DJI Returns to a Familiar Design For Its Third Action Camera

Although GoPro has strongly cemented itself because the defacto model title in relation to tiny mountable cameras that may take a beating, DJI has delivered some stiff competitors on this house over the previous few years, and with its new Osmo Action 3, it’s returning to a tried and true design that has roughly outlined the motion digicam.

If you’re going to go after a model like GoPro, you must ship one thing new and revolutionary to your machine. So again in 2019, not solely did the authentic DJI Osmo Action deliver the corporate’s wonderful picture stabilization capabilities, developed for its drones, to an motion digicam, it additionally paired a big display screen on the again with a second display screen subsequent to the lens on the entrance for simpler framing of selfies and movies—a regular characteristic for GoPros now, too.

Two years later, DJI fully reimagined its motion digicam with the modular Action 2 that broke the machine up into a group of tiny cubes that magnetically linked to one another to increase and customise its performance for various capturing eventualities. Need extra battery life? Slap on a magnetic battery pack. Want to have the ability to see your self whereas filming? Add the front-facing display screen module.

The Action 2 featured a novel design, however one which got here with some particular drawbacks. Recording capability was restricted when utilizing simply the tiny digicam by itself, and whereas that principal module was waterproof, the additional modules that boosted battery life and recording capability weren’t, requiring an added case when there was a danger the {hardware} might get moist. It additionally tended to overheat quicker than most motion cameras: limiting how lengthy it might file for.

The new DJI Osmo Action 3 hits the reset button and returns to the acquainted design of the primary mannequin, and fixes a few of the points with the Action 2 within the course of. The Action 3 pairs a 1/1.7-inch sensor that may seize 4K footage at 120 fps with a 155-degree super-wide angle lens, stabilized by means of one among three completely different modes: RockSteady 3.0, HorizonBalancing, and HorizonSteady—though the aggressive efficiency of that final choice does end in a lowered decision and extra restricted field-of-view.

The Osmo Action 3 is powered by a 1,770 mAh “Extreme Battery” that DJI guarantees will maintain the digicam working for as much as 160 minutes and costs from 0 to 80% in “as little as 18 minutes,” and 0 to 100% in about 50 minutes, due to built-in help for the PD 3.0 PPS fast-charging protocol. And this time round, customers will really be capable to take full benefit of that prolonged run time because the Osmo Action 3 additionally contains an “improved heat management system” in order that it will probably repeatedly file at 4K/60 fps till the battery is lifeless, or it runs out of space for storing. DJI guarantees overheating points are a factor of the previous.

Natively waterproof to a depth of 16 meters with out the necessity for a further case or housing, the Osmo Action 3 presents equipment for capturing in each a widescreen orientation or the cursed portrait mode for these concentrating on social media with movies of their excessive exploits. It additionally brings again the front-facing display screen of the unique Osmo Action digicam, however on the Action 3 it’s now a touchscreen, permitting customers to make settings changes whereas framing themselves for selfie movies.

Three microphones are built-in to enhance audio high quality and scale back wind noise, whereas exterior mics will be linked utilizing a 3.5mm to USB-C adapter cable. Users may management the digicam by means of voice prompts, which makes utilizing it by yourself with no devoted video crew so much simpler, and the digicam helps wifi livestreaming at resolutions of as much as 1080P/30 fps.

One of the opposite large complaints with the DJI Action 2 was its $400 price ticket that shortly jumped to $519 for a bundle that added the very helpful front-facing display screen module. The new DJI Osmo Action 3 begins at $329 for a “Standard Combo” bundle that features the brand new Extreme Battery and a number of other mounting equipment, which is about $20 cheaper than DJI’s first motion digicam. For these wanting much more battery life, an “Adventure Combo” can also be accessible for $439 that features three batteries, and each can be found to order beginning right now.