Looper

Thanks @JeromeFJ for a truly Intermediate drive. It was an Excellent terrain and definitely tested the skills of everyone at this level. Some minor refusals here and there but everyone drove with commendable spirit. Small convoy definitely helped me a lot on my puny Jeep at the back, but sad to see all the drop outs. The technical terrain in the second part of the drive was my favourite. While I wanted to say it looked like Little Sweihan, it was the actual Sweihan, the big brother. The long radio silence was testament to the meditative sensation everyone was going through. A big shout out to @Chris Wing as second lead, @Santoso Marjuki was excellent in his Jeep. Great driving by @Rajiv Sam good to see you after a while and finally @Waqas Parvez, you are a sanity check for all in a drive. Hope to see you all very soon.

Congratulations @premindra rajaram on your promotion.

Congratulations @Vaibhav, a well deserved promotion.

Previously I was on the fence about buying an action-cam for recording drives. I already had a Sony FDR 3000 4K, but I rarely used it. Dashcam footage from my 70mai seemed good enough. However, dashcam footage just accumulated, having stored 100+ drives footage on my NAS and I did nothing except edit a couple of drives which involved removing the stucks and refusals. It is difficult to get action footage from a 3-hour long drive and one needs professional video editing software to make it look better and cut to aspect ratios for social media shares. Looking at all the social media it was clear that 360 camera was the way to go. Luckily for me when I finally decided to take a plunge, Insta 360 launched their new X3. I did look at GoPro Max but decided against it because of two reasons. The camera has not been updated in some time now, it is more than 3 years old now. I hate the entire subscription model in GoPro world, and Insta 360 has a great app as well. How does it fare with GoPro 11 or DJI Action 3? Many who want to buy this camera would also consider a GoPro or DJI Action 3. They are both good cameras and they both have a slight advantage in the single lens camera department. If you need high frame rates GoPro or DJI Action 3 are necessary. The use case for them vis a vis Insta 360 X3 is different. For off-road driving, 360 will be more useful since we don’t have to worry about reframing the camera toward the direction of the action as it keeps shifting. If you have seen social media the 360 seems to be the default way to go for showing off-road driving. Plus, Insta X3's me mode and Single lens mode do what those action cams will do while removing the need for any reframing. How does it compare with Insta360 One X2? If you already have an X2, it will do 90% of what X3 does. But if you are looking at buying a new one then X3 makes a lot more sense. X3’s new two-inch screen is a substantial upgrade from X2. X3 has a better sensor at 1/ 2" compared to 1/ 2.5” on the X2. X3 has a f/1.9 aperture compared to f/2.0 on X2. X3 also records 4k 30 while X2 can only do 2.7k 30 on single lese. Both will do 5.7k on dual lease. Where to buy? I will suggest buying the action-cam and the initial accessories kit directly from the Insta 360 website, for a couple of reasons: you will be able to buy Insta360 Care that protects you from accidental damage, and they repair your camera and cover the shipping both ways, and a 2year extended warranty while you buy the camera. you will be able to buy more accessories and in my case some of them were cheaper on their website. Because it was recently launched few are available on Amazon. How much does it cost? It is cheaper in the US at USD 449, but when you order online to UAE it is EUR 529. They do have some bundles, but they cost the same as the sum of parts. How long does it take to reach here? It gets shipped in a day or two from China and will be delivered in about a week time. What Accessories to buy? Insta360 X3 Sticky Lens Guards: Protection for both your lenses. Sticks directly on the lens to safeguard from dust and scratches. Insta360 X3 Lens Cap: Extra, all-round protection for your lenses. You can use it when in the field, but you are not actively using the camera. Otherwise, I assume you would keep it in a protective case. Extra Insta360 X3 Battery: Have at least one extra. It comes in a small box. Fast Charge Hub: If you want to charge multiple batteries at the same time. Invisible Selfie Stick: You have three options. 70 cm, 120 cm and a combination of tripod extending to 105 cm. There is an extended edition selfie stick that as well can be extended to 300 cm. Bullet Time Accessory: You have two options. There is a bullet time cord which is cheaper and a Tripod that can be attached to the invisible selfie stick. GPS Smart Remote: While initially I did not recommended but the new version of GPS remote is a very good option and recommended to be bought along with the camera. Other items to consider depending on your usage: There are a lot more items available such as Insta360 X3 Quick Reader, Mic Adaptor, Utility Frame, Quick Release Mount that works with GoPro Accessories. Vibration Damper, and many kits that seemed irrelevant to me but your milage will vary. Things to avoid from Insta360: Insta360 X Series Carry Case: It fits only 70 cm stick and a battery box. Many other accessories you might have would not fit in it so suggest going for a third-party case from Amazon. Memory Card: On amazon for far less cost, and a lot more storage.

Congratulations @TT_Dubai, well done and well deserved.

Congratulations @Miguel Codes, well done!

Congratulations @Sayed Bilal, well done!