Charlottesville for a UVA football game on Sunday. And as an added bonus – our friend Michelle was playing on one of the teams so we got to see her play.

PICTURES

By Posted on Posted in Life No Comments Tagged with , ,

We had a wonderful weekend with 39 ILCA Masters sailors at FBYC sailing in 4 races on Saturday, a fantastic dinner and a RC ready to race us on Sunday if only the wind cooperated. It was a busy week for Jon as the event chairman for the 20th year running. It started with a lot of errands, shopping and planning to get ready and that followed a few months of planning, budgeting and preparing.  Thursday I got everything down the club and got organized.  We didn’t have our normal Chef Alain this year, so I prepared BBQ ribs and that was all pre-cooked all day Friday as sailors started to arrive and go for practice sails.

Saturday’s forecast called for wind in the afternoon and once the fleet was checked in, rigged and ready to go they were sent out on time. The north wind necessitated sailing about 2 miles south in Godfrey Bay. The first race was started in pretty light wind and 3-4 boats ended up being about 2-3 minutes late for the start. I started right at the boat and worked my way to the right side. Those who sailed up the middle-left had a little more pressure leaving me about 12-14 at the top mark. Noting where that lane of pressure was I went back down that lane on the left/west side of the course while most boats ahead stuck to the layline or even to the right. That paid off perfectly and by the leeward mark I was in 2nd just behind Gavin. The RC moved the course and shortened it. Over the course of the next lap and a half a few boats caught up and passed me, but was able to hold onto 5th place.

Race two had a little more breeze. I again started at the boat and again went to the right, but got hung out there having not entirely learned the lesson of the prior race. I was probably around 25 at the top mark and spent the rest of the racing picking off boats to eventually end up 14th.

By the 3rd race the wind had picked up and shifted east so the weather mark was pointed right at the end of Stove Point. With wind in the mid-teens and gusts to 21 I started at the boat with Dave Waiting and Gavin. They got out to the right and then worked their way left. My mistake was not following them and sure enough I was deep in the fleet by the top mark. When I turned downwind I wasn’t entirely setup for windy downwind sailing and before I knew it I was death rolling. Most of the fleet sailed by as I righted it and a short time later I death rolled again. The biggest casualty was my camera that should have been waterproof enough to survive the dunking and didn’t. 28th in that race.

In what would be the 4th and final race of the day – the wind eased back a bit to the low teens by the start. I again went for a boat-end start and would have won it had I not gotten there early and been OCS. When the X-flag was raised at the start I knew it was at least for me, and maybe others, so as soon as I saw a gap I turned around and cleared myself.  I’d find out later two other boats were OCS and I ended up being a witness in a related redress hearing. After my restart I had the boat going pretty well and quickly caught up to the back of the fleet and started picking up places. With at least 10 boats already retired I was able to climb my way up to 14th and finish there.

Following racing it was time to get dinner ready. We assembled a team – Luke, Gretta, Scott, John, Mike, Gavin – thank you! – and worked through finishing the ribs, warming up the green beans and putting the salads together for serving.  Everything went great and we were able to serve on time and had everything plated and passed out in a matter of minutes to nearly 70 people. Dessert was a gluten free cake with the event logo on it.

The night was wrapped up with the redress hearing along with some cleaning and prep for breakfast in the morning.

Sunday’s forecast wasn’t for a lot of wind and that’s exactly what we got. We hung around hoping something would develop and by 11 when it was clear nothing was going to develop in time to get some racing in, we called it a regatta. Thank you to everyone who came and sailed – it was great meeting new sailors and hanging out with old friends.  And thank you to the RC and all of the other volunteers who helped make this possible.

EVENT WEBSITE | PICTURES | RESULTS | VIDEO

By Posted on Posted in ILCA Sailing, Life, No Quarter Sailing, Sailboat Racing No Comments Tagged with , , , , ,

The first of the Fall Series for the Offshore division at Fishing Bay Yacht Club started with a light air forecast. While the forecast had looked better earlier in the week, we arrived Saturday morning for very light winds and maybe some wind mid-afternoon. The RC postponed us ashore for a bit before sending us out to the course to postpone there so we could be ready if/when the wind did come up.

I was sailing aboard the J99 Battle Rhythm with Todd, Jen, Holly, Rick and Ron. We floated around a bit until well after noon. There was some discussion among the fleet of how late in the day to wait for wind. As it neared 1pm the wispers of wind we were seeing were coming from the right direction.  1 knot, then 2 knots and then 4 knots of wind. That was still going to be tough going with anywhere from half a not to a full knot of current in the same direction of the wind, but at least it looked promising.  Soon the wind was continuing to increase and the RC started to set up a course.

As this was happening many of the sailboats were putting mainsails up. We put our main up and decided to do a little upwind practice.  We missed the radio announcement about starting and by the time we heard anything on the radio, it was for the first warning.  By this time we were a few hundred yards up the course. We quickly turn on our engine for a half a minute and shut it off just before the prep signal. We were still well upwind of the start in only a few knots of wind so we put our spinnaker up to get back as quickly as we could. The race started and we dodged the boats coming upwind on starboard as we continued downwind on port to get behind the line.  The fleet had an almost 2 minute head start on us by the time we got back to the line, doused the spin and rounded the pin to start.

Rick and Ron look out from the low side of Battle Rhythm as the fleet sails in the distance
Rick and Ron look out from the low side of Battle Rhythm as the fleet sails in the distance

The port tack was pretty close to directly into the current with a south east breeze. Orion was going this way well ahead of us, but most boats had tacked out to stay in the middle of the course. Knowing we were behind and it would be advantageous to go into the current first and not get swept up the bay we continued this until we thought we’d be on the layline. Even Orion tacked well before we did.  That move paid off, we crossed the entire fleet except for Orion who was easily 2 minutes around the mark ahead of us and Afterthought who was just ahead of us at the mark.  We would have been well on our way downwind, only we mis-judged the current at the mark and hit it as we rounded.  We held off on our spin hoist and by the time we did our turn Nanuq and Excitation were right there rounding the mark. They headed North with the current on starboard and we quickly got our spin on up and gybed to port. That worked well and they fell behind us when they eventually gybed to port. The wind was still light and with shifting winds the RC shortened the course at this mark. We would end up 3rd behind Orion and Afterthought.

We floated around the starting area while the other fleets finished and the course was reset. The wind did fill some more to 6-7 knots and more out of the south. At the start of the second race, most of the 7-boat PHRF-A fleet spread out down the line. That gave us a perfect opening to time the start right at the pin. Excitation was just behind us at the pin. With Orion just below us and Excitation just behind us – both boats who point exceptionally well compared to us upwind, we quickly tacked out before we got sandwiched. This took us mostly into the current towards Gwynn’s island.

Start of Race 2
Start of Race 2

Like the first race we kept our tacks low and worked our way out towards the layline. This time the rest of the fleet didn’t go so hard left, but with the start we had and good speed we crossed most of the fleet. Only we didn’t quite get to the layline and had to do a short tack near the mark and by then we were ducking the other boats on starboard who had been just behind us.  We rounded 4th just behind the other boats and headed downwind.

By now the crew work on Battle Rhythm was working well and we were efficiently getting the spin up and down and not loose any ground to the fleet. We continued the second lap much like the first and finished just behind the pack of 3 boats behind us taking 4th for the race and finishing 3rd overall on the day.

We were glad we all stayed out there as the wind really did fill in to a raceable pressure and it was a gorgeous day. Thanks to Gene and crew for running race and Todd for having me aboard.

RESULTS | PICTURES | VIDEO

By Posted on Posted in Life, Sailboat Racing No Comments Tagged with , , , , , ,

A foot injury kept me sidelined from racing in the 2024 Stingray Point Regatta, but we did get out for a while on Sunday to capture some pictures of the racing on the east course.

A1 Fleet Sailing downwind in the first race on Sunday.
A1 Fleet Sailing downwind in the first race on Sunday.

MORE PICTURES | EVENT WEBSITE

By Posted on Posted in Life, Photography, Sailboat Racing, Sailing Photography, Video No Comments Tagged with , , , , , , ,

Friday

Having seen the forecast for Friday and good conditions for some afternoon practice, I left for the ILCA Atlantic Coast Championship at Brant Beach on Thursday night and drove to Baltimore enabling me to miss DC traffic the next morning. 🙂

Friday morning I had a relatively easy drive to Brant Beach arriving around noon and going for some practice in the afternoon sea breeze.

We were able to jump into some practice races that one of the coaches were running and it was good to get practice around marks and other boats. In the evening there was a beautiful sunset.

Saturday

Saturday started with breakfast in the clubhouse and a postponement until the wind filled. After about two and 1/2 hours the sea breeze looked like it would fill and they sent us out around noon. I managed to be the very last boat to leave the beach, but had plenty of time to sail 1nm to the course and they postponed on the water for another 15 minutes or so as the wind settled and the course was set. After a general recall we got started under I-flag and I had an okay start by the boat. I went middle right and the folks that went hard left and started at the pin made out. I was mid-fleet and picked off a couple boats on the ensuing legs finishing 22nd.

Race 2 was another start under the I-flag. I had a great start pretty close to the boat and I was able to tack out to the right early and get in clear air. I stayed with the leaders and found myself 6th at the top mark. I didn’t play the reach very well and the fast guys went right around me downwind and I continued to drop back to the mid-20s.

For the final race of the day the wind continue to increase and the waves got sloppier. I didn’t have a great start down by the pin and found myself duking it out and just trying to find a good lane to go fast in. The rest of the race was uneventful and I finished 28th.

That evening we had a cookout in the clubhouse while the sun set behind the island just off the club’s waterfront.

Sunday

Sunday started with another postponement on shore as we waited for the sea breeze to build. This time it was a little earlier and a little stronger when it did come and we were racing by 12:30.

The starts today were a lot more competitive and I didn’t have nearly as clear of starts as I did yesterday. That meant I was tacking more and trying to find clear lanes of wind. So for race 4 I finished 29th.

In race 5 the wind increased into the double digits. I started down by the pin and went left and everyone to the right seemed like they were climbing over us so I worked my way back to the right. At the top mark I was mid fleet and I rounded the offset and tried to duck a stern to go downwind; only I mis-judged it and tapped my bow on the back of the rudder and had to do turns putting me further back in the fleet and I finished 30th.

By race 6 the wind was up to 14-16 and hiking conditions upwind. The sloppy waves from yesterday had returned and we started under U-flag. I started in the middle of the line with Eric and Andrew just below me who just flew right by me and I found myself having to tack behind everyone to look for clear air. 2 legs later we were coming into the leeward gate and I had George overlapped and just outside of me. As we hit the 3 length circle he lost control of his boat and rounded up into me. I rounded up to crash tack and avoid him as he ended up tipping on top of the right gate mark and blocking my path from rounding. I ended up in irons outside of the mark and had to go back upwind to get around him and the mark. Another boat just behind us rounded George and the mark and as they turned upwind, the side of their boat glanced across the top of my rudder leaving a gouge in their boat. I would realize later that my rudder pin was bent on the force of the impact. I would go on to finish 25 in this race and ended up 28th overall.

It was good to be back in the boat and get 3 days of sailing. I have definitely gotten out of sailing shape and have a little work to do there. I appreciate all of the people at Brant Beach who made this event possible – it was very well run and they made it easy to attend.

EVENT WEBSITE | RESULTS | PICTURES | VIDEO

By Posted on Posted in Life, No Quarter Sailing, Sailboat Racing, Video No Comments Tagged with , , , , , , , ,