DJI Osmo Pocket - Why This Redditer Hates It

Someone on reddit just roasted the DJI Osmo Pocket in an epic 2400 word rant (but one with carefully numbered bullet points). Are they an angry Removu designer, we don’t know. Still, we think the flaming is hot enough to share with you, in it’s full unedited glory…

 

My thoughts, and I have many….. BTW, I’m a big fan of the HERO7 Black and am admittedly biased toward it. I also have a LG v30 that is pretty amazing for video and photos, so I don’t have much positive to say about the Osmo Pocket and think it’s a dainty and little, worse copy, of the REVOMU K1.

And, before I get into my rant, a word about the REMOVU K1. It only weighs as much as a can of soda, has a wider FOV, removable battery, an LCD screen that actually shows you everything you are shooting, and an input jack for an audio mic on the device (no need for adapters), and a tripod mount (again no need for adapters). And yet, everyone is going Ape Sht over the Osmo Pocket like DJI just invented the wheel?

Anyway, my thoughts on Osmo pocket is pretty lengthy so will be broken down into replies to this comment below.
(Part 1 a.)
I have a friend who ordered the OSMO Pocket so I’m interested in playing around with it, but I still don’t get the hype. At first glance it does seem like a cool little device, but with a little thought, it’s really not a very good device. I’m actually surprised at how there isn’t more negative reviews on this thing.

First, the positive – It’s small, has a decent gimbal, and can shoot 4K/60fps. That is pretty cool. Oh, and it has that active track, which, if you buy the accessory and a tripod, could be beneficial for filming yourself.

My quick 21 Negatives (that I can’t believe more people aren’t complaining about):

1. Forget waterproof, it’s not even Splash Proof! Oh, but there is this funky waterproof housing that limits the filming angles! Yeah, awesome in 2010 when GoPro did it. Not so awesome today.
2. No removable battery (Same DJI fans I see blasting GoPro HERO7 Silver/White and Session cameras are suddenly cool with this)
3. No Quad HD (2.7K) slow motion? Apparently they updated the OSMO Pocket for 1080p/120fps, but with crop? Like the FOV isn’t too narrow already? What the hell? I know some beta testers got full 1080p/120fps, but DJI pulled this from the release camera specs. I keep hearing all this talk about “cinematic shots” with OSMO Pocket, but no 2.7K/120fps? ….only with a cropped 1080p? Which leads me to my next gripe…
4. No 2.7K, at all! 2.7K is by far my favorite shooting mode. Drop it into a 1080p sequence and you have a lot of flexibility including re-framing and crop/zoom. It also up-scales nicely into a 4K sequence. 1080p looks like crap when upscaled to 4K.
5. No Zoom feature whatsoever. Sure digital zoom isn’t the greatest, but to not even have it as an option? Maybe if you connect your phone, No? Wait, to get to most of the best features you have to do what?
6. Connect your phone with USB-C or Lightning port adapter for a digital joystick, frame subjects for tracking, and to access “Pro” settings? Well crap, if you’re going to connect your phone, there goes the small size and convenience. And most of all
7. What is the weight of my phone connected to the OSMO Pocket going to do to my charging port? Ever have the charging port go out on your phone? I have and it’s terrible. Too much weight applied and it’s shot. Sure the OSMO is light, but my phone isn’t so much. The USB-C or Lightning charging port on your phone is not designed to withstand pressure. It’s designed to have a cable plugged into it, not to be used as a way to hang your phone off the side of some device. At least DJI could have made a support bracket or something to secure the phone.
8. Audio. OK, so I’ve actually heard pretty decent audio from the OSMO Pocket….In a completely windless environment. Even the slightest breeze and the audio is trash. Oh, but they will have an adapter for a mic!
9. Where the hell are you going to attach an external mic? Again, there goes the small convenience.
10. It needs to be put in a case before you put the OSMO Pocket in your…….Pocket!!??? Give me a break
11. Tiny Sensor (fine for wide angle action camera) on a narrow FOV lens. Holy Crap, have you seen the, “This camera is great for vlogging” videos? Absolutely no background showing. Just a giant face that is often so close part of it is cropped out of the frame.
12. If the camera isn’t moving, things look pretty good, but once you start actually using it:
    • Dynamic range is super slow to respond to changing light conditions
    • Sky is always getting blown out
    • Camera gets confused by bright background and puts subject (person holding the camera trying to “vlog”) into absolute darkness.
    • Auto focus is a mess
      • Solution is “tap to focus”? Are you kidding. So I’ve gotta keep tapping this thing? On that little screen that…
13. Gimbal stabilization sucks when you are walking, unless you are a robot.
    • Honestly, walking with a gimbal is one of the most annoying things. The EIS stabilization on HERO7 Black is SOOO much better at this. Walking with a gimbal and trying to avoid the up and down seasick movement…it’s like walking with a cup of coffee filled to the brim. Possible, but when it splashes over you get burned, just like your video footage.
14. Screen doesn’t show the entire picture only the center with the left and right sides cut out. And people complained about GoPro HERO5/6/7 and the black bars??? At least the GoPro LCD is big enough to see and use and you actually see everything you are filming.
15. Accessories accessories accessories! I’m not talking about mounting solutions, I’m just talking about shit to make the camera usable.
    • You want to wirelessly connect to your phone, that’ll be another $59! Oh, and the device just got bigger and bulkier.
    • Want a controller wheel? Another $59, thank you!
    • Want to use a tripod or attach to a GoPro mount? $19 more, KaChing!
    • Want to hold the camera out so it’s not cropping your big fat face? Oh, there is a pole for that! How much? We’ll tell you later!
    • Waterproof Housing? Coming Soon! Keep that credit card handy. Can you connect all these accessories to the OSMO when it’s in the housing, you know, for when it’s raining or I’m filming near water and want to protect the OSMO Pocket from accidental drops/splashes? No? Well I guess it doesn’t matter since I can only use the camera in “Flashlight Mode” with the waterproof housing anyway.
    • Audio adapter? Coming Soon! For an additional price. Granted, this isn’t exactly GoPro’s strong suit either, but at least the HERO5/6/7 easily fit into a housing with hot shoe mount.
16. “Story Mode” – good grief. So I need to pick my mode, watch a video on how to shoot it, and then film 10-30 seconds of your pre-arranged gimbal dance? I wasn’t a big fan of Quik Stories when GoPro first introduced it, but now I use it all the time. Love having a Quik video created, even if I’m going to edit in Adobe Premier Pro as it gives me creative ideas and is an easy way to “quickly” see clips of what I’ve shot. But I’m not locked into the funky little motions and effects. With “Story Mode” on OSMO Pocket you are. And who wants to keep stopping during a shoot to find and pick the right “Story Mode”? Just let me shoot and add the effect later. Maybe my 8 year old will think it’s cool. Who knows.
17. 4K/60fps h.264. OK, so I know some will think this is great. It’s not. Take your current GoPro 4K/60fps videos and double their size. You have enough storage for all of that? How about on your phone? HEVC is waaay more efficient.
18. 18. “Not Cheap Plastic”. I keep seeing this in reviews. Yes, it’s plastic.. .but not the cheap kind! Come on, it’s a cheap plastic toy. Drop it a few times and find out how great that “sturdy plastic” really is.
19. No Tripod thread on the bottom. Actually, no built in mounting solution at all. Can you imagine GoPro selling the HERO7 without the frame? LOL. But seriously, you can’t even put it on a tripod? Granted, GoPro cameras need a frame, but this lack of a tripod thread is something the DJI and Yi 4K fanboys love to blast GoPro for not having. Now it’s ok?
20. Face Tracking. OK, this is one of the stupidest features I hear people touting as something great on this camera. It’s not.
    • Move your head to look at something or talk to someone and the Gimbal flies to whichever side you moved your head. Very distracting and looks like crap.
    • Your holding a camera a few feet in front of your face! Are you seriously trying to tell me that you can’t tell if your face is in front of the lens or not.
    • While filming, you want to quickly show what’s behind or to the side of you. Yes it’s a just a few clicks, but if you don’t do it, or don’t do it fast enough, well just more of your Fat face.
21. If you are going to connect your phone,… why not just use your phone?

(Bonus) 22. Gimbals do not work well in high wind or high vibration. Forget holding it out a window of a moving car, mounting to a helmet for motorvlogging, parachuting, hang gliding, or any other high speed activity. You will have failures with the Gimbal. The small profile will help, but the chance of failure is 100% higher than with a camera with EIS.

Honestly. If you want Gimbal stabilization, there are plenty of cheap phone stabilizers out there. Oh, but the OSMO Pocket is small….errr, not once you connect the phone. And now that you have them connected, I’ll argue that perhaps the OSMO Pocket is a little too small.
You can’t upgrade the camera, but you CAN upgrade your phone. If you get a gimbal for your phone you can keep on using it years from now. And, with each phone upgrade your camera will most likely get better as well.

This is NOT an action camera! I wouldn’t even bring it up but not only are people and reviewers doing this compare, DJI IS MARKETING THE OSMO POCKET AS AN ACTION CAMERA with “Thrilling action shots”, “that was made to fit in EVERY moment”, “Cinematic video ANYWHERE, ANYTIME”, with the “meet Osmo Pocket showing activities like: Motorcycle riding, zip lining, mounted to the back of a dog (walking over rocky and watery terrain…yeah, hope the dog doesn’t get wet!), roller coaster, jumping off of a boat!, Underwater adventures, “For WHEREVER LIFE TAKES YOU”.

Ummmm, no. The FOV is waaay too narrow for action POV and this is not a durable action camera. And what’s the wind resistance of the Gimbal anyway?

(Part 2)

Yes, I am a GoPro fan and LOVE my HERO7 Black, but the OP didn’t ask about comparing he OSMO Pocket to the HERO7 Black so I get why this next part seems off topic. However, I do think it’s relative to show a similarly priced camera and compare it to the 21 (22) negatives I listed of the OSMO Pocket and see how it compares (A list about the REMOVU K1, which can be found for about $100 less, would also be appropriate).

GoPro HERO7 Black:

1. Waterproof – Yep, and even without a case
2. Removable Battery – Yep
3. Slow Motion video recording – Yep 2.7K/120fps and 1080p/240fps
4. 2.7K – Oh yeah!
5. Zoom feature – Check, got that too
6. Access Protune without a phone? – Of course, just tap the LCD
7. Chance of damaging my phone? Huh? No, of course not.
8. Audio with Wind Reduction? – Yep, and it’s damn good too! Not only do you have AUTO, WIND REDUCTION, STEREO ONLY… but you also have three Protune .wav audio options!
9. External mic? – Ok, so yes you need the adapter, but at least a mic easily attaches to a hotshoe mount on 3rd party frames
10. Throw it in your pocket? Sure, no problem. Oh, and if you have sand, keys, or something that might scratch the protective lens, it’s easily replaceable (or you can just film without it).
11. Sensor appropriate size? Yep, sensor size it correct for an ACTION camera. Thank you.
12. Oh, and BOTH cameras are not suitable for night filming. Sure, OSMO Pocket has better stabilized grainy/noisy footage, but same sensor…same limitation.
13. How’s the video on HERO7 Black once you and the camera start moving? – Nice…Real Nice
14. Dynamic range quickly adjust to changing light conditions (AND YOU HAVE SELECTIVE LIGHT METERING, which so many reviewers seem to forget or not know about).
15. Always in focus
16. Smooth stabilization when walking…nice 🙂
17. Full picture displayed on LCD screen? Yep! What you see is what you get.
18. Do you need a bunch of accessories beyond mounting solutions? Nope. It’s all there. No phone or accessories needed.
19. “Story Mode”? Well, it’s got Quik if you like that sort of thing. Auto downloads off your camera to your phone and creates the video for you. You can edit it if you want, but with smile and scene detection, Quik does a pretty good job of getting it done automatically.
20. HEVC format for reduced storage and more efficient recording? Yep, and you can use it in all video modes 🙂
21. Cheap Plastic? It’s got some with a rubberized coating and aluminum framing. Durability is definitely NOT an issue.
22. Tripod mount at the bottom. Sadly, no. You do need to put the HERO7 Black in it’s frame for mounting.
23. Will your entire face plus background be seen when filming yourself? Um, yeah. First it has a wide angle lens. Second, you having a hard time pointing a camera at your face?
24. Is a phone more convenient? Well, sometimes. But with the HERO7 Black you don’t have to worry damage, mounting, or about running out of your phones storage space. Plus, with the GoPro wide angle lens, you will capture the entire scene.
25. Is it an action camera? It’s not “a” action camera. GoPro IS the action camera. Plus, it’s pretty darn good at just regular and “cinematic” shooting as well with multiple FOV’s to choose from 🙂
26. Stabilization works at high winds and high vibration. Take the HERO7 Black anywhere…even into space!

 

Well that told you. Join the debate. Tell them why they’re wrong (or right).

 

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