When I first reviewed the Insta360 Link, it became was one of the best webcams at the time, but it was soon overshadowed by some competitors in this field. Ever since, I've been excited to see what Insta360 would bring to the table next. The Insta360 Link 2 is an interesting update. It improves some things, cuts back on others, and significantly reduces the price.

What we have in the end is a very good webcam that's now better than ever for meetings. The image quality is as good as it always was, but it's now backed by excellent audio as well, blowing the competition out of the water for a fairly low price. The video quality is also excellent, and the only place where I feel like the camera falters a bit is tracking.

About this review: Insta360 sent me the Link 2 and Link 2C for the purposes of this review. The company had no input in its content.

Insta360 Link 2 pricing and availability

Insta360 launched the Link 2 and Link 2C webcams simultaneously on September 24th, 2024, both on its own website and Amazon, where you can buy them right now.

Pricing for the standard Link 2 comes in at $199.99, while the Link 2C costs $149.99.

What I like

Image quality is still great

The thing that matters most with a webcam is obviously the quality of the camera itself, and Insta360 delivered here. Realistically, this is just a cheaper version of the original Link, featuring the same sensor size, resolution, and aperture as that model. What that means is that this is one of the best webcams you can get quality-wise. I compared it to the Obsbot Tiny 2 Lite since it's the closest in price, though I did also try the original Obsbot Tiny 2.

Here are some samples with daylight coming in through a window, some indoor lighting, and no lighting aside from the monitor in front of me. In each pair of samples, the Insta360 Link 2 is shown first, followed by the Obsbot Tiny 2 Lite.

As you can see, the Insta360 Link 2 and Obsbot Tiny 2 Lite stand toe-to-toe quality wise. The Insta360 Link has a fairly wide aperture and a stronger bokeh effect, so things in the background have less detail, but you might prefer that. I feel like that's mostly up to personal preference.

Colors in some of the shots appear to be a bit punchier in the Insta360 Link 2, too, though I don't find the difference that biog most of the time. Where you see a bigger advantage for the Link 2 is in extremely low lighting conditions, where the Obsbot Tiny 2 Lite falls a bit behind. That said, I doubt anyone will ever be using a webcam in these conditions anyway.

This is one of the best webcams you can get

I did try HDR mode, but I honestly found the differences to be minimal, and in some cases, I preferred pictures without HDR. That's been the case with most webcams I've tried, so it's not super surprising to me.

Built-in noise cancellation makes for excellent audio

One of the big selling points of the Insta360 Link 2 is the improved audio quality, which is a huge deal here. Whenever I review webcams, the audio quality isn't a huge focus for me because it's always fine, but not really impressive. But with the Insta360 Link 2, the difference is very big when compared to the Obsbot Tiny 2 Lite.

The Link 2 uses AI noise cancellation when recording, and it works very well. My voice sounds much cleaner and clearer compared to the competition, even as I move around and make other noises.

If you install the Link Controller app, you can also change the noise cancellation behavior to filter out other voices (voice suppression), or enhance music quality. I tried the voice suppression feature, and it also did a really good job at removing a YouTube video I was playing in the background while I spoke, it was pretty impressive.

My voice sounds much cleaner and clearer

It's much cheaper than its predecessor

Of course, it's also worth mentioning the price here. The Insta360 Link was one of the most expensive webcams I've reviewed, but for this sequel, the company took a step back and focused on reducing the price. Now, the Insta360 Link 2 costs just $199.99, which is a whopping $100 less than the original model. And if you don't need AI tracking, the Link 2C is just $149.99.

I love PTZ webcams, though, and it's great to see them become more accessible. Between this and the Obsbot Tiny 2 Lite, it's great to see this kind of feature become available to more people.

What I don't like

It's a big webcam

I've always felt that many of these PTZ webcams are a little too big, but that was one area where the original Link was actually pretty good. It was a tony camera that was still very versatile. Unfortunately, the Link 2 takes not one, but multiple steps back here. This is the largest PTZ webcam I've used.

The gimbal itself naturally leads to a larger size, but the main camera housing is also just way too wide, and thick. It's not overly heavy, thankfully, maybe because the construction is mostly plastic. But the sheer size looks a little funny. The Link 2C is smaller due to not having the gimbal, but it's still pretty wide na dbig compared to other non-gimbal webcams like the Obsbot Meet 2.

Tracking is still not the best

Unfortunately, Insta360 doesn't seem to have done much to improve the tracking capabilities of the Link 2 compared to its predecessor. I had some issues with the camera losing track of me too easily in the previous iteration, and that seems to still be the case here.

As I crouched behind my chair, the Insta360 Link 2 lost track of me, and it was unable to get back up when I did, while the Obsbot Tiny 2 Lite handled it impressively well. Look at this clip:

Similarly, tracking in extreme low light is not as reliable with the Link 2 compared to Obsbot's cameras. The Obsbot Tiny 2 Lite follows me more smoothly and consistently as I move around, even as my face becomes nearly invisible. By comparison, the Insta360 Link 2 seems to get stuck in some positions where it loses track of me, and then suddenly tries to make up for it.

The Pause-Track Areas feature is interesting, though. It locks targetting when you get in a specific area, which prevents the camera from moving past that point. It can be useful to prevent showing more than you want to, for example.

The Insta360 Link 2C doesn't have AI tracking, but it does have auto framing, and it works alright. It's definitely better than the tracking some laptop webcams have, and it's much more responsive. But that's almost not a good thing, because the camera perspective can change a lot and it feels a little wonky as a result.

We lost portrait mode

In making the Insta360 Link 2 cheaper than its predecessor, one of the big things that was sacrificed was portrait mode. The original Link had a unique gimbal that allowed the sensor itself to rotate into portrait mode, but that's been removed now.

Portrait mode is still supported, but now, you have to buy the official tripod to enable it. It can't just be any tripod, either, because there's no screw mount on the webcam. It needs to be a magnetic tripod, which INsta360 is happy to sell to you for an added cost.

Should you buy the Insta360 Link 2?

It's very easy to recommend the Insta360 Link 2. While the tracking capabilities aren't the best I've seen, image quality is top-notch, and the audio quality is the best I've ever seen (or heard) from a webcam's built-in microphone. It absolutely makes this the best option for engaging in online meetings and calls if you don't want to use a dedicated headset.

That's especially true when you consider the price. If you compare this to the Obsbot Tiny 2 Lite, you're only paying about $30 more, and you get better low-light performance and far better audio. The tracking isn't as good and the design is not as sleek, but the Link 2 wins where it matters most.

You should buy the Insta360 Link 2 if:

• You want to be able to record or stream in 4K
• You want clear audio without needing a microphone or headset
• You don't want to spend $300 on a webcam

You should NOT buy the Insta360 Link if:

• You want a webcam that's relatively compact
• You want the best tracking capabilities possible