Why the New Osmo Pocket from DJI is a Gamechanger for Vloggers

If you’re into drones, you probably have heard about DJI, as the biggest drone company in the world, by quite a good margin.

The thing is, they don’t only focus on flying things, but have expanded to everything camera and video related, and they’ve had great success with their handheld gimbals for both DSLR cameras, as well as the OSMO series.

It does seem like DJI’s marketing strategy takes competition into account, as, if you remember when GoPro launched the Karma drone, DJI came with the game-changing Mavic Pro.

Something similar seemed to have happened recently, where GoPro released their new Hero 7, which is supposed to be the most stabilized action camera in the world.

A while after that, DJI put on the market something that in my opinion will change the vlogging world quite a lot and not only that.

What is the Osmo Pocket?

The Osmo Pocket is basically a stabilized 4k camera on a gimbal. Yet it’s so much more than that!

Its main game changing parameter is definitely the size. Having the performance (or even better) of the previous osmo devices in such a tiny form factor makes this enticing for any video creator.

I went into more detail about the specs and more on my review of the Osmo pocket where I also have a youtube video review. After I have tested it against a few different similar cameras, I must say I was impressed.

Camera Quality

Because the camera is the main focus of everyone when asking about the osmo, I think we should start with that.

The main points for the camera this thing rocks are:

• 4k 60p recording (allowing for slow motion)
• 1080 120p slow motion
• 4000×3000 pixels photos
• 100mbit/s video bitrate (which is huge for such a small camera)
• 1/2.3” CMOS sensor
• FOV: 80°

Why the Osmo pocket is more cinematic than the GoPro Hero 7

I happen to have also tested the Osmo directly against the GoPro Hero 7. At first I was interested in testing the stabilization, but frankly, I have noticed something I didn’t think would make so much of a difference.

Insert video somewhere: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h91JC-ZLnx8

The field of view for the GoPro is enormously larger than the one on the Osmo Pocket. There is an option to make the field of view smaller for the Gopro, but that cuts from the original image quality.

The GoPros have always been made for action sports, where you want to capture everything around you and put you in the place of that person.

Therefore they chose to put a fisheye wide lens on their cameras.

However, when it comes to filming something cinematic, vlogging and simply recording things in a more realistic perspective, without the fisheye distortion, the Osmo has the upper hand.

The smaller field of view means you won’t capture as much in the frame, but the 80°FOV makes sure to keep things real and closer to a 50mm lens feel. This basically doesn’t distort your face proportions, making your nose bigger and what not.

How stable is the 3 axis gimbal on the Osmo compared to electronic image stabilization?

I don’t think there’s any doubt in anyone’s mind that a 3 axis motorized gimbal does a better job than simply stabilizing the image virtually.

We have seen this difference in drones, as the most successful ones that provide incredible stabilization always come with a proper gimbal.

I have went in a small off-road adventure for exactly that, comparing the stabilization of the osmo to the latest Hero7, and the results were very good for both sides.

However, I did notice a slight edge when it comes to the osmo, and probably the biggest advantage is that the Osmo pocket has the same well stabilized video during the night too.

On the other hand, the GoPro, or frankly any other software stabilized camera has issues at night because it can’t figure out the image that well.

Who should buy the Osmo pocket?

This is definitely in the price range for amateur content creators and it cant replace quite a lot of heavy equipment if you know how to use it.

The thing is, when it comes to video, it’s more important how you’re telling the story, and if a heavy camera and huge gimbal is in the way of you enjoying your time and being yourself, this must be changed.

People only dreamed of having a perfectly stabilized 4k 60fps camera in their pocket just a few years ago.

I consider this to be ideal for the following types of needs:

• Vlogging (probably the best tool you can get)
• Traveling (if you’re not planning to get that much into action sports, then get this instead of a gopro)
• If you want to save money and buy a cheaper camera phone, but this on the side (it’s really good for any kind of video, even if it’s just your nephews running around or posting a slow motion Instagram video about your son playing football)