After owning the DJI Osmo for about six months, I’ve come to realize how handy it can be when filming certain things. Usually a steady shot requires a huge gimbal or rig but with the Osmo it becomes simple and doable with just one hand. For me it is ideal for real estate and other little side projects I do, however it isn’t much of an everyday camera. DJI now introduces the Osmo Mobile, the Osmo handle with gimbal that can hold your smartphone.
This newer design retails for $299 and targets the consumer market. As smartphone cameras begin to get better and better, this is a great solution for everyday filming if interested in a more cinematic look. Some companies like Apple even have stabilization built into their phones, which surprisingly works very well. With the help of this gimbal these shots could look just like a drone flying through the air.
Of course there are plenty of other gimbals out there that are similar to this, but will the DJI Mobile stand up to the competition? I know that I’m a fan of pretty much all of their products, they are built well and put out some pretty amazing quality. That being said, I do think that the Osmo Mobile will be a success in the smartphone gimbal market, but remember the phone is the camera now.
Features
- DJI GO app to control camera settings
- Joystick to move the camera
- Active Track to follow a subject (as on Phantom 4)
- Motion time-lapse capture made easy
- Stability for dramatic long exposures
- Detailed panaromas done automatically
- Long lasting battery and custom charging port
- Bluetooth connectivity for better connection to gimbal and controls
It's definitely a great idea and something that I would buy. You get rid of the phone on the side and record directly to your smartphone through the same great app. A couple reasons I personally wouldn’t get it for work: smartphone camera lenses aren’t wide enough for what I’d use it for and clients would most likely question the use of filming on a smartphone (funny that they are able to put out such good video quality). Overall, I think this is for the consumer market and people who are looking for a solution to shaky videos who do not own or care to buy any other camera. The smartphone has become a great tool that can be used for anything and this will only make the smartphone better for video. Though I wouldn't buy it for work, I would buy it for myself to mess around with because I think it's pretty cool.
I ordered one as I'd like to start shooting some video and can't justify the initial outlay on something like a ronin. I also figured as my phone camera gets better it'll be a natural upgrade. Since then there has been a big delay in getting orders out, and at best a spotty experience with DJI customer service. I've also started reading that there are issues with Apple phones with optical image stabilization, DJI have pretty much admited this on their own forums. So now I'm considering cancelling.
The iPhone cameras are great but as technology gets better, so will the stabilization in the phone so they can eliminate products like this and phones can be used without any additional tools. It may be possible that you can shut off the stabilizer in the phone and get a better result with the Osmo Mobile
Yeah they've pretty much admitted that they're working to get the DJI Go app to be able to turn off the OIS in the phone. I've currently got an non OIS iPhone 6 so I'm ok- it just needs to be bottomed out so I can decide which 4K phone to upgrade to!
Ciaran, I have the iphone 7s. I find the stabilization issue to be minimal if any. The ones complaining are the ones who have 5 cups of coffee before filming and walk like a robot. You do have to consider your movements, that's all I've seen.
That I get, but it's footage where there's minimal movement and at the same time a semi regular jitter, not like a bobbing walking effect- more like a quick shudder- that puts me off.
Ah, now I see. Thanks. I haven't seen that with my videos. After the auto calibration I adjust the pitch a tad manually. I've no idea if that stops it but I haven't had that issue, but will look for it.
To be clear I've got an iPhone 6 so I've no issue, but I've seen vids with 6s' and 7's that seem to have the problem.
What is a bit strange to me about it is that you do motion time lapse with this version of the Osmo but you cannot with the regular Osmo/x3. Not sure why that's case but odd nonetheless.
I read that it's the processor in your phone is much stronger than the processor in the Osmo X3, also you CAN turn off the image stabilization in your iPhone PLUS models if you use the awesome filmimg app filmic pro.
Does anyone know a way to manually TURN OFF (tripod mode) the iPhone PLUS model phones???
Does it charge the iPhone battery while you have it plugged into the Osmo? The only other downfall for me is iPhone does not have external memory so I'm stuck with the 16g on my iPhone.
I don't think it can charge the phone, even if it did, it would drain the Osmo battery more, I'm sure they will make some sort of solution for that.... As for the iPhone memory, that all depends on how much you want to spend on an iPhone with more space
You can buy a wide angle lens for the phone camera to solve that problem.
I hope they will make a similar one for lightweight DSLR for a reasonable price, no?
That would be awesome, but that would be pushing more towards their market for the Ronin I feel. The Osmo is a lightweight and portable tool... Wouldn't mind seeng an in-between myself for the convenience of having a small DSLR stabilized and controlled in one hand
I have the Osmo mobile and found that you can customize the settings such as changing the direction of the the joystick. You can reverse the movement.
The one thing I wish they could change is how you download the videos to your phone. Currently you have to have the DJI connected to the mobile phone and then download, and you can only download one at a time. Does anyone see them changing this?