78 T3 FEBRUARY 2022Te s te d
DJI Action 2From £349
dji.comhe DJI Action 2 is the next generation
of action camera from the kings of
the drone world. In a daring bid to
prove that GoPro isn’t the only game
in town when it comes to action cams, DJI has
given its Osmo Action camera a major rejig.
The DJI Action 2’s main unit is compact and
lightweight. This pocket-sized cube registers a
mere 56g on the scales, which is fantastic news
for anyone who wants to mount it on their head,
chest or other body part; you’ll definitely notice a
worn Action 2 less than you would a GoPro HERO
1 0 Black, which weighs a relatively hefty 158g.
On top of the main camera unit, extra battery
power, storage and even a front-facing
touchscreen can be added via clipping on
magnetic modules, and the mounting system is
magnetic too. The magnet system is backed up by
a spring-loaded catch in most cases, which
means you’re not totally reliant on magnetic
attraction to keep your camera in place.
In terms of footage, the Action 2 doesn’t match
the 23MP photos and 5.3K video resolution of the
GoPro HERO 10 Black, instead delivering stills at
up to 12MP and videos in either 4K, 2.7K or 1080p
resolution. That said, it still resolves a lot of detail
for such a small camera, the colours it captures
look natural and there’s a nice contrast punch.
One area where it does have the GoPro beaten
is field of view. With electronic image
stabilisation turned off, the Action 2 offers an
ultra-wide 155-degree FOV, allowing it to cram
more in the frame than the HERO 10 BlackT
A promising GoPro alternative with clever
magnetic accessories and impressive
performance, but it’s not without its problems
DJI Action 2
ACTION REPLAY
WE’RE IMPRESSED Small and
lightweight; flexible magnetic
modular system; excellent image
stabilisation; wide field of view.
WE’D IMPROVE Overheating
curtails video clip length; poor
low light performance.
THE LAST WORD Provided
you can live with the shorter
hi-res video clips caused by its
overheating, you’ll find this to
be a solid and sturdy action cam
capable of great things.VERDICT
Find the best deals on the DJI
Action 2 at: bit.ly/t3djiact2(which offers a max FOV of 132 degrees). That’s
not to be sniffed at if you want to ensure your
action cam captures as much action as possible.
DJI’s RockSteady image stabilisation and even
more effective HorizonSteady work excellently,
removing judder and shake and, in
HorizonSteady’s case, keeping everything
beautifully levelled no matter how wobbly your
bike/boat/surfboard/legs. Their availability
depends on the frame rate and resolution you
use, however: HorizonSteady can’t be used on
anything above 2.7K/60fps. Switching on
RockSteady also results in a small crop, while
HorizonSteady slices yet more out of the frame.
But the biggest issue with image quality is that
long video recordings, particularly at 2.7K and
4K resolution, can overheat the camera unit,
causing it to curtail your clip length. This is a
problem we’d like to see addressed quickly in a
firmware update as, while it never majorly
impacted our own use of the Action 2, it would
affect anybody wanting to document anything
over about 10 minutes.
While we love the DJI Action 2’s compact
build, clever modular magnet system and
smooth electronic image stabilisation, we would
struggle to recommend it to someone already
heavily invested in the GoPro system. The Action
2’s performance is solid enough, but there’s
nothing here that outdoes the HERO 10 Black in
terms of image quality – and the overheating
issues are too big to ignore. That said, it’s a solid
everyday action and vlogging camera.