Photographers are being pushed into providing video one way or another while aerial shooters often need to provide ground footage. The cost and hassle of a large gimbal, such as a DJI Ronin, along with the cost of the camera, creates a huge barrier to entry. DJI has created a new tool to help solve these types of problems, and its called Osmo. While Osmo doesn’t replace a high end camera and steadycam, it is very close to the next best thing.

DJI Osmo – Camera on a Stick

Osmo takes the concept of a “camera on a stick” and has put it on steroids. While stabilized handles with tilt and pan for GoPros have been available for a while, they don’t offer anything else in terms of function With the DJI Osmo, your smartphone sits in the mobile device holder and, via the DJI GO app, provides the viewscreen for the camera, allows you to adjust camera settings on the fly, change the video resolution (up to 4k), and much more. It is really the integration with the mobile app that makes the Osmo such a powerful tool.

Osmo Features

• Fully stabilized 4K, 12MP camera optimized for ground use
• Slow motion and audio recording
• Tripod-free long exposures
• Remote camera control
• Secure grip
• 6-hour standby time
• 1 hour of video shooting

Using the Osmo

The Osmo is very easy to use. The handle has only 5 controls:

• Gimbal unlock switch
• Power/Sleep switch
• Joystick
• Start/Stop Recording
• Shutter

With only a couple of days of getting to know the Osmo, we headed over to pick up some new bikes and decided to try to use the Osmo to get some footage that we could use to create somewhat of a commercial.

Osmo Limitation

The DJI Osmo is not a camcorder, it is a video camera. The on-board microphone is pretty useless as it picks up the gimbal noise and the noise from the camera. If you are thinking you will be recording video and audio with the Osmo, you will need an external microphone.

For most photographers, the Osmo will be used to get group shots, candid action, and detail work. I can certainly see the Osmo being used extensively at weddings because of its small size and super good stabilization but again, you won’t be recording the vows unless you have a better audio setup.

Conclusion

If you price out a GoPro Hero 4 Black at $499 and a basic gimbal for $250, you are at $749 for a very simple setup with lots of fisheye distortion, no viewscreen, and very limited features. On the other hand, the Osmo sells for $649 and does a whole lot more including slow-motion, panoramas, and timelapse. If you have a need for a small, lightweight, and highly portable camera that will provide excellent results without breaking the bank, be sure and take a look at the DJI Osmo.