DJI Osmo Pocket, or 4K camera with gimbal, which you can put in your pocket - a review

DJI Osmo Pocket is the smallest 4K camera in the world equipped with a real gimbal. The equipment is shocking with the miniature size, but is it the quality of the picture?

Gimbals are devices that in recent years have literally revolutionized the video world, especially amateur and semi-professional. Equipment, which for years was seen only on film sets, suddenly began to be miniaturized and sold at affordable prices. Perfect stabilization carried out by three motors and gyroscopes suddenly hit the thatched roofs.

Today, we will buy a good gimbal for a light camera for around 2-3 thousand. PLN, and sensational mobile gimbals cost 600 PLN. Chinese manufacturers even offer twice cheaper solutions. This makes the gimbals cease to be any extravagance.

Then it appears: DJI Osmo Pocket. It's like a camera from a drone, but for recording from ground level.

https://youtu.be/YqqdUpVLBRo

DJI is not a novice about small cameras and gimbals. This manufacturer has been developing both categories of equipment in the drone segment for years, in which it became the undisputed number one. DJI Mavic 2 Pro shows how good quality can have a miniature camera with good software.

DJI Osmo Pocket is an attempt to move the drone camera to the ground. The camera is incredibly miniaturized and it is hard to believe that such a small device houses a real, mechanical, three-axis gimbal.

What can DJI Osmo Pocket do? Surprisingly a lot.

dji osmo pocket review

The heart of the device is a matrix of size used in smartphones and in DJI drones (diagonal 1 / 2.3 inches). It has a resolution of 12 megapixels and records a 4K image with a maximum bitrate of 100 Mb / s.

The built-in lens has a focal length of 26 mm and f / 2.0. It is a pity that there was a slightly wider viewing angle (even 24 mm) and slightly better light (eg f / 1.5, as in the best smartphones), but it is probably a compromise dictated by the extreme miniaturization of the structure.

dji osmo pocket review

There are several modes of operation to choose from:

  • photos (12 megapixels, including RAW in DNG format),
  • films (4K in the frame from 24 to 60 fps, or Full HD max. 120 fps),
  • slow-motion (unfortunately with a large crop of the image),
  • timelapse (with a great motion timelapse option, which automatically moves the lens from point A to B),
  • panorama.

DJI Osmo Pocket is easy to use, but only in automatic mode.

Osmo Pocket has only two buttons on the casing (switch and recording), and all changes are made on a tiny touch screen with a diagonal of 1 inch. It has almost quadratic proportions, but the videos are saved in a standard format, so we do not see the sides of the frame in the preview. However, you can enforce the letterbox display mode, although the image on the screen becomes unacceptably small.

dji osmo pocket review

We support the entire interface with gestures and unfortunately this is not the peak of convenience. In the automatic mode, the whole is very easy to use, but the level of complexity increases as the settings go deeper. And these are really many, especially after the last software update that brought the professional mode available without an external application on your smartphone.

If we decide to record in a D-Cinelike flat profile (yes, it is possible), and in manual mode, where we can control the shutter speed and ISO sensitivity, the stratification of interface elements becomes problematic. Everything can be handled with gestures, but it's easy to get lost in them, especially due to the fact that the screen is tiny.

Biggest flaw? No or little availability of accessories.

dji osmo pocket review

The most important element on the casing is a special port, to which we can connect two adapters included in the set: with USB-C or with a Lightning connector. Thanks to this, we can connect the camera to the smartphone port and use the DJI application. Even though the camera operation is much more convenient. Unfortunately, the small port does not hold the camera with sufficient stiffness, making this connection quite uncomfortable.

I am definitely not a fan of using DJI Osmo Pocket together with a smartphone, because it distorts the whole concept into a miniature device.

dji osmo pocket review

The Osmo Pocket also has a USB-C port for charging the built-in battery. There is also a microSD card slot and ... this is the end. There is not any stand mount. The biggest absent is the microphone port, which is why we are relying only on built-in microphones of quite average quality. The standard adapter from USB-C to minijack unfortunately does not work, although DJI sells its own, quite expensive adapter.

DJI offers a large database of accessories that extend the capabilities of the camera. In addition, there are more and more third-party accessories that add, for example, mounting to the GoPro system. It is evident that a market is born here with considerable potential, although for now it is a fledgling market. My first purchase for DJI Osmo Pocket would be ND filters, which would keep the shutter speed when recording in the sun.

How does DJI Osmo Pocket work in practice?

dji osmo pocket review

Excellently! The camera is so small that it does not attract attention at all, thanks to which it can be filmed in places where it usually creates problems.

The Osmo Pocket is so small that I always took it when I left the house. Even with the attached case, the camera fits in the pocket of a jacket or even trousers. There is no excuse not to take it with you.

This miniaturization is the biggest advantage of DJI Osmo Pocket. And what is the biggest disadvantage? Definitely a service system. I would like to see a gimbal control joystick, a microphone connector and a tripod mount or a GoPro system on the casing.

The interface allows you to choose one of the three modes of gimbal operation: standard, with the tilt axis locked and the FPV mode allowing the tilt of the camera also in the roll axis. For this we have a choice of two speeds to follow. The camera can also track objects and face, but in this mode it is very easy to get lost.

The image quality is very fair in this class of equipment. It's like DJI camera drones, and you can squeeze miracles out of them. And although we have typically mobile components here, thanks to the flat profiles of the image and very good RAW photos, the conscious creator will squeeze more from the DJI Osmo Pocket than from the smartphone.

The built-in rechargeable battery lasts for less than 2 hours of recording in 4K, which is quite a typical result. Unfortunately, we can not replace it, so we are away from powerbanks.

Who is the DJI Osmo Pocket camera for? Is it worth choosing instead of a mobile gimbal?

dji osmo pocket review

DJI Osmo Pocket is equipment for youtubers, vloggers and travelers who care about the greatest miniaturization of equipment. The device will also work with more advanced filmmakers who know how to use manual mode and a flat image profile.

And what if you are an ordinary user who wants to have an effective stabilization in holiday films and at the same time counts on full automation? In this case, a better purchase will be a mobile gimbal, eg DJI Osmo Mobile 2.

Such a gimbal for a smartphone costs PLN 600, that is, up to 1 thousand. less than the DJI Osmo Pocket camera, and will provide equally good stabilization. The image quality will of course depend on your smartphone. We will also lose extreme miniaturization, but the mobile gimbal does not belong to large devices.

dji osmo pocket review

In summary, DJI Osmo Pocket is a great extension (but not a replacement!) Of the vlogger arsenal or an advanced filmmaker. This equipment for special tasks, which does not replace the quality of the camera, but works where the camera makes it difficult. I see great potential in this category of devices. Who knows, maybe in a few years, similar solutions will completely replace sports cameras like GoPro.



DJI Osmo Pocket, or 4K camera with gimbal, which you can put in your pocket - a review

Comments

  1. Droneshield2/1/22, 11:38 PM


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