DJI OSMO ACTION
DJI refers to itself as the ‘world’s leader in civilian drones and creative
camera technology’. There’s no argument about the drones – DJI is the
default consumer drone brand. And it puts up a strong showing in
creative camera technology with some very smart gimballed camera
solutions. But DJI has never managed to challenge market leader
GoPro in the action cam arena, which it dominates with a string of ever
better Hero branded products, culminating in the latest and greatest
Hero7 launched earlier this year. Until now. Because DJI’s brand new
Osmo Action looks like it could beat GoPro at its own game.
The concept is very similar to the GoPro – a small, tough, waterproof,
droppable cube with a camera lens on the front, a screen on the back
and a multitude of mounting brackets and attachments. It’s even
virtually the same size. But DJI knows full well that
‘as good’ is not good enough, so it has packed its
new baby with some serious bonus features.
Most obvious is a screen on the front next to the
lens. No longer do you have to point, shoot andhope when taking selfi es or recording vlogs to a self-held camera,
you can now frame the image while facing the camera. A large
1/2.3 sensor utilises a three-glass aspherical lens design for
low-distortion content and reduced warping effects (handy for
boat interiors). Even the lens cap is fi nished with two layers of
anti-fi ngerprint coating to keep the shot clean during use, as
well as an anti-refl ective coating to reduce lens glare.
It comes with neutral density and underwater fi lters to reduce
excess light and colours to give a more balanced exposure.
And there’s a Polariser fi lter to eliminate refl ections and increase
colour saturation for a more appealing image (perfect for use
on the water). And it incorporates RockSteady, DJI’s brand new
Electronic Image Stabilisation (EIS) technology,
which should make boat-to-boat footage a much
less jerky affair than normal.
A removable battery allows you to carry spares
(fi gure on about two hours recording at 1080p/30fps
without RockSteady). It can record in up to 4K and run
frame rates up to 240fps at 1080p for butter-smooth
slow motion. SnapShot allows the unit to be turned
on and taking a photo in under two seconds with
one press. And where the new GoPro 7 can submerge
10m below the surface without a case, the Osmo
Action very deliberately trumps even that at 11m.
If all of that wasn’t enough to sway you from your favourite
action cam brand, it’s been priced
at £50 cheaper than a compatible Hero7 Black! Your move, GoPro.
PRICE £329
CONTACT http://www.dji.comNEW GEARThe Osmo Action
can be taken to
depths of 11 metres