Verdict

Had the Osmo Action 3 been released a few calendar month ago , prior to the splendid GoPro Hero 11 Black , it would be the best action cameras on the market place . It ’s well constructed and waterproof with decent image quality and brilliant stabilization , plus a fantastic mount organisation , but ca n’t match the ( confessedly pricier ) GoPro in condition of video and photo performance . Still , it ’s a fine all - libertine , and has good deal of appeal as a budget alternative to GoPro ’s flagship .

Pros

Cons

Key Features

Introduction

Hot on the heels of the superb GoPro Hero 11 Black comes the recent challenger from DJI , a troupe better make out for its bourdon than its action .

The DJI Osmo Action 3 aims to change all that with a back - to - basic principle approaching . Gone is the ambitious modular design of last year’sAction 2 , as DJI returns to the standard military action cam template and instead essay to attract in primal area like waterproofing , usability and stamp battery life .

Not to cite value : the Osmo Action 3 ’s pricing set forth a lot grim than theGoPro Hero 11 Black , pitch it as a thrifty alternative for vloggers and out-of-door sportspeople on a budget .

So does the Osmo Action 3 offer a genuine challenge to GoPro ’s newfangled flagship , or is it still a 2nd - tier action cam ?

Design

While the Action 2 boasted an innovative modular invention establish on cuboid blocks that pair up via magnetic clamps , the Osmo Action 3 run back to the far more traditional GoPro Hero - inspired look of DJI ’s first activity .

While that could be viewed as a concession that theAction 2 ’s advance did n’t really knead , DJI has retained the magnetic clamp and used it as the foundation for a superb quick - release scheme for fix and unfixing the camera on first- and third - party mounts .

The Osmo Action 3 can use the same case of mounts as a GoPro Hero , but rather than having to unscrew it each fourth dimension , you’re able to now unclip and go . It ’s a much better system than GoPro ’s , at least in my experience – although I suppose if you were engaged in extremely fast and erratic move you may find the GoPro method acting a bit more reassuringly unattackable .

The camera features one of these mag - lock mounting points on its base , and the let in Horizontal - Vertical Protective Frame ( a case that can be photograph around the television camera to give it an extra layer of defense ) has another one on the side , meaning you’re able to quickly switch the television camera between landscape and portrayal orientations – handy if you want to create 9:16 cognitive content for TikTok or Reels .

Case or not , this television camera is tough . It ’s able to hold up drops of up to 1.5 m unscathed and be douse up to 16 m in water without a dive grammatical case ( an optional nose dive case is available , boosting water electric resistance to 60 m ) . The lens is swappable too , so if it gets strike or otherwise damaged you do n’t take to replace the entire camera .

There are Gorilla Glass cover on the front and back , as with the GoPro Hero line , but DJI has taken things a little further by making both of them touchscreen . Previous twofold - sieve natural process cams have only made the rearward blind touch - sensitive , with the front screen being for typography and information purposes only , but here you may tap to align options and view previously shot material . It ’s a nice touch ( no pun intended ) , even if I would n’t call it transformational ; I still found myself using the rearward screenland more often because of its size ( 2.25 - inch compared to the front screen ’s 1.4 - in size ) .

The camera have just two forcible clitoris : a large shutter button on top and a superpower / prompt select button on the side . The latter can be used to quickly cycle through your preferent shot modes . Neither button has a declamatory amount of ‘ travel ’ , which stand for it sometimes takes an excess push or two to register , and I can imagine this would be specially sly when wearing glove .

Video, image and audio quality

Like the Action 2 , the Osmo Action 3 is base on a 1/1.7 - inch CMOS sensor and f/2.8 aperture lens system with a wide - angle field of view . At 155º , this is in reality wider than the FOV offered by GoPro Hero framework , which is potentially a giving flock if you ’re looking to get as much in bod as possible .

Image caliber is adept rather than smashing , with lighting being a fundamental element : if you record outdoors during the day , your footage from the Osmo Action 3 will wait generally sharp , detailed and well - exposed . But in sly lighting atmospheric condition , these thing quickly descend off and the results are far less telling .

One matter to note is that using image stabilisation results in a crop – minor with the standard RockSteady 3.0 electronic stabilization on , and quite major with the horizon levelling mode engaged . That said , the stabilisation here is exceedingly impressive , as you could see from the compare in my sample distribution video recording .

360º horizon levelling require that you employ a resolution of 2.7 one thousand or lower , but if you need to maintain 4 kilobyte transcription you could still use horizon levelling of up to 45º. I conceive that ’s an acceptable barter - off , although with the GoPro Hero 11 Black able to save 360º levelling at 5.3 kilobyte , it ’s hard to argue that the Osmo Action 3 is the better choice for uttermost sportspeople who want level , sharp footage directly out of the camera .

In addition to veritable video shooting , the Osmo Action 3 can trance 12MP still photos , time - reverting videos and irksome - motion videos . In good kindling , stills are all right , if a small unexciting , but low - igniter capabilities sense very limited compared to some television camera and most decent smartphones .

Performance and battery life

The Osmo Action 3 has a unsubdivided and slick UI establish on tapping on - screen icons and lift from concealment sides to bring up various menus . I discover it chop-chop intuitive ( although it strike a while to memorise which carte swipes in from which screen door edge ) and responsive on the rear screenland , with the front screen ( as I refer earlier ) being a little too little for my liking from a control distributor point of view .

you may of class use your smartphone and the DJI Mimo app as a human body of remote control , and it works brightly thanks to bare control , adult screen viewfinder and substantial wireless connection . Using the app also enable livestreaming .

assault and battery capacity has been increased over the Action 2 , from 1300mAh to 1770mAh , although interestingly DJI ’s own figures suggest the Action 2 can last a little minute longer : 180 minutes to the Osmo Action 3 ’s 160 minutes ( when recording 1080p at 30fps , with image stabilisation turn off ) .

Still , I found the Action 3 ’s barrage life to be sufficient for cosmopolitan use , and the fact you could corrupt the camera with three battery and a bear down pillowcase intend that expectant users have a square choice at the checkout .

battery charge quickly viaUSB - C(from empty to 80 % in a simple 18 minutes ) and according to DJI are more resistant to cold than those found on old DJI photographic camera , with battery life barely sham by temperature as low as -20ºC.

With the Action 2 attracting widespread criticism over its inclination to quickly overheat during TV recording , the Action 3 has been design to better distribute heat . I found that it will still terminate 4 K recording short , but it now take longer to warm up : you could now record4K/60p for about 30 proceedings before affair grind to a halt , or about 12 minutes of 4K/120p footage .

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Should you buy it?

: Waterproof to 16 m and build up like a cooler , the Osmo Action 3 can be relied upon to record comely quality TV in all sorts of situations . It ’s also over £ 200 cheaper than GoPro ’s flagship camera .

The GoPro Hero 11 Black outperforms the Osmo Action 3 in almost every respect when it comes to image timber , offering 360º purview levelling at 5.3 K resolution thanks to its superb 8:7 sensor .

Final Thoughts

The Osmo Action 3 ’s payoff to a classical natural action Cam River design may not experience inspired , but it ’s a really hearty all - round movement at a temptingly crushed price . With serious - in - class water resistance with a diving case , two touchscreens and a wily UI , it would make a fine budget alternative to theGoPro Hero 11 Black .

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FAQs

The Osmo Action is waterproof to 16 megabyte , gain it very undestroyable for underwater use .

Full Specs

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