Now this is the business…in fact it looks the dogs bollocks, a 3 axis hand held gimbal with a full HD or 4K ball camera called the DJI OSMO.
- Fully stabilized 4K, 12Mp camera optimized for ground use
- Slow motion and audio recording
- Tripod-free long exposures
- Remote camera control
- Secure grip
- Suite of accessories including bike & car mount, tripod, extension stick and phone mount
- 6-hour standby time
- 1 hour of video shooting
Simon from Production Gear one of our site sponsors had a sneak peek at a DJI special showing in London last week.
Remember to tell Simon if you buy an OSMO that you saw it on HD Warrior, that gives us brownie points with Production Gear.
http://www.videogear.co.uk/index.php?_a=viewBrand&brandId=155
According to the Video Gear website, the price is £548 including VAT
Colour me very interested in this, especially with the ability to mount other DJI cameras which can take interchangeable lenses. The test footage looks really good and the German magazine/website CHIP was also impressed, with only two minor niggles: the Zenmuse X3’s “considerably loud fan” and the software crashing several times. But this was a pre-series device so these have now been fixed, hopefully. The other caveat is the Osmo is not waterproof.
German speakers can read the whole review here: http://www.chip.de/news/Drohnen-Hersteller-bringt-verwacklungsfreie-4K-Videos-DJI-Osmo-im-ersten-Praxis-Test_84180343.html
I would be very interested to know if this can be externally powered. Was thinking of using as a locked off camera at dance concerts, with the ability to be controlled remotely via the app, but 1hr battery life isn’t long.
I personally am pretty certain that gimbals are the future of event videomaking . lighting and portable lighting are few years away as well (in my opinion). But definitely not in the form of this handle . It will have to be in the lens (like sony did already for a small series of consumer handycams). By then all the tricks of a professional event cameraman will be available to create something splendid (zoom, aperture, wide and close-ups). LED small lights to float in space controlled by the camera and cameraman, plus small shotguns to capture the audio that the cameraman needs to capture without lapels to setup. And most importantly a mechanical stabilization in the lens, for a (most likely) shoulder camera: that’s the future that I see. Not stuff for geeks and cell phones.
This is another German review, this time from Der Spiegel magazine: http://www.spiegel.de/netzwelt/gadgets/dji-osmo-drohnen-kamera-im-kurztest-a-1057370.html Again, it was a pre-series model and was criticised for its bulk and also, worryingly, for excessive fan noise that was not only recorded by the internal microphone but also annoyed people in the office during the test! If this has not been addressed by DJI then the best thing to do is use an external microphone or wait for the revised model.
Yet another German review, complete with video, this time from http://www.videoaktiv.de/praxistechnik/camcorder-hintergrundinfo/test-dji-osmo-3-achs-gimbal-mit-4k-kamera.html Major problems with the apps: iOS did not work in Preview mode, the Android one crashed repeatedly, requiring it to be deleted, along with its directory, and reinstalled more than once.
The video quality seemed fine to my eyes but the internal microphone prioritised the considerable fan and motor noise, to the extent that the external microphone is essential or sound should be switched off entirely. I’ve yet to find a review where the device is tested with an external mic, but as it stands it is totally unsuitable for sound recording.
There was no mention whether this was a pre-series device but I’m assuming it was since the reviewer said he would be returning to the Osmo as soon as he could get hold of another.
If the app and noise problems have not been addressed then, for an advertised price of €749, the Osmo is simply overpriced and underdeveloped. The potential is definitely there but this is not yet the combined gimbal and camera we are looking for.
It’s a cool little tool. The fan noise isn’t obtrusive unless you’re shooting funerals or using it in a sound recording booth;)
The inbuilt mic is crap and even a £2 iPhone extension mic is a vast improvement.
I used mine for the 1st time last Friday and the footage outdoor and indoor with a light seems perfectly useable.
Only problem I had was trying to get it record at the 4K 25p setting, it seemed to stall and when I hit record again, recorded at 1920×1080 50p instead……
Sandisk Extreme 32gb UHS3 card not fast enough maybe?
Robbo, could you post a bit more? I’d like to know what indoor light you used (whether it was mounted on the Osmo itself) and whether you used an external mic. I’m thinking of acquiring an Osmo for interviews and pieces to camera so anything re. how to best adapt it for this role would be appreciated.
I just received my Osmo today (April 2016). The fan noise is loud and makes the unit, for me, unusable. Even with external mic recording the fan noise is clearly picked up so sadly I’m sending the unit back immediately along with the accessories I purchased for it.
HDW: NOTE..The latest firmware switches off the fan when in REC mode.
Got a new OSMO yesterday. So excited to try it out. Camera hits itself off the frame every time I switch it on & doesn’t come to life after. Beginning to regret this purchase. Took back to store and no more in stock. On back order. From the looks f the forums and you tube videos there is serious problems with this product and this is a common fault with the OSMO straight out of the box which DJI will not admit to! Spent an hour on with technical support who are useless. Copy and past instructions instead of talking you through the case. Complete opposite to the experience with Phantom 4 which was excellent.