When DJI announced the Osmo last year, we had a feeling it would eventually ditch a dedicated camera in favour of the camera we all carry in our pockets. It took the company just under a year, but that is now a reality with the DJI Osmo Mobile.
The Osmo Mobile connects to your smartphone via Bluetooth, and it uses the company’s signature three-axis gimbal stabilisation as well as SmoothTrack technology to provide an enhanced video recording experience. This is beneficial to those whose smartphone does not have OIS (optical image stabilisation), though we’re sure it will enhance those with OIS.
Being a DJI product, the Osmo Mobile also works with the DJI GO app. The company added a new feature which lets users live stream and share their footage on multiple social media platforms; you can of course do so yourself via third party apps. Apart from that, the ActiveTrack function lets the Osmo Mobile actively track a subject wherever they may move. There’s also a trigger control that lets users change the mode of the Osmo Mobile, including switching between the phone’s front and back cameras.
There are several modes users can record in including standard mode, portrait, underslung and flashlight. Other than that, DJI also added motion time lapse and panorama recording to the Osmo Mobile; though the latter feature will be coming soon.
One of the biggest weaknesses of the original Osmo was its battery life: at just over an hour, the Osmo proved to have too little battery life to justify carrying it around. On the Osmo Mobile, battery life has been significantly improved – it is now rated for 4.5 hours of use.
The Osmo Mobile is compatible with recent smartphone models, namely the iPhone 5 and above, the Samsung Galaxy S7 series, and the Huawei Mate 8. As for the smartphone holder, it should be able to hold any device with a width between 5.8cm and 8.5cm.
The DJI Osmo Mobile will retail for $299 (about RM1,200), and can be purchased immediately via DJI’s official website – it ships for free to various countries globally. To learn more about the DJI Osmo Mobile, head on to the official website here.
