After what has felt like an odyssey of a product rollout, DJI’s latest vlogging camera, the Osmo Pocket 4P, is finally here. It’s launching in Europe, the UK, Canada and Australia, after its initial rollout in China a month ago.
Our coverage of that launch has the complete specs, but here are the most important parts, in case you missed them or have since forgotten them. The 4P is an upgraded version of the company’s Osmo Pocket 4 vlogging camera with an integrated three-axis gimbal. Like the standard model, it has around 100GB of built-in storage, and a Type 1 (116mm2) sensor with a 20mm equiv. lens, capable of shooting at 4K/240p in landscape. It can also take 33MP 16:9 stills, and a ~3K (1728×3072) vertical crop from the middle of the sensor for portrait-orientation video at up to 60p.
While those specs are similar to the original Osmo Pocket 4, the 4P uses a new sensor that utilizes a LOFIC (lateral overflow integrating capacitance) design to retain more information in the highlights, and a new version of the company’s Log curve, D-Log2, to capture the extra dynamic range. D-Log2’s base ISO is two stops lower than the original’s, meaning it can tolerate up to 2EV additional light.
It’s also not the only camera. The 4P adds a Type 1/1.28 (75mm²) sensor with a 60mm equiv. lens for extra reach, though that one doesn’t have the same dynamic range capabilities – it uses the original D-Log – and caps out at 4K/200p.
Taking a break from specs: what’s the camera like to use? DJI brought our social director Mykim Dang to Toronto for two days to test it, and you can see her impressions, along with sample footage from the 4P, below.
The power of the Osmo Pocket series has always been in its ability to be an all-in-one solution. The cameras provide image quality that’s more than good enough for social media or YouTube, work natively with DJI’s popular wireless lavaliere microphones and produce steadier footage than you can get from a phone alone
As a bit of inside baseball, we recently went through the process of putting together a standard kit for shooting social video here at DPReview and our sister company, Gear Patrol. It includes an iPhone, several accessories like a cage and ND filters, a microphone, tripod, etc. When we were discussing the Osmo Pocket 4P, Mykim said she wished it had existed when she was putting the kit together, because she would’ve just gone with it.
The power of the Osmo Pocket series has always been in its ability to be an all-in-one solution
What really sold her was the accessory remote, which provides a wireless live preview, the ability to start and stop recording, and a joystick to control where the camera is pointed at. It doesn’t come with the camera, but is available as part of the Vlog Combo, which also includes a fill light, Mic Mini 2 transmitter and receiver, a mini tripod and more, as well as a pouch to put it all in.
This does, however, bring us to one of the elephants in the room: Insta360’s Luna Ultra, which is about as similar a competitor as you could ask for. It also puts a Type 1 sensor with 20mm equiv. lens and a Type 1/1.3 sensor for its 60mm equiv. lens on an integrated gimbal, works with the company’s wireless microphones and includes some (but not as much) internal storage. However, it shoots 8K (as well as 4K), and its remote is built-in; you can detach the front with the controls and rotating screen, and use it to remotely operate the camera.