Computer Shopper - UK (2019-12)

ISSUE 382|COMPUTER SHOPPER|DECEMBER 2019 35

SPECIFICATIONS

SENSOR^1 /2.3inCMOS•SENSOR PIXELS12megapixels•

MAXRECORDINGRESOLUTION4K(60fps)•AV

CONNECT IONSNone•DIMENSI ONS42x66x35mm•

WEIGHT134g•WARRANTYOneyearRTB•DETAILS

http://www.dji.co m/uk•PARTCO DECP.OS.00000020.01

BESTBUY

DJIISRIGHTLYfamous forits drones, but
it’s also been quietly buildingareputation
forstandalone camerasof late. It’s now
gone all in with its first full-on GoPro rival:
the DJI OsmoAction.
This is notoken gesture.Not only is the
Osmo Action adirect challengerto the
flagship GoPro Hero7Black (Shopper372),
it also pretty much matches itfeature for
feature,with 4K recording and an advanced,
built-in electronic stabilisation algorithm DJI
calls RockSteady.
That’s not the only excitingfeature about
the OsmoAction, however.Ita lso has two
full-colour screens, voice control and built-in
waterproofing, and it can record HDR
footage at upto 4K as well.

RUGGED GAME
As soon as you pick it up,itb ecomes
immediately apparent that DJI is serious about
taking GoPro on head-to-head. Physically,the
design is broadly similarto the classic GoPro
design. It’sasmall, rugged-feeling brick with
alens that protrudes from its leftside,a
touchscreen at the rear andasmaller,
non-touchscreen colour displayatt he front.
As with more recent GoPro Hero cameras,
the OsmoAction doesn’t haveatripod
thread built intothe main bodyof the
camera. Instead, mounting is achieved via a
plastic cage that wraps around the camera’s
edges and clampsto it tightly viaaclasp at
the top. This can be attachedto most
standard action-camera mounts.
During our time with the OsmoAction,
we had it mounted onaPGYTech rucksack
strap mount, on which it fits perfectly.
That’s great news if you already have
some mounts from an old action camera
hanging around inadrawer.

DJI OsmoAction

★★★★★

£279•From http://www.amazon.co.uk

VERDICT

DJI’sfirstproperactioncameraisn’tan
awkwardfirstattempt–itg ivesevenGoPro
arunforitsmoney

ACTION CAMERA

The camera is covered intextured grey

rubber and plastic andfeels solidly made,

too. Like the GoPro Hero7Black, it’s fully

waterprooftoad epth of 11 metres; that’s

thanks to sealed flaps covering the battery

compartment, USB and microSD ports.

Shutter and power buttons adorn thetop

panel and are easily operated with gloves on,

and there’s alsoaquick settings button on

the le ftfor switching between the camera’s

various modes and user presets.

Fire up the camera and the UI isadoddle

to get to grips with, with most settings a

single swipe or prod away, and it’salot

smoother and more intuitive than the rather

fiddly GoPro interface.There are plentyof

settings and modesto playaround with,too.

SMOOTH OPERATOR

We’re also happytos ee that stabilisation can

be appliedto any recording setting, right up

to 4K at 60fps. That stabilisation is very

impressive,too.When shoulder-mounted

during bicycle rides, it completely smoothed

out all the lumps and bumps in the roadto

provide rock-solidfootage.

In additionto 60fps, you can shoot 4K

at 30fps, 25fps and 24fps; in 2.7K mode,

you can shoot at 60fps, 50fps, 48fps, 30fps,

25fps and 24fps, while 1080p and 720p

footage can be captured at upto 240fps

forslow-motion playback.

Other modes include HDR–although

shooting in this mode disables stabilisation

––and there’s also timelapse,

hyperlapse and slow motion.

There’sahost of still image

options,too, including manual

exposure settings and auto

bracketing medium shots.

The resolutionof those images,

incidentally,isn ine megapixels,

and images can be recorded in

RAWorJ PEG modes.

Youcan pull footage

directly from the camera’s SD

card or viaadirect USBType-C

connectionforediting but, like

the DJI OsmoPocket (Shopper

374), the OsmoAction is designedto be

paired with the DJI Mimo appforeasy editing

on your smartphone or tablet.

The starfeature is that full-colour front

screen, especiallyforthose interested in

using the cameraforvlogging. It isn’t

activated all the time–you needto switch it

on withaquick two-fingered double-tap on

the reartouchscreen–but it’s areal help

when you wantto address the camera and

ensure you’re fully in-frame at all times.

Image quality is largely the same as that

of the OsmoPocket, since it uses the same

(^1) /2.3in Sony IMX377 sensor.This means that,
despitearelatively bright apertureof f/2.8,
in low light you’ll still see plentyof image
noise,both in video and stills. In good light,
however,detail is crisp and well resolved, and
colour reproduction is solid,too.
Importantly,the stabilisation is good
enoughto flatten out most severe lumps
and bumps, andfootage looks almost as
smooth as if the camera were mounted in a
mechanical gimbal system.

GREATOUTDOORS

One otherfeature that widens the possibilities

forcreative shots–ify ou want longer shutter

speeds forincreased motion blur in video,for

example,orl ong-exposure waterfall images in

daylight–ist hat the lens housing can be

entirely unscrewed and replaced with a

neutral density filter.

Given that this is DJI’s firstforayintothe

world of action cameras, the OsmoAction is

abrilliant debut. It shoots detailed, smooth

4K footage at 60fps, hasarange of useful

modes, and is waterproofwithout needing a

case –all while ,perhaps most appealingly,

being cheaper than the Hero7Black.

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