GEAR MINI TESTS
Our round-up of great kit we’ve tested in this issue includes a pocket-sized steady cam, two new SSDs, lots of new lenses and a professional roller bag
WORDS ADAM DUCKWORTH, TERRY HOPE, KINGSLEY SINGLETON & WILL CHEUNG
DJI OSMO POCKET £329/ $349 dji.com
SPECIFICATIONS Sensor: 1/2.3in CMOS, 12megapixel Video formats:
4KUltra HD: 3840×2160 24 / 25 / 30 / 48 / 50 / 60p. FHD: 1920×1080 24 / 25 / 30 / 48 / 50 / 60 / 120p, MP4, MOV Bit rate: 100Mbps ISO range: 100-3200 Aperture: f/2 Shutter speed: 8-1/8000secs Memory card: MicroSD Charging time: 73minutes with a 10Wcharger Operating time: 140minutes in 1080p/30fps Dimension (LxD): 121.9x36.9x28.6mm/4.8x1.5x1.1in Weight: 116g/0.26lb ups, a mirrorless camera with a wide lens on a motorised five-axis gimbal that’s ideal for B roll. Of course, you can’t carry both these set-ups and they take time to set up and balance. Fine for bigger crews or shooting scripted work, but for run-and-gun, documentary-style work, it’s too slow to have both at the same time. With the new tiny Osmo, it slips into the pocket and can be quickly whipped out for some quick-and- dirty footage that might not have the ultimate quality and controllability of a full-frame or Super35 camera, but is still detailed, bright and remarkably stable. The tiny sensor means it struggles in low light, but for half-decent light, the footage is very impressive, considering it’s from a camera with a small sensor and lens. There is even a Log-style D-Cinelike look that attempts to squeeze in more dynamic range and
If you’ve spotted the tiny new DJI Osmo Pocket but dismissed it alongside GoPro-style action cameras as little more than a consumer toy of no use to serious professional work, then it might be time to take another look. Of course, it’s not a full-spec Steadicam or motorised gimbal that will allow you to fit cameras – from mirrorless wonders to cinema cams – and record movie-style smooth shots. It also has lots of consumer faff that a serious filmmaker would probably never need or want – like stitching together three rows of three stills for super panoramas, active face tracking ideal for vloggers shooting selfies or using the dedicated app to automatically edit together videos and stills, add music and apply Instagram-style filters, before uploading to social media. That is real consumer stuff. Fun, though. Instead, think of it as a ridiculously portable, motorised, three-axis gimbal camera. One that not only fits in your pocket, but also shoots super- steady 4K footage at 60fps and full HD at 120fps to a microSD card for you to edit later. There is a significant crop in 120fps HD, but no crop in 4K at 60fps. I often shoot motor sport, so I frequently have a camera with a telephoto zoommounted to my tripod. Or, if I want to shoot close-
RIGHT As the name would suggest, the Osmo Pocket is small and portable
“Think of it as a ridiculously portable, motorised, three- axis gimbal camera”
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PRO MOVIEMAKER SPRING 2019
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