GoPro Max 2 360 Camera Review: It’s Finally Here

The good news for desktop users is that there's now a plug-in for DaVinci Resolve to go with the long existing Adobe Premier Plugin. The bad news is that you'll have to transcode your videos into a format DaVinci Resolve can read using the GoPro Player app. Fortunately there is an option to batch-process them. The ability to shoot 10-bit color footage I can then combine with other footage in DaVinci Resolve is worth the small pain of prepping the GoPro footage. Also, props to GoPro for supporting plugging the Max 2 directly into your phone to download clips. This is so much faster than downloading over a Wi-Fi connection. Love a good wire. Should You Buy? If you don't currently have a 360 camera and you want one, the GoPro Max 2 is the camera to get. It will be our top-pick 360 camera when I update that guide next. The excellent video quality, easily replaceable lenses, 10-bit color, and more realistic out-of-the-box color rendering give the Max 2 the edge over the competition. The only caution I have is the audio. You'll want to use an external mic if audio is important to you (but really, this is always true). The one other area that might make the X5 a better choice is in low light. I very rarely shoot with cameras like this in low light, and I find the low-light footage from Insta360’s and DJI’s cameras (all of them, not just the 360 cameras) unrealistic and smeary, but in some cases that might be better than what you get from the Max 2. Suffice to say that GoPro has optimized for the daylight shots. If you already own an Osmo 360, there's nothing here that's compelling enough to warrant moving to the GoPro. The same is true of the Insta360 X5. If you own the X4 … that's a tougher call. The Max 2 video quality is a huge step up, but so is the X5, so it really comes down to whether or not the 10-bit color and other benefits of the Max 2 are worth it to you.