Small and perfectly formed, the DJI Osmo Pocket is a powerhouse of a pocket video camera; GoPro watch out
DJI has unveiled its latest product, the DJI Osmo Pocket, at an event in New York. The tiny camera is a smaller version of the standard Osmo 2: it’s an action camera attached to an incredibly small mechanical, three-axis gimbal to enable shake-free video in the smallest of packages.
At a price of £329, the Osmo Pocket undercuts its big rival in this space – the GoPro Hero 7 Black – and by quite a margin, although the GoPro is even smaller and also delivers silky smooth video footage. The difference is that the GoPro does so purely digitally, via its impressive HyperSmooth technology.
DJI Osmo Pocket camera: Price, key specifications and release date
- 1/2.3in sensor, f/2 lens
- Video: up to 4K @ 60fps
- Stills: 12MP
- Mechanical, three-axis motorised gimbal stabilisation
- 1in touchscreen
- microSD slot
- USB Type-C charging
- 2hr battery life (4K 30fps)
- Includes Lightning and USB Type-C connectors and a protective hard case
- Release date: Preorder from 28 November, ships on 15 December
- Price: £329 inc VAT
- DJI Osmo Pocket camera: Key features and first impressions
The camera itself looks very similar to the unit that adorns the Mavic 2 Pro except it’s much smaller and instead of dangling beneath a drone, it’s perched on top of a small handle. An impossibly small stabilisation mechanism anchors it to a stubby, palm-sized grip.
That grip hosts the controls for the camera and these comprise a couple of buttons and a tiny 1in touchscreen, which is embedded in the flat area at the top of the handle. The camera itself has a 1/2.3in sensor and shoots 4K footage at up to 60fps and 1080p at up to 120fps for slow-motion footage. It can snap photographs at 12-megapixels, too, and records everything to microSD card that slots in at the left-hand side of the handle.
The camera is designed to sync up with the new DJI Mimo smartphone app, which allows you to put together quick and easy edits and access the camera’s most advanced modes more easily. These include ActiveTrack, face tracking, panorama and various time-lapse modes. Vloggers will love the face-tracking selfie video mode, which at a triple-tap of a button on the rear fips around to face you and then follows your movements automatically.
There’s also an automatic night mode, an “FPV” mode designed to compensate for the strong g-forces you get, for example, on a rollercoaster and what DJI is calling its “story mode”, which allows you to automatically create a video montage in less than a minute.
By default, the Osmo Pocket doesn’t connect wirelessly, though. Instead, you attach either a Lightning or USB Type-C plug adapter to the camera’s expansion slot (both are included in the box) and then plug the camera onto the end of your smartphone, with the latter’s display acting like a big viewfinder.
Accessories include a set of neutral density filters that snap magnetically to the front of the camera, an extension rod, a waterproof case and an action camera mount so you can use the camera just like a GoPro, attached to a helmet. There’s also a charging case, which stores the camera and all your bits and bobs, all while adding an extra two hours of battery life. A gimbal control wheel allows fine manual control over pan and tilt without having to attach your smartphone.
The size of the sensor is slightly disappointing. If DJI really wanted to stick it to GoPro that would be the ideal way to do it. Plus, there’s no replaceable battery, tripod thread or means of attaching an external microphone, although you can attach a battery pack to the device’s USB Type-C charging port on the bottom to lengthen the battery life.
Otherwise, this is a really neat-looking camera and it feels extremely well made and well thought out, especially the tiny size. I own a mechanical gimbal, which allows me to shoot ultra-smooth video footage on my phone: it’s bulky and I have to think twice before taking it on a trip.
With the DJI Osmo Pocket, it’s a no-brainer: you have effectively the same thing but in a package that you can slip easily into a jacket pocket. Even the case, which is included in the box to provide protection for the gimbal mechanism, hardly adds to the dimensions.
DJI Osmo Pocket: Early verdict
DJI is best known for drones such as the Spark, the Phantom and the Mavic 2, but it also desperately wants a strong presence in the handheld camera space that GoPro currently dominates. With the DJI Osmo Pocket it looks to have found the answer.
I’ll be putting DJI’s tiny shooter through its paces over the next few days and weeks and will be extending these early impressions into a full review. Check back for the full review very soon.
Source: expertreviews.co.uk
