The DJI Osmo Action 4 camera is jam-packed with modern action camera video and photo features. I have owned many GoPro cameras in the past, in addition to a couple of Insta360 action cameras. I will say that I’ve struggled to find a good action camera to record my MTB adventures, particularly one that facilitates that process rather than making it frustrating.
DJI Osmo Action 4 key specs
High-end action cameras have gotten smaller since their early beginnings, but in the last few years they seem to have settled on an indistinguishable 3×2” rectangular shape that fits in the palm of one’s hand. The DJI Osmo Action 4 camera is just a little over 2.5” wide and 1.5” tall. The camera alone with a removable battery inside weighs 147g on my scale (113g without the battery). That is just 7g heavier than my GoPro 11 Mini. Right off the bat, the camera and its accessories are pretty minimal and easy to use.
Simple innovation
One can argue that we owe GoPro the credit for getting us to where we are at in the action cam world. But companies like DJI have innovated to adapt to what users want and need. Sometimes companies want to throw everything they have into a product, but then that product ends up being too much to handle and loses its fun factor.
Using an action camera should not be difficult; leave that to the pro cameras. From my testing, DJI made the user interface of the Osmo Action 4 straightforward along with the accessories such as the magnetic quick release to change from a horizontal aspect ratio to vertical for social media stories. Battery swaps are simple, charging is simple, mounting is simple, and most importantly, recording is simple. All those little things add up to making the user experience fun.
Battery
The included battery seems to last all day with my usage. I typically only record in bits, usually just the fun parts of trails, to edit together for an Instagram story. I’d like to think my riding is fun to watch, but sadly I am not riding like a Red Bull athlete, and I’ll never rack up thousands of views. But for those who do like to record full trail runs, I don’t blame you; it’s fun going back and seeing your whole run! If you ever need more than the advertised 2.5 hours of battery life, you can grab a couple of extra batteries to have on hand on those long trips. The camera will quickly charge a battery through the USB-C port.
Video quality
I will say that the Osmo Action 4 camera delivers some of the best video quality among the cameras I have tried. It is crystal clear and performs well in low light conditions. If you want to go full 4K resolution with 120 frames per second, you can! Just remember that such quality will take up more memory space. What most mountain bikers probably want to know is if the quality is good when riding in shaded wooded trails. From my testing, it does better than my GoPro Mini 2 and Insta360 One RS. Can it be improved? I think so, but I am quite happy with how low-light recordings look. The built-in 1/1.3” camera sensor seems to be a big factor in video quality in addition to the improved software that helps with low-light imaging. For those video color graders, files are recorded in 10-bit and D-Log to capture as much detail with the ability to color grade your recorded videos.
Neat features
The Osmo Action 4 camera has some cool features up its sleeve like dual, full-color touchscreens. This can be helpful when creating vlogging videos or just wanting to quickly change settings. Both screens are super responsive and high-def. I will say this is my first action camera with dual screens, and I was impressed.
The 155 Ultra-Wide field of view option helps to capture more of what is in front of the camera. This is great for mountain bikers as sometimes the handlebars take up most of the horizontal space when recording in wide mode. There is also a 360 Horizon Steady option that you can toggle in the settings that will keep the video leveled. This comes in handy if you have the camera strapped behind you when someone is following you on a trail. If you happen to ride in a wet location, then the 18m waterproof rating should come in handy. It can also record at -4 degrees fahrenheit ( -20 degree celsius). If you ever take a hard fall and crack the lens, the lens can be replaced by unscrewing it.
App
DJI has a phone app to accompany the Osmo Action 4. Right off the bat, I could not use the camera without downloading the app and connecting the camera to the app, and found myself I sitting by the trailhead trying to get things connected. Luckily I’m used to setting up cameras and phone apps, but I was a little surprised I could not use the camera until I registered it to the phone app.
About five or so minutes later, I got the camera to link to the app and was finally able to record my ride. The phone app lets you select between hyperlapse, timelapse, slow motion, video, photo, and livestream. You can pretty much access all the features from the phone app and use it as a remote to record and take photos when needed. The app seems to remember the linked action camera and the connection is fairly quick using Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. Previewing your recorded content is fast and seamless, and you can download it straight to your phone. Download speeds are okay, and I personally always prefer to remove the Micro SD card and connect it to my phone using a dongle. If you can wait to get home, you can always drop all the files straight from the SD card into your preferred editing software.
On the trail
I remember getting my first action camera. I just wanted something that would record my adventures when I pushed that record button. As my riding progressed, my environment changed and the camera quality just wasn’t delivering on its promise of capturing my adventures in High Quality so that I could share bits of my adventures with friends on social media. That’s all I ever wanted.
The DJI Osmo Action 4 has brought back the joy of recording action videos, making the process easy and simple. I have been recording in the vertical orientation for ease of posting on social media stories. I throw on the Chest strap, securely magnetize the camera to the mount, and hit record.
If I want to up the quality or increase my field of view, a quick swipe on the menu and taps to select quickly get me those settings. If you don’t even want to hit the record button, you can say voice commands to the camera to start or stop recording or even take a photo while riding. Look ma, no hands! This is seriously a handy feature to use.
At the end of my rides I’d transfer the content to my phone to share. Easy. No fuss or struggling. I never had the camera freeze or reboot on me. I always prefer to spend more time riding and less time fiddling with the camera. The audio is pretty good, wind noise can be noticed at times, as you can hear in the sample videos.
Pros and cons of the DJI Osmo Action 4
Pros
- Smooth and easy to use interface
- Dual touch screens
- Low-light video performance helps mountain bikers get better videos
Cons
- Must register camera with phone app to use it
- File transfers to phone are fast, but not fast enough
Bottom line
DJI has learned a lot from their drone camera research and development and I can see how that camera technology has trickled down to the Osmo Action 4 Camera. I have personally owned some filming products from DJI in the past, and they always deliver on camera quality.
The Osmo Action 4 Camera is another good product they have come out with that is evolving to suit consumer needs. DJI made sure to keep it fun and easy to create and share content with this action camera. For those who want to get high quality content to share and post on social media, the Osmo Action 4 camera is one to consider.
1 Comments
Jul 28, 2024
So manny issues and GoPro solution is to buy a new one.
I gave up and got my wife an Insta360 Ace pro.
She’s really happy with it but I think it’s too big.
Personally I’ll never give GoPro another dollar.