professionals and cons
- Compact and light-weight design for adventures and day by day use
- 4K/120fps recording and D-Log M profile supply glorious video high quality and modifying flexibility
- Constructed-in storage and fast-charging battery.
- Tougher to suggest to newbies as a result of depth of recording options
- Restricted sturdiness in comparison with different rugged motion cameras.
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It looks as if everybody and their canine is recording their adventures nowadays. And why not? Whether or not it is for posterity, to bore your family and friends, or for YouTube fame, it is by no means been simpler to seize necessary moments.
Not like the cameras I used to make use of “again within the day” — which required shouldering and holding as much as your eye (so the particular person recording the second received a bizarre filtered actuality) — cameras at the moment are sufficiently small to clip onto a baseball hat or cling off a pendant.
Cameras do not get a lot smaller than the DJI Osmo Nano, and I have been testing this setup fairly extensively over the previous few weeks.
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The Osmo Nano is marketed as a 4K POV digital camera and vlogging digital camera. It is a step down in efficiency and robustness in comparison with full-on motion cameras just like the Osmo Action 6 or GoPro HERO13 Black, nevertheless it’s a step up in compactness and value.
A tiny digital camera that packs a punch
The Osmo Nano is tiny. The primary digital camera measures 2.25 × 1.16 × 1.1 inches and weighs 1.8 ounces. It is not a lot larger than my thumb (although I do have giant thumbs). Even when mixed with the multifunction Imaginative and prescient Dock, which provides one other 2.33 × 1.66 × 0.88 inches and weighs 2.5 ounces, it stays compact.
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Each items are constructed to deal with the outside, with the digital camera capable of be submerged right down to 30 toes and the dock capable of shrug off rain and splashes.
However do not let the scale idiot you. That tiny digital camera encompasses a 1/1.3-inch sensor with an unbelievable 13.5 stops of dynamic vary (placing it on par with pro-grade cameras). This implies it is excellent whether or not you are out in shiny daylight, snow, or low-light situations. It could possibly seize video in cinematic 4K/60fps or 4K/120fps gradual movement utilizing the 143° ultra-wide lens.
Output will be saved as 10-bit video, able to discerning a billion colours, or as a pro-grade D-Log M profile that preserves extra element in highlights and shadows, permitting for a lot higher flexibility in coloration grading throughout modifying.
There’s additionally a SuperNight mode for getting one of the best, least-grainy evening photographs.
A word in regards to the D-Log M profile: Solely use this profile if you are going to do some modifying past the fundamentals and know what you are doing (and what a LUT is). In case you strive utilizing the uncooked footage, it is going to look flat, washed-out, desaturated, and low in distinction. Whereas it does have extra coloration and distinction than a full D-Log profile, it nonetheless requires modifying.
Constructed-in storage goes a good distance
Video will be saved on the interior reminiscence (the Osmo Nano is available in 64GB and 128GB variants), and you’ll broaden it with microSD playing cards up to 1TB. I really like that fashionable cameras have built-in reminiscence as a result of it eliminates these heart-stopping moments while you notice you’ve got hiked out to a cool location and left all of the microSD playing cards at dwelling.
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Whereas DJI is thought for its drones, the corporate actually is aware of how one can get one of the best out of small cameras, and it applies this experience to its ground-based cameras.
Battery life is stunning satisfactory
Since these cameras are designed for on-the-move use, they want their very own energy, and batteries are one other space DJI is aware of quite a bit about. The digital camera homes a 530 mAh battery, and the dock provides an extra 1,300 mAh.
The digital camera alone can run for round 60 minutes, with the dock extending this to 200 minutes. I’ve examined this, and that is positively achievable. When the battery is low, I discovered {that a} 20-minute cost brings the digital camera as much as about 80%. The digital camera may run whereas linked to the dock, which might itself be charging.
What about audio?
Audio is usually the Achilles’ heel of this form of compact motion digital camera, however the Osmo Nano as soon as once more delivers. It has two microphones constructed into the Osmo Nano, excellent for capturing each speaking and ambient sounds. If you’d like extra, you’ll be able to join the digital camera to as much as two DJI Mic 3 transmitters, making it an ideal setup for vlogging and even interviews.
Integration with the DJI Mic 3 microphones is a winner for me.
Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET
This characteristic, for me, takes the Osmo Nano to an entire new stage as a result of I’ve discovered that audio — particularly voice recording — is usually a weak level in lots of action-style cameras.
Energy in numbers
OK, so what is the cope with the dock? Along with the additional battery, the multifunction Imaginative and prescient Dock provides a touchscreen. This provides you a fast, easy method to work together with all of the digital camera’s settings, in addition to a display for framing photographs.
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You will save on battery in case you be taught to make use of the button controls to navigate by all of the totally different capturing menus as an alternative of pawing on the touchscreen. Nevertheless, in case you’re like me and do not use the digital camera frequently, that easy-to-use display interface is a welcome addition.
Even with the dock hooked up, it isn’t too massive.
Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET
The dock additionally has one other trick up its sleeve: You should utilize it to switch video recordsdata from the digital camera’s inner storage to microSD playing cards. This presents a fast and simple method to unlock the digital camera’s inner storage whereas on the transfer.
The combo package additionally comes with some neat equipment. There is a magnetic pendant for carrying the digital camera round your neck and clamping it to clothes (you place the pendant underneath your garments), and a swivel clip that may connect to the pendant or clip to a hat.
The magnetic pendant makes attaching the digital camera to clothes simple.
Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET
There’s additionally a protecting case for the digital camera that DJI recommends utilizing in case you maintain it for prolonged durations (as a result of it could get considerably toasty). I are inclined to preserve the digital camera within the case more often than not for added safety (I am not utilizing it in significantly sizzling situations right here within the UK).
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The combo package additionally comes with a suction cup holder, which is nice for infrequent use, however I would not connect it to a automotive or something the place I may lose the digital camera. However in case you unscrew the suction cup, you may discover a super-useful and ubiquitous 1/4″-20 threaded gap for a tripod or selfie stick.
There are some extra equipment that these desirous to take their videography to the following stage would possibly respect, resembling a set of ND (impartial density) filters, a should for bright-lit scenes.
Why I Switched from my GoPro
OK, so why has the Osmo Nano changed my GoPro HERO13 Black? Backside line: comfort. With the Osmo Nano, there’s built-in storage for these “aww shhhhhhhhh….ucks!” moments, and a built-in fast-charge battery means there is no faffing with exterior batteries.
It is also smaller and lighter, and I can dispense with the display once I want a compact system.
Connection to my iPhone is rock-solid each time, and I just like the DJI Mimo app (iOS/Android) for fast footage modifying earlier than importing. And throw within the capability to hook up with my DJI Mic 3 transmitters, and that is the cherry on the already overflowing cake for me.
It is this marriage of {hardware} and software program that looks like a significant benefit for DJI over my present GoPro setup, and why I am particularly excited to see what’s subsequent for GoPro because it’s releasing the Mission 1 quickly
ZDNET’s shopping for recommendation
The DJI Osmo Nano is proof that good issues actually do are available small packages. It is compact, feature-packed, and extremely simple to make use of, making it excellent for adventurers, vloggers, and anybody who desires to seize life’s moments with out the trouble of cumbersome gear.
At $409 for the 128GB model (I like to recommend this over the 64GB version since this compromise solely saves you $30), it isn’t an affordable digital camera, nevertheless it’s an exceptionally good setup. It is excellent for
In case you’re in search of a digital camera that is each transportable and reliable, the Osmo Nano would possibly simply be your new greatest buddy. It is positively turn into my bestie!
