DJI OSMO POCKET 3 Cinematography and the end of the mirrorless camera

Peter C.

Peter C.

Veteran
Jokes aside this has to be one of the most talked about cameras of 2023. I didn't see a thread about it so I thought I'd throw one up for discussion. A lot of positive reviews but I'm not in the market for a camera designed for the social media walk n talk film yourself. Obviously it can do more than that... I think this camera will sell very well because it's so easy to use.
 
I've never been tempted by any of these Osmo cameras before and I'm not a big user of gimbals, but this update is hard to ignore. I did have a good laugh at this review, though.
 
QuickHitRecord said:
I've never been tempted by any of these Osmo cameras before and I'm not a big user of gimbals, but this update is hard to ignore. I did have a good laugh at this review, though.
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Markus "review" is biased in favor of the Sony Rx100 but there is some useful info

Maybe I should have qualified "easy" after you set it up. To be fair all of these devices no matter the manufacture has a similar arduous setup process (gimbals, drones, wireless mics, action cameras, etc)

I think dji form factor could displace point and shoot cameras as it is better suited to vlogging which seems to have become the largest customer base for sub 1k cameras.
 
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I really love how small this thing is and having a gimbal (looks like it works well) is so convenient, but I still think this will attract only a niche group unless the IQ gets noticeably better (looks comparable to a phone/GoPro).

9/10 people are already going to have a great phone and would probably consider a $100 gimbal first instead of this.

For those already working in video production, maybe it could be a neat toy to throw in the bag for BTS, a certain POV angle in a film, etc.
 
NorBro said:
For those already working in video production, maybe it could be a neat toy to throw in the bag for BTS, a certain POV angle in a film, etc.
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I'm often asked to film BTS footage so it be useful to pullout a separate handheld device from your primary setup to grab some quick footage. I still wouldn't throw down $700 for that purpose.

It's appealing to vloggers because it's all in one. The built in wireless audio receiver with clip on mic transmitter is a nice addon. It's convenient to have all in one camera, gimbal and wireless audio. While you can use your phone you need all those add ons and it's annoying to have your phone tied up while filming. It's nice to have that separation.

I also think things like the GoPro have their own separate niche feature of durability you need in an action cam that the Pocket cam can't do. It's not drop or water proof.
 
I just remembered I had a Osmo Pocket camera a few years ago that I used once. I wonder what ever happened to it? Did I sell it? Did I give it away? Did I lose it? Is it in a box somepalce? Is it worth looking for? Probably not.
 
Production is getting horrific.

”your man (the minister?) is booked for 20mins to deliver the script”

with such extreme time pressures one can fight to get any b roll, any non synch wides

on these scrabble for anything jobs - i think this woild be well handy

of course accepting the lowering of the bar is a sifferent chat
 
sodotoguwangus said:
Do you think if they release a telephoto version of their clip-on lenses it will be possible with the 1-inch sensor?
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The combination of telephoto lens plus handheld gimbal makes no sense. I'm sure there are far better solutions to whatever your goal is. What is your goal? What dp you want to do?
 
morgan_moore said:
Production is getting horrific.

”your man (the minister?) is booked for 20mins to deliver the script”

with such extreme time pressures one can fight to get any b roll, any non synch wides

on these scrabble for anything jobs - i think this woild be well handy

of course accepting the lowering of the bar is a sifferent chat
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I haven't looked at the camera in question...

But why not just use the latest iPhone for that purpose? It doesn't get smaller or more convenient than that, and apparently the IQ is forgivably usable.
 
Doug Jensen said:
The combination of telephoto lens plus handheld gimbal makes no sense. I'm sure there are far better solutions to whatever your goal is. What is your goal? What dp you want to do?
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I agree there is probably a better solution. But one can definitely use a telephoto lens on a gimbal. Same as on a steadicam or a dolly
 
ahalpert said:
But one can definitely use a telephoto lens on a gimbal. Same as on a steadicam or a dolly
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Yes, it is possible to use a telephoto with a gimbal, but why would someone want to to do that on a talking head when shallow DoF is desired? Better to use a tripod if the person is mostly stationary. Or shoot handheld if you want to be a little more dynamic. In my opinion, the best reason to use a gimbal is if the person and/or camera are moving a lot, such as when walking and talking. And for that, in most instances (there are always excepetions) you are not going to want to shoot walking and talking wtih a telephoto (for shallow DoF) on the gimbal. Just because you can, doesn't mean you should.
 
ahalpert said:
I haven't looked at the camera in question...

But why not just use the latest iPhone for that purpose? It doesn't get smaller or more convenient than that, and apparently the IQ is forgivably usable.
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Ive never used a phone to film as I might be phoning while filming.

i guess ive failed to consider getting a second phone as a camera!
 
It does look like a nice product. The rising tide is lifting all boats. Maybe a Black Friday purchase with a crazy low price? It can charge while operating and will be recognized as a webcam for live use. So it might have some place as a POV camera or as a guerilla live camera etc...
 
I was supposed to get a new iPhone by now after putting if off for, let's see...1...2...carry the 3...

...6 years - but I still keep pushing it back for no good reason at all.

Well maybe it was meant to be because I ended up getting one of these.

This thing is phenomenal.

___

lol in advance --> I remember getting my first [and only] glidecam back in like 2008 (post industrial revolution) and immediately strongly disliking it. I spent days balancing and clucking around with counterweights only to get medicore footage.

Practice might have made perfect but my brain wanted technology 'to make perfect'; that was more ideal for my type as I questioned back then, 'who tf would want to deal with this every shoot?'.

___

Fast-forward to this cutie, you take it out of the box and it's PERRRFECT.

DJI really gets it.

Bro, my god, if any of the big 3, or a RED or BM, or a big tech side project, would really stop and think about this, the potential for this part of the market to have these with bigger sensors is so wide open if anyone actually cared about human camera operators and that future.

Naturally what the Pocket 3 is now is what the iPhone will be with better-than-ever post processes and bigger chips, but for now using something like this that is the size and weight of a banana to capture such creative footage is fun enough for me to reconsider my position in the fight with man vs. machine.
 
Well, there is also the DJI Ronin for a bigger sensor along the same idea. Something in between would be better.
 
It makes so much more sense for this purpose to start with the gimbal then add a built in dedicated camera to it, instead of the other way round. The phone on a gimbal can work too. I just used my iPhone on a phone gimbal to film b-roll of the food service portion of medieval play and it worked great.
https://vimeo.com/creationdream/madr...023?share=copy

But its always nice when you have something that is used for only one purpose.
 
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jmone said:
Well, there is also the DJI Ronin for a bigger sensor along the same idea. Something in between would be better.
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Oh, yeah, duh, good call...but definitely about 10x cheaper and 10x smaller.

The 1% out there will always have their dedicated support for the best-of-the-best, but small folk might be okay with compromises; something the size of a Osmo pocket with different fixed lens attachments and a slightly bigger, better sensor would be cool.
 
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