DJI’s Osmo Pocket 4 review: better in every way

First came drones, and now vlogging cameras. DJI’s Osmo Pocket 4 is the first of its compact steadiccams to be launched in the US, following a series of DJI drones that also missed the US market.

The good news for American consumers is that the Pocket 4 is an evolutionary upgrade, and does little of what the Pocket 3 did (it looks like the rumored dual-lens Pro version will be more of an update). The good news for everyone is that flexibility applies to the entire Pocket 4, from the camera sensor to the controls. That makes this an undeniable improvement over the previous generation.

Stand a Pocket 4 next to a 2023 Pocket 3 and you might not notice the difference. It’s the same size (only slightly bigger and 10g heavier), with the same rotating screen for both portrait and landscape recording, a control stick and record button below that, and the same gimbal on top to mount the camera.

The only real physical difference is the two additional buttons below the screen, which are only revealed when turned horizontally. Another shortcut for the camera’s zoom controls; the other can be customized to trigger three actions of your choice, locked to a single, double, or triple press. This is weird and arbitrarily limited, though – only the triple press can be used to change gimbal modes, and that’s it only something you can set a triple press to do. A little flexibility would be acceptable. It feels good to navigate menus using the 2-inch touchscreen, and better customization would help me do that a lot less.

DJI also improved the camera’s sensor, including its dynamic range, slow-motion capability, and low-light performance. That hardware upgrade is bolstered by built-in movie graphics. Battery life has also improved significantly, and there is now a larger supply of internal storage in addition to the SD card slot. It’s a very capable camera, easy to use in almost every aspect, even if it looks very similar to its predecessor.

The sensor is about the same 1-inch size as the Pocket 3, but modified. It shoots at a higher resolution, with still images now at 37 megapixels, up from 9.4 megapixels before. Video is still output in 4K, but the extra pixels mean it can now crop at 4x zoom without dropping down from 4K, whereas the Pocket 3 was limited to 2x at that resolution. Switching to portrait recording still drops you down to 3K, though.

The new sensor has 14 stops of dynamic range, up from 12, and a double ISO ceiling of 25,600. Combined, those make for impressive video quality in most lighting conditions. Even on the dimly lit streets of London near midnight, the Pocket 4 held its own. The specific lights were off, and the dark shadows lacked detail, but this would be a very useful video for many purposes.

The stability of Pocket 4 has not been improved much. There are software tweaks, but it has the same basic gimbal hardware as the 3. It’s always pretty good considering the size of the camera. It’s easy to get still handheld video, boosted by active subject and face tracking, including a Highlight tracking mode that makes registered faces more important. It’s good for vlogging, capable of keeping images stable when you’re walking around, although this isn’t meant to be an action camera; even a simple jog results in a nice moving video.

Slow motion had a big improvement as well. It can now record in 4K resolution at up to 240fps, twice what the Pocket 3 offers. It is only available in landscape mode, however, even in 1080p resolution. Slo-mo comes with a slight decrease in quality and dynamic range, the sky is more blown out, but for the most part the images are consistent with normal shooting.

Six film modes, each dynamically adjustable, add more flexibility to the Pocket 4’s shooting capabilities. Add-ons like a tripod stand and fill light included in DJI’s Creator Combo bundle make it versatile as well, though not necessary for good results. That bundle also includes the DJI Mic 3, and I recommend using it, or another of the company’s wireless microphones, for any video where sound quality is important. The Pocket 4’s built-in microphone isn’t bad at all, and will do a serviceable job in quiet environments, but it feels small compared to a wireless microphone, which does much better when you’re involved in noise cancellation.

This is the first Osmo Pocket to offer internal storage, and the 107GB here should be more than enough to avoid buying a microSD card. I recorded about 40 minutes of footage while testing the Pocket 4 – mostly 4K, 60fps landscape footage, and some portrait and slow motion – and used less than 20GB on the system. That was all for one case, and I still have about 25 percent to go. DJI says you can get 240 minutes of use out of the camera on a charge, but that’s based on recording 1080p and 24fps footage over both Wi-Fi and the screen off; it seems more reasonable to wait an hour or so.

While the Osmo Pocket 4 is out now in many countries around the world, said DJI spokesperson Daisy Kong The Verge that “it will not be available in the US market as the approval application is pending.” So far, there’s not even a sign of it from Xtra, a company that appears to be a DJI shell company and is reselling the Pocket 3 as the Xtra Muse. Xtra is something teasing the US launch of a double-lens steadicam that looks very similar to the Osmo Pocket 4 Pro leak, however, so there’s hope that the regular Pocket 4 will also look redesigned.

Outside the US, the Pocket 4 is available in three bundles. The Essential Combo, for £429 / €479 (about $560), includes the Pocket 4 itself, a carrying case, and a 1/4-inch threaded handle for mounting a tripod. The £445 / €499 ($585) Standard Combo adds a wrist strap and gimbal clamp for a safer ride. Finally, the £549 / €619 ($725) Creator Combo includes a DJI Mic 3 with a magnetic clip and two windscreens, a full light, a tripod, a wide-angle lens, and a large carrying case to fit it all.

The Pocket 4 may be more versatile than innovative, but it’s a top-to-bottom improvement. There isn’t a feature here that we haven’t had before others kind of an upgrade – even the screen is a few hundred brighter than before – so there’s no doubt that this is the best Osmo Pocket yet. If you already own a Pocket 3, or live in the US where that’s always the latest option, you’re not missing out on any great new features. There is probably no reason to worry too much about upgrading. But as a package for new buyers, or anyone still on Pocket 2 or above, DJI has nailed it.

Photos by Dominic Preston / The Verge