Top critical review
1.0 out of 5 starsCan't wait for V2.0!
Reviewed in the United States on February 26, 2019
UPDATE:
Firmware bug causes 4k60 footage to revert to 1080P... HALF MY GRANDD CANYON FOOTAGE WAS SWITCHED TO 1080P
READ THE DJI FORUMS... IT IS JUNK
I HATE THIS PRODUCT NOW
I bought this camera for a trip to the Grand Canyon. Two years ago, I used my Note 4 on a gimbal and got good results, but it was overly cumbersome to hit the trail with this large gear... so I used the combo less than I thought I would.
Fast forward to this years 30 mile hike, now I have an Osmo Pocket. I literally did NOT have enough time to play around with the OP, before the trip, so I had to rely on pc-less QA of my videos. I forced myself to use the OP in stand-alone mode without connecting my Note8. Luckily I had the latest firmware at the time that allowed PRO mode switching without tethering a phone. The results were mostly good! This camera is pretty easy to use. There is a walking bump like many show on social media... it is avoidable to an extent by "ninja walking" or using perhaps a selfie stick... hey, I'm on a 30 mile trek... I'm not ninja walking with a multi-day pack on!
Personally, tethering a phone to the USB-C (or lightning) connector is a bit of a pain for "run-and-gun" shooting. Might as well just use an Osmo and your cell phone. I chose stand-alone mode for most of the trip.
So, I set out to see the world through a postage-stamp sized screen, and at times, it disappointed, at others, it shined. I purchased a set of ND filters, fearing the colors would be all washed out during the day, but color issues only happened using in D-Cinelike in PRO mode. In fact, the cinelike colors are OK, not over-saturated, maybe a bit un-saturated to my taste.
The ND filters are a waste IMHO. One of mine fell off within 4 hours of testing. I simply didn't use another.
The PRO mode might be best used while tethering. You can set WB and exposure (including auto for both) as well as manual shutter speed, but there's something wrong with the colors if you don't set PRO mode up correctly, and in changing light, you have to re-adjust it (That is normal with any manual mode, BTW). The tiny screen is almost useless in this regard, so stick to standard mode if un-tethered. PRO mode really helped at night, allowing me to set ISO to 1600 (grainy, but watchable)
Standard mode gave me surprisingly good results in all day-lighting conditions, with or without ND filter attached. At night, it was kind of a miss, so switch to PRO mode for night time. I think the OP is supposed to detect night somehow, maybe this feature isn't ready yet.
I tried one Motionlapse. You need the phone tethered for set up only, you may disconnect and let the camera do it's thing, which is a good thing. I used a 2m USB-C M-F extension cable for this. I was able to "jack in" occasionally to check up on the status. There are many things lacking in motionlapse, like variable shutter, more precise timing controls, and maybe a "preview sweep" before you commit... I found out that in the app, there is a "save original frames" feature in Motionlapse "pro-mode", you can use something like Virtualdub on your PC to load the frames in for editing. Also, Pro mode frame recording gives you UHD-size, not the 1080P output of Motionlapse... Excellent option, DJI!
Hand-Held timelapse does not work, always use a tripod.
The panorama function is cool, just make sure to use the app to stitch before copying your SD to your workflow. It sounds like a pain, maybe it is, but I did not mind that extra step. The two panorama modes are fine. in no way is this a 360 degree camera, so, don't expect a spherical panorama on this. Use a 360 camera for that.
I wish this thing built in a joystick for pan and tilt. The screen kind of has a tilt control, it's awful, and consistently, I got "you cannot perform this function while recording" errors came up when attempting to tilt, ruining my shot entirely. For this... you guessed it... add a cumbersome and expensive add on. Now the pan/tilt add on might be nice... there is no way to tuck the OP into it's protective case with it on... WTF DJI? I won't buy that.
Focal distance is not as wide as a GoPro. I actually see it as a trade-off. Selfie mode seems a little tight, but is OK, while landscapes wish to be zoomed in a bit more! I like the choice here. I don't remember the equivalent distance in mm off-hand, but I see it as more of a 35-40mm full-frame. Definitely a little wider than a 50mm portait. A small optical zoom of maybe 3x would be absolutely stunning, but make the device larger, and that's OK with me! I suppose the F stop would be slower with zoom than the current bright F2.0 however...
WIFI/BT... need an attachment... WTF again DJI. I won't buy it.
I did buy a 3rd party USB-C tripod adapter that works great for motionlapse on tripod and handheld slo-mo on selfie sticks. It also has the ability to charge the OP with a battery bank if desired. If you use a tripod, you can connect the OP to your phone via extension cable for remote control. Pretty neat.
Video Qaulity: So, UHD at 100mbps sounds great, right? wrong. I compared the shots to my Panasonic ZS-100 (1" sensor compact camera with zoom). The Panny crushes the OP in image quality at same resolution and bitrate, no comparing the two. However, the OP crushes the Panny in rolling shutter artifacts and image stabilization. It seems like a trade-off. Honestly, my Note8 has better video quality then the OP, but again, my phone lacks mechanical stabilization, and that is a deal-breaker. OP wins!
Battery life: It's OK. I shot an entire day with it and only connected a battery bank for my motionlapse, just in case. Android has this reverse-charging thing with USB, so I blame the OS, and not DJI for the Android issue. I can't comment if Apple has this issue or not. It's no big deal to me, but I do see how it would irritate some. Again, I put blame on Android for the charging issue that drains the OP battery. Use Wifi, and it solves the problem, unless you need to transfer files. You cannot remove the battery. This is a product for 1 year and then hack it, I suppose.
Speaking of file transfer... I wish this thing incorporated a thumbnail cache. If you reconnect your phone with a hundred files on it, the app just sits there blank... no "loading" banner, nothing. You might think your connection is lost or something until magically, 4 minutes later, your media apears. If you lose connection for a split second (happens when directly tethered for me anyway) you have to re-cache the thumbnails. ARRGH what a PITA. File transfer is quick, at about 10 megabytes per second when tethered via USB-C.
Story Mode... OK, this could be a great feature if you could use a laptop. You can't. So... you better have a 512GB cell phone capacity to load a multi-day shoot into your phone to make a quick video for family and friends. There is a way to do a story mode as you capture, I'm confused either way, I just don't know what I am doing here. I don't think Story Mode is for me. I fell like my workflow should go into my i7 laptop with 1TB storage and let the laptop app do up a quick recap story for me, not shuffle files to my phone, where storage is more precious. I think shooting in story mode effectively takes the burden off your external device, but I see it infringing on manual video settings and other issues... I'll leave this one to the Story Mode pro's, I am just confused hahaha!
The button taps for centering (2) and selfie (3) are intuitive and clever. I love that feature.
I wish you could simply hold the record button to snap a photo, while tap to start/stop record. For now, you have to change modes, which while hiking, can be a little annoying, especially the tiny screen and big fingers, causing you to set the wrong mode.
SLO-MO: This feature really shines on the OP. My biggest gripe is the auto-focus really sucks for a shot ranging from close to far and vice-versa. You can't do a macro to wide pan for instance. In general terms, the slo-mo is neat, and i WISH it was in UHD! Why not? I bet the SOC could do it. Perhaps V2.0... Anyway, slow mo is fun and easy to do with great results in 1080P.
60FPS UHD: This is niiiice. I used 30fps for some footage and it looked choppy on my 60Hz PC monitor. A lot of video seems to look jittery to me, but the 60FPS stuff all looks smooth. You definitely see compression artifacts, however. A larger sensor and possibly higher bitrate would alleviate this to a degree.
V2.0: OK, my wish-list...
1. PTZ Joystick and not a virtual screen control (yes, 3x optical zoom would be awesome, like the Osmo+)
2. Larger screen and larger device (DJI could still make this pocket-able)
3. Built in WiFi/BT
4. Larger image sensor (not looking for 1", but something larger will help)
5. AI to soften the "walking bump" (If DJI included a 5k sensor, they could use portions to smooth the bumps, and still make it UHD)
6. UHD Slow-Mo and Time/Motionlapse
7. Built-in tripod screw mount!
8. Waterproof housing accessory (not available yet)
9. One switchable ND filter built-in? Yes please :)
10. GEOTAGGING - Yes Please!
Overall, I am pleased with this device. I say BRAVO to DJI for putting out a revolutionary product! I hope future firmware updates improve this little guy while DJI works on a bigger and better model. I will say that it is easily pocketable, and almost un-noticable to carry around a long day in a city. I really like it.
