I don’t know how many of our readers know of a Chinese company, based in Shenzhen to be exact, a world leader in civil drone technology and aerial imaging. It is a company, as they point out, founded and run by people passionate about remote control helicopters and by experts in flight control and camera stabilization. And yes, DJI makes probably the best drones in the world, and with the most innovative lenses. Even a few months ago, at the Mobile World Congress, I had the opportunity to test one of their latest inventions, the Osmo Pocket, an intelligent mini camera encased in a three-axis mechanical stabilizer and with 4K quality – I apologize because I did not have material time to record a video to show its functionalities- which made everyone who saw it fall in love with the stands of the fair in Barcelona. But now, neither short nor lazy, DJI has dared to get into the terrain that GoPro occupied and led until now.
DJI announced just two days ago an action camera that not only has nothing to envy to the latest launched by GoPro, but it will surely give you more of a headache. My reflection, before going on to reel off the ‘Osmo Action’ is very clear. What if DJI already thinks about making smart devices or lending its technology to some other manufacturer? Would their cameras be as good or better than the Leica that holsters the Huawei P30 Pro, for example? I leave it there, because the challenge has already been launched, and it would also be a new Chinese actor on the battlefield that is already being waged by manufacturers from that same country such as Huawei, Oppo, Xiaomi, One Plus or Vivo, to name the best known.
Ideal for extreme conditions
And until we can test it to the fullest and in the depth of the water, since it is one of its characteristics, and in full action, what is it about the Osmo Action that makes it so special that some see DJI as a future competitor of smartphone makers who are hell-bent on bringing the best lenses to mobiles?
The first thing to notice is that the Osmo Action is compact and rugged, ideal for the adventurous user, as it can function smoothly in extreme conditions. It is resistant to dust and can withstand drops of up to 1.5 meters. It is also submersible to a depth of up to 11 meters without the need for accessories to protect it from water. And, in addition, it continues to work even in sub-zero temperatures. According to the tests carried out by DJI, I will think about whether to do it in these conditions, the Chinese say that the Osmo Action can withstand temperatures of down to -10 degrees Celsius.
The Osmo Action has color screens on both the front and the back, which is also ultra-bright. With this design the user can adjust the composition of the scene on the fly. The 2.25-inch rear touch screen is protected by a hydrophobic and anti-fingerprint coating. The front screen is 1.4 inches and is very suitable for recording vlogs and taking selfies. With a brightness of 750 nits, the Osmo Action can be seen clearly even in direct sunlight.
The quality of the image, as you can see as soon as you use it from minute one, is the best: 4K at 60 frames per second (fps) and 100 megabits per second (Mbps). And all this with an advanced aspherical lens that reduces distortion for more attractive videos. The lens cap has been treated with two layers of anti-fingerprint protection so that images are always clean, and it also has a layer of anti-reflective protection to reduce annoying glare and give more flexibility when shooting in bright light.
And how could it be otherwise, as a great expert and leader in image stabilization, Osmo Action incorporates a relevant novelty in this field: it is the first portable camera with electronic image stabilization with RockSteady, a function that combines stabilization algorithms refined by DJI after decades of experience, with three-axis mechanical stabilizers.
Slow motion, timelapse and hyperlapse (coming soon), configurable exposure, … are some of the creative and intelligent functions that the new DJI Osmo Action allows, which we will discover as soon as we use it in the conditions that require and that can be managed from the DJI Mimo mobile app either via WiFi or Bluetooth. And all this at a price, that each one judges, of 379 euros. If you are adventurous, trying the Osmo Action is sure to be another adventure.
