DJI OSMO ACTION
Double the screens, double the fun? Well, definitely double the convenience
Shots were vibrant, clear and smooth in a range of outdoors scenarios
Getting a dig in at the Hero7 Black, the Osmo Action is waterproof to 11m without a case, versus the GoPro’s 10m, and the rear touchscreen is larger at 2.25 inches, although this means the DJI has a fractionally larger body. It’s was once also $50 cheaper than the Hero7, but recently GoPro has been selling its cam at a price to rival that of the Osmo Action.
But all that pales compared to the showpiece colour screen on the front of the Osmo Action, just to the left of the lens. If you’re a vlogger or plan on shooting activities where the camera needs to be trained on you, this is a game-changer. It’s easy to toggle the screen on and off, using buttons, the touchscreen or voice.
The Osmo Action is more utilitarian-looking than the GoPro. It has a hard grey plastic casing, compared to the sleek, satin-y feel of the newest GoPros. It’s less premiumfeeling, if equally tough. The battery takes just shy of 90 minutes to charge and lasts around the same time when shooting constantly at 4K30 with RockSteady engaged. The battery is removable (like the Sony, but unlike the GoPro), so you can carry spares for hours of filming.
Navigating the Osmo Action’s menu system is simple on the touchscreen; swipe in from all four sides of the screen to reveal a different menu. There’s also a handy
QuickSwitch button on the side, which makes it easy to navigate between HDR video, regular video, TimeLapse and other customised modes, without needing to use the touchscreen. The Osmo Action is our favourite of the three for ease of use, just. That said, DJI’s Mimo app was a bit hit and miss for us. It’s not bad by any stretch, but it doesn’t have the same level of editing options as the GoPro companion apps.
The RockSteady digital stabilisation is very similar to GoPro’s HyperSmooth, bringing gimbal-like smoothness to videos, and it doesn’t disappoint. Our results were most consistent at 4K 30fps: shots were vibrant, crystal clear and effortlessly smooth in a range of outdoors scenarios, from a sunny surf session to filming vistas on a hike. The Osmo can also shoot HDR video at 4K30, which produces stunning, dynamic and consistent results across light and dark scenes, but you can’t combine it with RockSteady, sadly. Overall, video is on a par with the Hero7 Black.
Stills shooting is here too, and it’s good, though it doesn’t have the flexibility of the GoPro’s SuperView wide field of view mode for capturing dramatic landscapes.