Top positive review
5.0 out of 5 starsAn improvement overall from the first Osmo Pocket
Reviewed in the United States on May 15, 2021
I had the first Osmo Pocket for two years and I really enjoyed it, it had a few downsides though like when a room was even a little dim, you could see visual noise in the footage and photos. Also whether you were outside or inside, the contrast and exposure were sometimes all over the place. The only way to TRY to fix it was to adjust the settings manually for each shot...but even then...there were limitations.
This Osmo Pocket 2 is much better in the sense that when I filmed the same dim rooms or low light settings, the camera performed much better with little to no visual noise. The contrast and exposures are much more even. If you're filming a landscape that is in shadow, but there's a bright sky, this Osmo Pocket will adjust the light so you can see the ground and landscape -which is an improvement because the last pocket would adjust for the sky and make the landscape look even darker.
The Pocket 2 also has better sound, its clearer and sound tracking allows it so the microphones pick up wherever the camera is pointed. I generally use an external mic, so I'll admit I haven't used the built-in mic features much. The Pocket 2 also starts up faster, but the power button is now a separate button on the side of the camera, be careful not to accidentally press the button when you're taking the camera out of the case or pushing it into the case.
Speaking of case, the last Osmo was held into the case with a silicone strap, this one doesn't use a strap, it uses friction...which I think is a bad idea because over time It will wear away at the sides of the camera, making it look bad. I can already tell that's whats going to happen.
The camera advertises 4k and HDR.. BUT what they don't tell you is that the HDR is not available on the 4k setting, it is only available on the 1080p setting. That being said, the 4k setting by itself is a vast improvement over the first Pocket, and by doing a bit of color grading in post-production, it could pass for HDR footage.
I was a bit confused when I bought it because DJI kept saying this has zoom, but they went back and forth as if it not only possessed digital zoom but also optical zoom. Let me clear that up. THERE IS NO OPTICAL zoom not even 2x optical zoom. It uses digital zoom only, which I personally don't like, so I don't use it.
The camera still gets warm when shooting in 4k mode, however it doesn't get nearly as hot as the first Pocket. My first pocket would get so hot the camera would shut down. This one doesn't. At least it hasn't yet. I like the little joy stick that comes with the camera. It allows you to move the gimball without neading to physically move your arm. This is useful for steadycam walking footage where you need to suddenly look up or down without switching to FPV mode. Just use the joystick. It moves the gimball at only 1 speed, but its a slow steady speed which is still good for getting steady footage. It would be cool if DJI incorporated software that allowed it to speed up or slow down from that speed when you push the joystick...but otherwise its a nice feature.
If you're new to Osmo Pocket, it is NOT an action cam, and it is NOT a lowlight cam. It's best use is for daytime/sunset vlogging, walking tour, steadycam, or getting high-quality footage in a convenient pocket size. So don't get it wet, and don't try to shoot in near darkness or extreme sports.
Everything in your shot is always in-focus, so don't expect the kind of background blurring you get with DSLR's focus. But if you want that kind of blurring, you can do that with Adobe Premiere Pro or Photoshop, so don't worry. I have shot near-DSLR quality footage with this camera and after doing some adjustments in post-production it looks amazing. I highly recommend this camera for vloggers, or for professionals when you need some extra camera work done with convenience.
As for the camera, the old pocket advertized a 12 MP camera, this one advertises a 64 MP camera. Normally that would mean the 64 MP would have a resolution almost 5 times the size...but in this case, the resolution is only a little bit bigger, the difference is in the camera's ability to capture detail.
I really like this camera, I think its a huge improvement over the original Osmo, for me it is the perfect camera. I personally don't need any other cameras because this one does everything I need it to do. But I know a guy who uses this camera ALONG WITH his DSLR and he gets great footage that he pieces together into a cool video.
So try it out. I think you'll like it.
