DJI launched the Osmo Pocket 3 this week, the latest addition to DJI’s popular Osmo Pocket line of vlogging cameras. This year, the features really change the game, making it a seriously compelling offering for those looking to create content rapidly, from family birthdays to corporate events.
The Pocket 3 offers a number of improvements over previous generations, chiefly among them is a larger 1-inch sensor that improves image quality and allows the pocket-sized camera to capture amazing quality video.
The Osmo Pocket 3 is also more compact and portable than previous models, making it even easier to take with you on the go. The rotating head means you can either capture the world in front of you, or capture you as the world sees you and everything in between.
Whether you’re a seasoned vlogger or just starting out, the Osmo Pocket 3 is a great option for creating professional-looking videos with ease.
Having had access to the camera for the past few weeks, it is now time for a full review where I take a closer look at the Osmo Pocket 3’s design, performance, features, and issues. You’ll also get my overall verdict on whether or not it’s worth the investment.
Design
The design of the Osmo Pocket 3 is really interesting. The camera itself is not much bigger than my fist, with the rotating head pocking out the top. With a design this efficient, it means slipping this into your pocket (hence the name) is really easy. For those who don’t have pockets in their outfit, it easily fits in your handbag, backpack or even center console in your car, making it incredibly portable.
When devices are incredibly portable, like our phones, you have them with you more often. This means when you want to capture the world and the people in it, then you’ll have the tools are your disposal to do so.
One of the things I grew to love is the device’s on/off process. When the device is off, the camera rotates to place the lens (the most sensitive part of the camera), to the inner side of the gimbal mechanism. This helps protect the lens while in transit. If this isn’t enough, there’s a hard plastic protective case that really ensures it’s not possible to contact the lens while in transit and if you were to drop the camera, it’d have a decent chance at surviving.
The camera is made of durable materials and feels well-built in the hand. It comes in a single colour, black, like most of our electronics, which is fine, but I would like to see some additional options, even a white version as many of us have personal tastes (i.e. white build PCs).
The most notable change in design is the addition of a large, 2-inch rotatable touchscreen display. This display makes it much easier to frame your shots and control the camera. It also serves as a fast way to power on and off the camera, just rotate the display and the camera powers on and is ready to film with a single press of the record button. When you’re done, just flip the screen back to vertical and the device takes that as a sign that you’re done and powers down.
You can of course override this default behaviour to enable vertical shooting, which is great for native content going to YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels, TikTok and other social media that works well on phones.
The Osmo Pocket 3 offers a thumb-controlled joystick to control the direction and angle of the camera, while also providing on-screen filming options that include some automated rotation to create ultra-smooth video that’s difficult to achieve through manual manipulation. There’s also a range of features like Active Track and Zoom that we’ll dive into in the Features section that is controlled using the touchscreen.
The display is great, large enough to frame shots and review footage while being small enough to fold away and avoid adding bulk to the device.
Performance
The Osmo Pocket 3 features a 1-inch CMOS sensor, which is significantly larger than the sensor in the previous model. This results in improved image quality, especially in low-light conditions. The Osmo Pocket 3 can also record 4K/120fps video, which is great for creating slow-motion footage.
I’ve been really impressed by the footage captured with the Osmo pocket camera, cameras like this, including action cameras and flagship smartphones released this year, make it really difficult to justify dedicated video cameras or even mirrorless and DLSR cameras, outside of serious zoom applications.
The Osmo Pocket 3’s three-axis gimbal stabilization is also excellent, allowing you to move as you need, walking or running and the resulting footage is smoothed out as if you were using a much more expensive steadicam. Nobody likes watching shaky footage unless you’re really trying, the footage that comes off this camera is really usable in any production without the need for timely post-production stabilisation that crops the footage.
The Osmo Pocket 3 offers rapid autofocus, which means that when you are shooting environments with moving objects, you can be assured that they’ll remain in focus, with the camera adjusting rapidly to the changing scene.
Features
The Osmo Pocket 3 has a variety of features that make it a great choice for vloggers and videographers. One of the most notable features is ActiveTrack 3.0, which allows you to track a subject while you’re filming. This is great for creating cinematic tracking shots.
The Osmo Pocket 3 also has a number of other features that are useful for vloggers, such as Timelapse, Hyperlapse, and Slow Motion modes. It also has HorizonSteady, which keeps your footage level, even if you’re filming on uneven ground.
Plug the camera into a computer via the USB-C cable and it’ll show up as a webcam, available as a default camera in Windows. This means you can further extract value from the camera while not filming on location. You can also rapidly flip between facing away or facing you where you’ll be able to leverage the impressive ActiveTrack 3.0 to keep your face in the frame. This works amazingly well, rapidly responding to your movements.
This webcam option is supported in 1080p quality (despite the camera offering 4K recording capability) so I’d like to see this increased to the full 4K quality in the future. The good news is the vertical orientation is also supported, making split-screen or side-by-side implementations in something like OBS Studio an easy setup.
There are a bunch of great software-based features available on the camera including timelapse, hyperlapse, and slow motion. There are also choices to customise the stabilisation and the now familiar option to stabilise the rotation to the horizon (HorizonSteady) is also available to creators.
Finally, Story mode is designed for creating short video clips with music and effects and where that doesn’t meet your needs, there’s always the LightCut app that offers more video editing features through an easy-to-use smartphone app.
Perhaps the biggest surprise for me when reviewing the device is just how great the wireless mic 2 is. The design of this is fantastic, it’s a fairly small and lightweight design that means it’ll happily clip on to your shirt without issue. There’s a wind sock that clips into the top to ensure your audio stays clean in windy conditions, while the design itself looks amazing, offering a transparent design that shows the internal electronics. Ultimately the wireless mic records great audio directly to the video footage you record with the Pocket 3, which means you don’t have to sync audio and can get straight into editing, faster.
Issues
The Osmo Pocket 3 gets so many features and functions right, and even the price is reflective of what’s on offer here, but the camera isn’t perfect.
As good as the display is at 2″, I am used to larger displays of something like the GoPro Hero 12 which comes in at just 2.27″. While that may not sound like much, it certainly feels much bigger, offering larger touch points, swipe area for menus and allows you to see more of the detail in the photos and videos you create. A larger screen may add to the size and cost of the design, so while I understand how DJI selected this size, it would be a more serious challenger to the action cams if it matched this specification.
The default battery on the camera is okay, but it’s only really with the extended battery grips that you get recording times that are conducive to normal events and items you’d like to record. This means those who are serious about longer-form video, should opt for the creator edition that includes this, but does come at an additional jump in price.
Price & Availability
DJI has priced the Osmo Mobile 3 to reflect the features and quality available from this product. The Osmo Pocket 3 may not have a perfect Venn diagram overlay of the target market for action cameras, but it’s hard to ignore that this is likely to steal some buyers who otherwise would have bought a GoPro or even DJI’s own Action 4 cameras.
The Osmo Pocket 3 starts at A$849.00 for the camera itself, while the Pocket 3 Creator Combo comes in at a premium of A$1,129.00. While the base model comes with a protective cover and handle that includes a 1/4″ tripod mount, the creator combo includes a larger battery handle, a carrying bag, a mini tripod, a wide-angle lens and the brilliant Mic 2 transmitter.
To make it more approachable, DJI offers Pay-in 4 interest-free payments of A$282.25.
Overall
Having lived with the DJI Osmo Pocket 3 I’m seriously impressed with this device, it is a powerful and versatile camera that delivers excellent image quality in a compact and portable form factor. Combined with the right app to edit your footage, the creator combo provides everything you need to create high-quality videos and share them online.
Some buyers may use this casually to capture special moments with the family, while others are likely to integrate into more professional workflows, for social media. It’s perfect for creators who want to create professional-looking videos without having to carry around a lot of gear.
Overall, the DJI Osmo Pocket 3 is a great choice for vloggers and videographers who want a powerful and portable camera. If you’re happy to pay the price of admission, this is a camera that’ll serve you well into the years ahead.
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