DJI’s Osmo Pocket 4 is a better camera in every respect

First they came for the drones, and now the vlogging cameras. DJI’s Osmo Pocket 4 is the first of its compact steadicams not to launch in the US, following a string of DJI drones also missing the US market.

The good news for American buyers is that the Pocket 4 is mostly an evolutionary upgrade, and there’s little it does that the Pocket 3 doesn’t (it looks like the rumored dual-lens Pro version will be more of a reinvention). The good news for everyone else is that those evolutions run throughout the Pocket 4, from the camera sensor to the controls. That makes this an unmistakable improvement over the previous generation.

Stand the Pocket 4 next to 2023’s Pocket 3 and you might not spot the difference. It’s about the same size (only slightly larger and 10g heavier), with a similar rotating screen for both portrait and landscape filming, a control stick and record button beneath that, and an identical gimbal at the top to house the camera.

The only real physical difference is a pair of additional buttons underneath the screen, revealed only when it’s flipped horizontally. One is a 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 oddly and arbitrarily limited, though — only the triple press can be used to change gimbal modes, and that’s the only thing you can set a triple press to do. A little more flexibility would be welcome. It feels fiddly to navigate menus using the 2-inch touchscreen, and better customization could help me do that a whole lot less.

DJI has also upgraded the camera’s sensor, including its dynamic range, slow-motion capabilities, and low-light performance. Those hardware upgrades are bolstered with new built-in film simulations. Battery life is substantially improved too, and there’s now a generous provision of internal storage in addition to an SD card slot. It’s a more capable, user-friendly camera in almost every respect, even if it looks a lot like what came before.

The sensor is the same 1-inch type size as on the Pocket 3, but has otherwise been overhauled. It shoots at a larger resolution, with still photos now at 37 megapixels, way up from 9.4 megapixels before. Video is still capped out at 4K, but the extra pixels means it can now crop into 4x zoom without dropping 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 doubled low-light ISO ceiling of 25,600. Combined, those make for impressive video quality in most lighting. Even in dimly lit London streets close to midnight, the Pocket 4 handled itself well. Direct lights were blown out, and the darker shadows lacked detail, but this would be perfectly usable video for most purposes.

The Pocket 4’s stabilization hasn’t been improved as significantly. There are some software tweaks, but it has the same underlying gimbal hardware as the 3. It remains excellent given the camera’s size. It’s easy to get steady handheld video, boosted by effective subject and face tracking, including a Spotlight Follow mode that prioritizes registered faces. It’s great for vlogging, able to keep footage fairly stable when walking about, though this isn’t designed to be an action cam; even a light jog results in pretty shaky video.

Slow motion has had a big upgrade too. It can now record in 4K resolution at up to 240fps, double what the Pocket 3 offered. It’s only available in landscape mode, though, even at 1080p resolution. Slo-mo does bring with it a small drop in quality and dynamic range, with skies more blown out, but for the most part footage is on par with regular shooting.

Six film simulations, each adjustable in strength, add more versatility to the Pocket 4’s shooting capabilities. Add-ons like the tripod stand and fill light included in DJI’s Creator Combo bundle make it more versatile again, though aren’t necessary for good results. That bundle also includes a DJI Mic 3, and I recommend using it, or another of the company’s wireless microphones, for any video where audio quality matters. The Pocket 4’s built-in microphones aren’t bad at all, and will do a serviceable job in quieter spaces, but they sound tinny when compared to the wireless mic, which does substantially better once you factor in noise cancellation.

This is the first Osmo Pocket to offer internal storage, and the 107GB here should be more than enough to avoid ever buying a microSD card. I’ve recorded about 40 minutes of footage while testing the Pocket 4 — mostly 4K, 60fps landscape footage, plus some portrait and slow motion — and used just under 20GB in the process. That was all on a single charge, and I still have about 25 percent left to go. DJI says you can get 240 minutes of use from the camera on a charge, but that’s based on recording 1080p and 24fps footage with both Wi-Fi and the screen off; it seems more realistic to expect an hour or so.

While the Osmo Pocket 4 is out now in most of the world, DJI spokesperson Daisy Kong told The Verge that it “will not be available in the US market as the application for authorization is still pending.” So far, there’s not even any sign of it from Xtra, the company that appears to be a DJI shell company and is reselling the Pocket 3 as the Xtra Muse. Xtra is teasing a US launch for a dual-lens steadicam that looks a lot like those leaks of the Osmo Pocket 4 Pro, though, so there’s hope the regular Pocket 4 will make a rebranded appearance too.

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

The Pocket 4 may be more iterative than innovative, but it’s a top-to-bottom upgrade. There’s scarcely a feature here that hasn’t had some sort of enhancement — even the screen is a few hundred nits brighter than before — so there can be little doubt that this is the best Osmo Pocket yet. If you already own the Pocket 3, or live in the US where that remains the latest option, you’re not missing out on any groundbreaking new features. There’s probably no reason to worry too much about upgrading. But as a package for new buyers, or anyone still on a Pocket 2 or older, DJI has nailed it.

Photography by Dominic Preston / The Verge