One of Our Favorite Tools For Capturing Video
It looks like a character from a Star Wars film but in reality the Osmo Pocket 3 is an amazing little multi-purpose video camera that fits in the palm of your hand and stows easily in your pocket. Holding it in your hand it feels well balanced and the compact intelligent design means all the controls are within easy reach. It is obvious right away that DJI, one of the worlds most popular drone manufacturers, has done their homework on this handheld model. Just flip the 2-inch full color OLED rotatable touchscreen to the left and suddenly the 3 axis gimbal comes alive and the screen lights up with a crisp clear image from the 1” CMOS sensor nestled inside the gimbal head. Then when you are done shooting you just flip the screen back to the right and the camera turns off, the gimbal goes back to sleep and tucks itself away safely. It couldn’t be much simpler to operate.
We really love this camera for its portability, light weight, stability and smart design but we also love it for a number of other reasons. First of all the Osmo Pocket 3 is very intuitive and easy to operate making a go to tool on every off-road trip. We carry one with us almost all the time now because even though we all have phones in our pocket that can capture 4k video this unit gives us much more capability and functionality to capture the kind of video we need. We can pull it out quickly and start shooting in seconds, then put it back away just as quickly. It is so easy to just pop it into the tank bag of your adventure bike or the console of your Jeep and have it ready and waiting for those unexpected wildlife shots or any other occasion when you need to shoot quickly.
Since the kind of video we shoot is usually outside in the elements we also really appreciate the fact that the unit is well sealed for dust. We also found the battery life to be impressive and since we purchased the Creator Combo upgrade it included an accessory Battery Handle that extends the shooting time considerably and actually makes the camera easier to hold and operate if your hands are on the larger side. More on the value represented by the Creator Combo later.
Some of the other features we really appreciate are the Active Track feature offering multiple follow modes including Face Auto Detect and Dynamic Framing to help your video images have that smooth cinematic look. The follow speed is adjustable to let you match the pace of your subject. Couple that with the 3-axis mechanically stabilized gimbal and the camera remains smooth and tracks consistently while you follow the subject on the move. The next feature that helps this impressive little camera turn out professional quality video is the full-pixel fast focusing to make sure your subject stays in focus no matter how fast they move. As you can imagine that is really important in our world.
Then when you want to slow down the action for cinematic effect the Pocket 3 delivers again with 4k/120fps slow motion to capture every detail in the shot. Low light performance is yet another area where we were pleasantly surprised. The 1” CMOS sensor coupled with specialized image quality optimization produces impressive videos in low-light conditions. Speaking of image quality the 10-bit D-log M color mode and 10-bit HLG video recording on the Pocket 3 produces an impressive dynamic range of color for such a small camera.
Another thing we really appreciate about the little Osmo is the charging speed and battery life. The Pocket 3 can be charged up to 80% in a very manageable16 minutes, very handy at the end of a long day when you realize you forgot to charge it last night. When fully charged you have a very impressive 166 minutes of operating time!
The OSMO Pocket 3 comes loaded with an impressive suite of creative tools to let your imagination run wild from a very cool Motionlapse feature, Panorama mode to a 4x digital zoom, all easily controlled from the 2” touchscreen.
All things considered for the suggested list price of USD $519 you will be hard pressed to find another camera with the combination of compact size and portability coupled with such an impressive array of features.
We opted for Osmo Pocket 3 Camera and Creator Combo for USD $669 which includes the camera and a whole bundle of valuable accessories including a very cool protective cover that the camera snaps into to protect the gimbal head and flip screen, a battery handle to extend shooting time, a wide angle lens, a wireless microphone with wind sock, a magnetic mic clip, a mini tripod, a wrist strap, a USB-C cable and a slick little carrying case that holds it all. Well worth the extra $150 over the cost of the camera alone.
Osmo Pocket 3 Specs
