Looking Smooth With dji's Stablished Camera Stabilised Camera
of fun. Drone-maker DJI has applied some of its flying camera stabilisation technology to a ground-based product, creating what’s claimed to be the world’s smallest three-axis stabilised camera.
The DJI Osmo Pocket is just ten centimetres tall and can take both still images and 4K video footage with its three-axis mechanical gimbal smoothing out all the bumps. A 1/2.3-inch CMOS sensor delivers 12 megapixels photographs and 4K video can be recorded at up to 60 fps with a bit rate of 100 Mbps. The Osmo Pocket also has built-in dual microphones and employs advanced noise-canceling algorithms to ensure high-quality soundtracks.
There’s a built-in 2.5 cm touch screen monitor which provides live view as well as the ability to toggle through the unit’s various shooting modes, adjust settings, review footage or select features. A number of these are based on dji’s drone tech, including ‘ActiveTrack’ which uses image recognition algorithms to enable the Osmo Pocket to recognise and follow subjects. The ‘FaceTrack’ function takes ‘ ActiveTrack’ further and can automatically recognise a human face, locking on to keep the subject in the centre of the frame at all times. The Osmo Pocket also has ‘Timelapse’ and ‘Motionlapse’, the latter adding the dynamic element of camera movement to time-lapse sequences. In the ‘FPV Mode’ video is recorded 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. You can also shoot 180-degree panoramas created from four frames or a nineframe multi-directional stitched image. In the ‘Pro Mode’ a range of settings can be manually adjusted, including exposure. For shooting in low light situations, DJI says the gimbal will enable steady shooting with shutter speeds down to a full three seconds. A range of accessories is available, including an accessory mount which makes the Osmo Pocket compatible with actioncam accessories, a wireless module which provides WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity, and a waterproof housing which allows shooting at depths of up to 60 metres. The DJI Osmo Pocket is priced at $599; for more information visit www.dji.com/osmo-pocket.