DJI’s baby steadicam Osmo Pocket 3 has so many upgrades I don’t know where to start

Five years ago, DJI combined its super-stable drone cameras with a postage stamp-sized screen to create the Osmo Pocket, a tiny vlogger camera. It was clean and had some major improvements over its successor.

But the New Osmo Pocket 3Announced today and shipping, there are more than a few.

The Baby Steadicam now starts at $519 — a big jump from its predecessor’s $349 — and boasts a way-larger sensor, way-larger touchscreen, faster autofocus, super-fast charging, longer battery life, built-in wireless, a built-in joystick, a third microphone, And Satisfying rotating screen Clicks to portrait or landscape while automatically changing the aspect ratio of your shot.

I haven’t gotten around to actually shooting with the Osmo Pocket 3 yet, sorry, but I’m already seeing ways it can build my smartphone into a full-fledged gimbal.

First, that sensor — it’s a one-inch CMOS sensor that should be nearly 3x larger than the 1/1.7-inch sensor in the Pocket 2 and nearly 4x larger than the original 1/2.3-inch chip. It shoots 4K/120 slo-mo video and up to 1080p at 240 frames per second. Also, it has “full-pixel” continuous autofocus, which means that I assume every pixel can be used as a focusing pixel – I know it felt faster than my old iPhone.

Meanwhile, the screen is 4.7 times larger than the old stamps – a two-inch OLED that can display 100 percent of the P3 color gamut. It’s clear, crisp, colorful, and large enough to tap and swipe controls, many of which display helpful reminders of how they work. At 700 nits, it should be bright enough for outdoor use as well.

If you prefer to use your phone’s screen instead, you no longer need to purchase a special wireless handset module to perform the remote monitoring function! While the Osmo Pocket and Pocket 2 are designed to be more limited, requiring you to click on a joystick or phone adapter, the Pocket 3 has both a larger joystick and Wi-Fi built in – including support for DJI’s wireless clip-on microphone. .

There is still some limitation at this time. There’s a $49 wide-angle lens that magnetically snaps onto what’s already there; The $519 base kit comes with a base extension, which adds a 1/4-inch tripod mount thread and redirects the USB-C charging port; And there’s a longer $69 battery handle that extends battery life by up to 70 percent and adds the same 1/4-inch mount on the bottom.

The $669 Creator Combo Kit comes with a wireless microphone, windscreen and magnetic clip and mini tripod attachment. There’s also a magnetic ND filter kit for $59 and a black fog filter for $49.

Speaking of battery, the quoted runtime is now 166 minutes of 1080p24 video, up from 140 minutes with the Pocket 2 – and DJI says you can get two hours of 4K/60 on a charge. Even assuming you’re using a 65W PD adapter, the charging speed is excellent, going from 16 minutes to 80 percent and 32 minutes to top the tank. (Pocket 2 quoted 73 minutes to charge from a 10W wall-ward.)

I’d like my friend, colleague and fellow DJI watcher Vijeran Pavic to demonstrate its speed by filming some. edge Footage (did I mention it shoots in 10-bit D-lock and HLG and supports timestamps?), I’ve already seen some weird behavior from the camera.

First, my unit got too hot to shoot 4K footage in a few minutes in an air-conditioned room – not alarmingly hot, just hotter than I expected. You have a job Product. (I also read this as a complaint about the Pocket 2.) Second, for one evening every time I turned on the camera, the gimbal shook uncontrollably. It’s been good ever since.

I 3D printed a small custom mount to attach my review unit to some GoPro harness; Can’t wait to try some gimbal moves in the future edge Social video.

Photo by Shawn Hollister / The Verge