DJI Osmo Pocket Two Months Later: The Good, The Bad, and the Top Accessories

DJI Osmo Pocket is a one-of-a-kind, 3-axis gimbal camera with 4K 60FPS recording. The excellent action camera has some great features and exceptional firmware that makes it quite fascinating.

You must have seen many reviews covering almost every aspect of DJI Osmo Pocket, but we will take a different approach by defining the good and the bad things about the camera. In the end, you will see some essential accessories that can significantly enhance the camera performance.

Let’s Inspect

Price

DJI Osmo Pocket is launched at a competitive price of 349$. The price is reasonable considering other popular devices like GoPro Hero 7 cost around 400$.

Unboxing

The DJI way of sending the Osmo pocket is excellent. It comes in a nice plain white box; all the contents are well-packed. The camera comes with a valuable hard protective case.

The hard case is a handy accessory, and I want every camera manufacturer to use the unique, accessible approach in their hard cases. The case allows you to easily access the SD card and charging ports without taking it off.

In addition to the case and 3-axis stabilized handheld camera, the package has a charging cable, smart Type-C, and lighting adapters.

The Good

Design and Construction

DJI Osmo Pocket is the type of camera that you can take everywhere. It is a perfect size to fit in a pocket or a small purse and can shoot 4K 60FPS. Osmo Pocket is a one-hand-friendly camera with sophisticated button placement and a non-slip, sweat-proof grip.

It has a convenient 1-inch touchscreen that can be used as a viewfinder and toggle through some menus and control. But most settings and options are on the DJI MIMO app.

Just below the screen is a universal connector that accepts small USB-C and lighting adapters, making it easier to connect your phone. And opens you to more settings and a bigger viewfinder. Then we have the function and shutter button underneath the connector. Moreover, the SD card part is on the left, and the charging port is underneath the body.

DJI Osmo Pocket is made of plastic, and it looks premium and solid. But it cannot handle falls and drops like the GoPro. It has a small motor that stabilizes the 3-axis gimbal. It needs to be protected from falls, drops, and water. So, you cannot use it roughly like a GoPro, but with secure mounts and waterproof cases, you can enhance the camera’s scope. DJI has included a hard case that protects the camera while keeping it pocket friendly and accessible.

Image Sensor

The first good thing is the image sensor. It has a 12MP 1/2.23-inch sensor f/2.0 camera with an 80° field of view. It has excellent image quality and can shoot 4K 60FPS and 1080p 120FPS. With the latest firmware update, the camera supports D-CineLike colors, which enhances post-processing and color grading and captures the dynamic range in a better way. Due to extra stability, the low-light results are pretty good as well. The camera can also capture time lapses, slow-motion videos, and story mode and supports active face tracking.

Many high-end smartphones have the same image sensor, but Osmo Pocket has slightly better video quality without the assistance of EIS and OIS. Moreover, the video is also smoother and better than the GoPro Hero 7.

Surely you will not get DSLR and gimbal rig-like quality, but it is a more practical solution for video makers who want buttery smooth everyday video.

DJI MIMO Smartphone App

DJI MIMO is an excellent smartphone app, which it has to be. Because DJI Osmo Pocket is highly dependent on the smartphone app. Conversely, GoPro Hero 7 also has a great app, but almost all the calibration options and settings can be done through the camera. This is not the case with DJI Osmo Pocket; it has a tiny 1-inch screen that is just good enough to be a viewfinder.

MIMO is an exceptional app, interactive, friendly, and well-designed. It has all the options and settings you need and can be used as a bigger and better viewfinder. In addition to modes and settings, you can also use it to edit videos. Moreover, it also has preset templates to make stunning videos, saving you hours of post-production.

The only thing I would love to see is the feature for Livestream on social media. Hero app has this feature, and DJI MIMO just fell short here.

Android and iPhone Adapters

DJI Osmo Pocket has a unique universal connector that attaches phone adapters and a bunch of other accessories to the camera. The pack comes with smart adapters. They might cause some damage to the port, but it is the best way to use the camera, considering its over-dependency on the app.

Moreover, with a solid physical connection, the transfer rate is also considerably fast and consistent, around 10mb/s.

Battery Life

Osmo Pocket has an 875mAh battery that records up to 140 minutes when set to 1080p 30FPS. Of course, it will fall when shooting 4K, but the results are pretty remarkable, especially when there is an extra gimbal motor to run.

You can also charge it while shooting which is a good and handy feature to have.

The Bad

Auto Focus

The autofocus is very bad. The camera has a slow CPU, and the auto-focus is contrast-based, which considerably lowers the performance. So, if you have a dark skin tone, don’t try to do anything sketchy just set it on auto-focus single mode and maintain the said distance.

Autofocus is satisfactory in 4K resolution.

Over-Dependency on App

Although the app is great, not everyone is a fan of hanging the phone on the side of the camera. DJI should work on a bigger screen with all the options and modes so it can be used as a standalone camera like GoPro and other action cameras.

DJI Osmo Pocket – Top Accessories

Tripod Mount

I think DJI Osmo Pocket is the only camera that does not has a ¼ inch hole. So, you cannot attach it with traditional mounts and tripods. Here is a fantastic tripod mount that costs only 5$. With this, you can link all the standard mounts and tripods.

Bike Hook

The second thing is the bike hook; it is another excellent accessory, especially if you are a biker. The clip holds the camera firmly and has an adjustable size to fit the handlebars of every size. I was unable to put it on a bicycle as it is snowing outside but here it is on a camera stand.

ND Filters

Filters are an essential accessory; here is a pack of excellent filters from Freewell. It has eight filters, a nice carrying case, and a pouch. The filters have a convenient magnetic quick-release kind of mounting that is easy to use and keeps the filter in place.

Conclusion

Osmo Pocket is a unique, smallest camera with an integrated gimbal. It gives you better control and has excellent stability and image quality. Apart from some remarks like the fixed focus, waterproof rating, limited, slow motion ability, and smaller screen, DJI Osmo Pocket is among the best cameras at very affordable pricing.

Where to Buy?

Order the spectacular DJI Osmo Pocket, and here is the link to Freewell ND Filters. Look at some of excellent samples on out YouTube Channel.