The DJI Osmo Pocket Is Going To Give The GoPro A Run For Its Money

When the GoPro Hero 7 Black was released a few months ago, we immediately rushed out and bought one, blown away by their new video stabilization feature. which makes shaky videos a thing of the past. But now DJI just introduced their DJI Osmo Pocket, and they may have just built a better mouse trap.

The DJI Osmo Pocket is a highly-compact three-axis stabilized camera that is here to change the way photos and videos are captured, and not just by professionals but by parents, couples, adventurers, travelers, and everyone in between.

As the name suggests, the Osmo Pocket is small enough to fit in your pocket, standing at just over 4 inches tall and weighing all of a quarter pound. But don’t let its small size fool you, as this camera is surprisingly powerful, with a 1/2.3-inch sensor to record 12-megapixel photos and 4K video up to 60fps at 100Mbps in stunning detail.

But what really takes this camera to the next level is its state-of-the-art three-axis mechanical gimbal, which compensates for movements and smooths these motions so you can focus on composition and subject matter. While the GoPro Hero7 uses electronic stabilization to get rid of the shakes, the mechanical gimbal is a better solution for smooth videos.

Osmo Pocket also uses built-in dual microphones and advanced noise-canceling algorithms to ensure you capture high quality audio to match your footage. Furthermore, a battery life of up to two hours shooting video in 4K, 30fps means you can always rely on it to capture your story no matter where you are at the very best quality.

“Innovation is at the heart of every product we create and DJI Osmo Pocket is here to change the way photos and videos are captured,” said Roger Luo, President at DJI. “Osmo Pocket is a portable personal camera crew and we can’t wait to see how people use it to capture their stories and share them with the world.”

The gimbal camera uses a 1-inch integrated touch screen that provides a high quality live view as well as the ability to toggle through the various shooting modes, adjust settings, review footage and gain access to a full suite of creative features including:

• ActiveTrack – DJI’s image recognition algorithms allow Osmo Pocket to recognize and follow subjects of your choice, perfect for capturing family moments easily with the tap of your finger.
• FaceTrack – FaceTrack takes ActiveTrack one step further. With enhanced ActiveTrack algorithms, FaceTrack automatically recognizes a human face and locks the subject in center of the frame at all times. It does not identify individual faces, but keeps the camera centered on one. To initiate FaceTrack, simply select selfie mode and the camera will detect your face.
• Timelapse & Motionlapse – If you’re looking to turn minutes into seconds, Timelapse is perfect for capturing unique content with the effect of the world moving faster around you, while Motionlapse adds the dynamic element of camera movement to your Timelapse.
• FPV Mode – FPV Mode lets you capture your greatest adventures by recording video from your perspective. Instead of locking the gimbal to maintain the horizon, FPV tells the camera to follow your every tilt and lean, shooting dynamic footage exactly as you experienced it.
• 3×3 & 180° Panorama – For capturing breathtaking wide-angle photos, Osmo Pocket offers two Panorama modes. 3X3 takes an expansive 9 images in total while 180° mode captures 4 images. Osmo Pocket software stitches them together automatically so you can focus on the framing of the scene.

That 1-inch screen not cutting it for you? A universal port under the touchscreen allows users to connect their mobile devices that use iOS Lightning or USB-C. Upon connection, the new dedicated DJI Mimo app will automatically open and serves as a monitor, while in-app menu offers a variety of intelligent features and recording modes:

• Story Mode – Bring creative editing to your video with a host of preset music, video transitions and coloring. Choose one of 10 fun templates and Mimo will handle the camera movement for you. After finishing, Mimo automatically generates your very own short story, ready to be shared.
• Pro Mode – If you want even more control over your content, “Pro mode” gives you access to camera setting adjustments and exposure settings to let you create exactly how you want, from rich video in bright conditions to a perfect handheld long exposure photo at night. Whatever you want to shoot, Osmo Pocket and DJI Mimo let you explore and expand your creativity. Osmo Pocket automatically detects and illuminates low-lit scenes into bright photos. This helps eliminates the need for a tripod, and you can rely on the gimbal to keep the camera still for a shutter speed of up to three seconds. Illuminate the dark, or capture the movement of light in a “light painting.” You’re only limited by your imagination.

I’m not really sure where that leaves Android users who don’t have USB-C jacks, but I’m sure DJI will be hearing from plenty of those users in the near future. 🙂

Overall, I think DJI really knocked it out of the park with the Osmo Pocket, and with a price of just $349, it’s well within the reach of the amateur vlogger or photographer looking to capture awesome footage on the go, without having to lug around a bunch of equipment.

What do you think of the DJI Osmo Pocket stabilized camera?

Photo Credit: DJI