We Review the Latest DJI Osmo Mobile 7: The Perfect Smartphone Gimbal for Beginners

DJI has long been a household name when it comes to drones and camera stabilization, consistently pushing the boundaries of what compact gear can achieve. With the launch of the DJI Osmo Mobile 7 (OM7), the company has decided to bring a highly capable gimbal to the hands of beginners without the usual high price tag. While many smartphone gimbals are often geared toward enthusiasts or semi-pro users, the OM7 is designed to be a true entry-level option that doesn’t feel basic. It offers minimal compromise in functionality while still packing in big capabilities, making it one of the most approachable and reliable tools for new content creators to elevate their mobile shooting game.

Build Quality

The DJI Osmo Mobile 7 stands out as the lightest gimbal in its class, weighing just around 300 grams, including the built-in tripod and magnetic phone clamp. Despite its lightweight form, it feels impressively solid in hand. The build quality feels surprisingly robust for an entry-level device at this price range, especially when unfolding or during use. There’s no noticeable wobble or exposed wires that scream “cheap product.” The buttons and joystick are also quite responsive, with a reassuring tactile feel, making operation intuitive and enjoyable. The new panel screen not only makes the gimbal look cool, it also clearly displays Bluetooth status, battery level, and shooting modes, though it tends to attract fingerprints.

Compact in design, the OM7 folds down to just 179 × 95 × 39 mm and opens up to 278 × 107 × 93 mm when in use—making it slightly smaller than its counterpart, the OM7P, which offers a 215 mm extension rod with added tilt functionality. While it doesn’t include an extension rod like its sibling, it retains all the other functionality, including pin connection points at its roll axis motor to support an optional multifunctional module for expanded functionality. These designs make it suitable for casual shooters and beginners alike.

The built-in tripod is also thoughtfully designed, offering a level of durability that you normally would not expect at this price point. It comes with a metal hinge at the leg joint, so you don’t have to worry about its durability, as this is typically the weakest part of tripod legs. The OM7 also comes with a set of powerful motors that are capable of supporting smartphone payloads of up to 300 g. The magnetic mount that locks the phone to the gimbal also feels very strong and secure. It did not unmount itself even with accidental bumps throughout my test.

Features

Apart from its excellent build quality, the DJI Osmo Mobile 7, being DJI’s seventh-generation stabilization system, also integrates their advanced ActiveTrack 7.0 technology into this entry-level gimbal. This combination, along with other intelligent shooting features available in the DJI Mimo app, allows content creators to capture high-quality footage with ease right from their smartphones—even if they are doing mobile content creation for the first time.

Despite having some experience in videography, I decided to approach this review from a beginner’s perspective. Personally, I find DJI’s built-in shooting guide to be a great starting point, offering a walkthrough of how to operate the gimbal and even a variety of shot lists for most situations to guide you on what you should be shooting. There are also automated shooting modes such as dynamic zoom and “Parents & Kids” mode available in the DJI Mimo app for ease of recording content.

First-time setup is refreshingly straightforward. Pairing your phone is quick, and it prompts you for firmware updates automatically upon first use. Once ready, the gimbal feels ready to shoot in just moments. One of my favorite features is the Sleep mode, which is activated by triple tapping the M button. This allows for even quicker on-the-go access, waking the device with any button press without the need to start the gimbal all the time between breaks.

The OM7 does include a zoom lever on the side for convenient zooming, though its placement feels slightly awkward for one-handed use. On the bright side, the built-in tripod is a thoughtful design—pulling one of the legs out will also release the rest. Speaking of the battery, the OM7 offers an estimated 10 hours of use under ideal conditions (balanced and stationary) and fully charges in about 2.5 hours with a 10 W USB-C charger.

Most importantly, the OM7 is capable of supporting the optional Multifunctional Module, the same one included with the OM7P. This support for the multifunctional module allows you to future-proof your equipment by adding advanced functionality like intelligent tracking in third-party apps, a fill light, and a DJI Mic receiver, should you decide to upgrade your content creation in the future. Personally, it’s a clever way to enhance the gimbal’s capabilities without forcing all users to pay for features they may not need upfront. The fill light offers a brightness of 40 lux (at 0.6 meters) and a variable color temperature between 2,500 K and 6,000 K. It also comes with tracking enabled and the light off on both sides of the module. However, according to DJI’s official statement, with the multifunctional module in use, the OM7’s battery life will drop to about 5 hours—or 4 hours with the fill light at full brightness. It’s worth noting that using the gimbal to charge your phone will further reduce runtime.

If you purchase the optional multifunctional module OM tracking kit, it will come with a bulkier magnetic phone holder that includes a pinned connection point. This allows communication between DJI’s tracking kit and the gimbal itself. Do keep in mind that the tracking function of the multifunctional module only works when recording with third-party apps and does not work when recording with the DJI Mimo app—as it was designed to expand the gimbal’s usability beyond the native app limitation.I am happy to say, despite my early skepticism due to its budget pricing, the OM7 delivers a surprisingly strong and reliable performance. It may be marketed as an entry-level gimbal, but it punches well above its weight in terms of features and execution.

Usage and Real-World Examples

In real-world use, the DJI Osmo Mobile 7 delivers impressive results as promised, especially when paired with the DJI Mimo app. ActiveTrack 7.0 lives up to its reputation as the latest iteration of DJI’s tracking algorithms. It's fast, intelligent, and surprisingly accurate. It locks onto subjects quickly and remains responsive even if they’re far away, move quickly, or are briefly obstructed. From my experience using the gimbal, it gives off a feeling that is above its price tag. Whether walking, panning, or following unpredictable motion, tracking remains smooth and stable throughout. Focusing behaves in a way that is reliable, predictable, and rarely loses its subject.

As mentioned earlier, I am approaching this review from a beginner’s mindset and relied entirely on the scene ShotGuides inside the DJI Mimo app to create a video. These guides are very useful, especially if you have zero idea of what to film, as there are tons of guides catering to almost every situation for your outings. Besides, it also automatically analyzes your surroundings and suggests a shot sequence, complete with behind-the-scenes video tutorials and instructions for what should be filmed. What’s more impressive is that the gimbal can intelligently switch between shooting modes and automate movements between shots that are within the guides. It removes the guesswork, making dynamic filming more accessible than ever. You just follow the steps and hit the record button. Though I wish that at the end of the shooting guide, it would auto-edit the clips into a complete video—or at the very least end the guides instead of being stuck on the last page.​​​​​​

After shooting, I also tested DJI’s one-tap editing feature. It’s as simple as selecting your clips, choosing a recommended template, and letting the app do the rest. It will analyze and produce a polished, edited video with transitions, text overlay, and music within minutes, which is perfect for quick, casual content sharing. While seasoned users might prefer manual control, beginners will surely appreciate this streamlined, one-stop shooting and editing workflow.

 

The final edited video produced from the “One-Tap Edit”

That said, not everything is flawless. One odd behavior I noticed was during gimbal recentering—if you double-tap the trigger button when the gimbal is rotated more than 90 degrees to the left, it will recenter facing you. But if rotated to the right, it recenters facing forward. It's not a dealbreaker, but it might catch some users off guard and require an extra step to get back into your initial shooting position.

Summary

What I Liked

• Attractive and affordable price point

• Lightweight and highly portable design

• Future-proof via optional module for added functionality

• Built-in tripod for added convenience and stability

• Excellent stabilization performance even during movement

• Excellent tracking capabilities

• Seamless integration with the user-friendly DJI Mimo app

What Could Be Improved

• A clearer battery level indicator—such as bars or percentage

• Improved rotation and tilt range for more flexible shooting angles

• Addition of a dedicated rotation knob, similar to the one found on the OM7P, for finer control

Closing Thoughts

It’s honestly difficult to find major faults with the DJI Osmo Mobile 7. For a gimbal priced at just $89, it offers a surprisingly complete package—combining DJI’s trusted stabilization technology with intelligent software features that make mobile filmmaking easier and more accessible than ever.

The OM7 is lightweight, well built, and packed with practical functions like ActiveTrack 7.0, built-in tripod legs, and support for modular expansion. Whether you're vlogging, creating short content, or just starting out with mobile video, it handles everyday shooting tasks with impressive stability and ease.

Simply put, the DJI OM7 is a beginner-friendly gimbal that doesn’t feel like a compromise. If you're new to mobile content creation and want a reliable, affordable tool to elevate your shooting, this might just be the perfect place to start. Get yours now today.