DJI has announced the company’s first 360-degree action camera designed to compete with the Insta360 X5 and the aging GoPro Max (which the company is planning to replace soon). The new DJI Osmo 360 slightly edges out the X5’s recording capabilities by capturing 8K videos at 50fps instead of 30fps, and features a design that’s both smaller and nearly 20 grams lighter than the Insta360’s. We just don’t know how much the Osmo 360 will cost because DJI hasn’t revealed when it will be coming to the US.
The Osmo 360 doesn’t feature swappable lenses, but unlike the X5, which uses only part of its rectangular 1/1.28-inch sensors, DJI’s 360-degree camera uses all of its new 1-inch square-shaped HDR sensors. The company says that this “reduces unnecessary bulk” and helps keep the camera compact and light at 183 grams. The Osmo 360 also captures 10-bit video, which offers more creative freedom when color correcting footage afterward, while the X5 is limited to 8-bit.
The camera’s 1,950mAh battery is slightly smaller than the 2,400mAh one in the X5, but DJI says the Osmo 360 can continuously record at 8K/30fps for up to 100 minutes on a full charge without overheating. Frame rates can be boosted to 60fps when dropping the resolution to 6K, or go as high as 100fps at 4K, but its slow-motion capabilities are slightly edged out by the X5, which can record 4K video at 120fps. When shooting with just a single lens, you can push 4K recording to 120fps on the Osmo 360, and you can switch back and forth between the camera’s two lenses without stopping recording.
The Osmo 360 can capture 360-degree still images at 120 megapixels, which is nearly twice the 72-megapixel resolution of pictures captured by the Insta360 X5. But if you want to capture HDR images so you can do more post-processing, you’ll need to drop the resolution to 30MP.
Other useful features include both voice and gesture controls for starting or stopping recording remotely; DJI’s HorizonSteady and RockSteady stabilization, which can smooth out shaky footage without removing dynamic motion; and the ability to track and keep people, vehicles, and pets as the focus of a video when exporting clips from the DJI Mimo mobile app.
The Osmo 360 also features 105GB of built-in storage and can simultaneously connect to two of DJI’s popular wireless microphones and record two separate audio tracks without the need for a receiver. Optional accessories include a Battery Extension Rod that extends 8K/30fps recording by an additional 180 minutes, transparent lens protectors, and several selfie sticks that attach to the Osmo 360’s threaded tripod mount, including one that extends to over 8 feet long.
Although it won’t launch in the US, the Osmo 360 will be available in all the other regions where DJI already sells its products. In Europe it will sell for €479.99, while an Adventure Combo, which adds accessories like a selfie stick and a multifunction battery case, will be €629.99. Canadian pricing, which is listed in US dollars, is $430 or $580 for the Adventure Combo, but DJI says that doesn’t reflect what the Osmo 360 will cost when available in the US.