Dji - Osmo Mobile 2 3-axis Gimbal Stabilizer for Mobile Phones Review

DJI's Osmo gimbal family has evolved since nosotros first saw a paradigm at CES 2015. The company has moved abroad from simply putting a drone photographic camera on a handheld gimbal—what nosotros saw in the first commercial version of the Osmo. The Osmo Mobile 2 works with the best photographic camera that you ever have with you, your smartphone, to proceed handheld video silky smooth, stitch together panoramic shots, and capture time-lapse and hyperlapse video clips. Information technology does a lot for just $129, earning our Editors' Choice in the process.

Pattern

The Osmo Mobile 2 is a powered three-axis gimbal, mounted permanently to what is essentially a grip for comfortable handholding. It measures 11.6 by 4.5 past 2.8 inches (HWD) and weighs just over a pound. It incorporates a clip to hold your phone, up to 3.iii inches in width, in either landscape or portrait orientation. It had no problem holding my iPhone 8 Plus, fifty-fifty in its protective example.

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The DJI Go app (shown higher up), for Android and iOS, is required to utilize it. To get started, you need to power things on in the right lodge. Start with placing the phone in the Osmo'southward clip and merely then powering on the gimbal—it will self-balance and start stabilization.

From at that place you have a couple of options. You tin merely launch your phone's photographic camera app and enjoy the benefits of stabilization, or you can launch the DJI Get app to admission some more unique features. Almost controls on the grip piece of work without the app—the joystick to modify its bending, besides as the Tape push button—but y'all'll need to use DJI's app to utilise the digital zoom rocker that sits on its left side.

The Osmo mounts phones in either landscape orientation—the traditional way to tape video—or in portrait fashion. Information technology's the first mobile phone gimbal to do and so, and with social networks like Instagram and Snapchat leaning heavily on vertical video, it appeals to millennials who take embraced alpine, skinny video clips, without leaving fans of classic widescreen footage in the grit.

There are ii USB ports on the Osmo. A micro USB connector is used for charging—the internal bombardment is rated for upwardly to fifteen hours of life, enough so that I never had to worry about running out of juice when using it. A second USB-A connector is available to physically connect your telephone (or another USB device), allowing the gimbal to double equally a backup battery for your portable devices.

The Osmo's battery isn't removable, so expect the battery life to drop over time. But with such a loftier starting indicate, you'll get good utilise out of it even when information technology's older and non running at tip-summit condition, and, at the asking price, expecting two to three years of solid battery performance isn't a thwarting.

Because you don't need a bombardment door at the bottom of the handle, DJI is able to include a standard tripod socket. Using a tripod with a handheld gimbal may seem contradictory, merely information technology's admittedly useful for time-lapse capture, equally you don't desire to have to stand property the Osmo for hours when compressing longer swaths of fourth dimension.

App Features and Video Quality

The Osmo Mobile two pairs with your smartphone via Bluetooth and uses the DJI Get app for command, firmware updates, and other sundry tasks. If you just want to tape stabilized video, you don't have to use it—the gimbal keeps your phone steady even when the app isn't running, and so you lot tin can use the Android or iOS camera app for recording.

This option is a necessary i in some instances, considering the DJI Go app doesn't support every frame rate and resolution option that your telephone does on its own. For example, in that location's no 24fps capture option in the app, fifty-fifty though my iPhone 8 Plus is capable of recording at that setting. The DJI Get app supports 4K recording at 30fps, 1080p at xxx or 60fps, and 720p at 30fps.

The aforementioned outcome pops up for ho-hum-motion. The Osmo app supports 720p capture at 240fps, which can offer up a 10x tedious-down when played back at 24fps. But over again, the iPhone supports 1080p at 120fps, which the DJI Become app merely doesn't leverage. I'd like to encounter the app updated to include all of the features supported by the phone with which y'all are using the device.

And there are reasons to use the app for video. Active Rail is one of them. Information technology'south a characteristic borrowed from DJI's drone series. It uses object recognition to rail a subject every bit it moves across the frame. It works well, and certainly makes it easier to proceed your kid or pet in frame when shooting abode videos.

The Osmo app as well supports a number of different sped-upward video modes. There's standard Timelapse, which takes a still at a set interval (options are available from 0.5-second to 60 seconds, in full-2d increments starting at i second), and combines it into a 4K video. You can gear up the time-lapse to run until y'all stop it, or for a ready duration. The app lets you know how long the resulting video is if you opt for a prepare length. You lot also have the option to dim the phone screen during capture, to preserve its bombardment life.

Adjacent up is Hyperlapse, which is a fourth dimension-lapse captured while you are moving about freely, equally you can see in the clip embedded above. You've got full command over gimbal movement (just not zoom), and Active Track is an pick.

Finally in that location'south Motionlapse. Ideally used in conjunction with a tripod, Motionlapse allows y'all to set multiple angles in advance, with the Osmo slowly and smoothly moving to see each every bit it captures a time-lapse video.

Video quality depends on the phone y'all use, although with a modern flagship smartphone similar the iPhone 8 or Galaxy S9, you lot'll relish potent 4K footage. The stabilization provided by the Osmo Mobile 2 is the real deal. Early on firmware showed a bit of jitter, likely introduced by my phone's optical image stabilization, but that's been eliminated with a software update. The only shudder I noticed was when I switched the grip from my correct to left hand in the midst of a recording.

Y'all can also use the Osmo to capture withal images. For standard capture it's not going to offer much benefit over your phone's own internal stabilization system (though if you use a handset without the feature, it tin can help steady things in low light).

There are tools for panoramic paradigm stitching in the app, but they are the Osmo'south weak signal. It does a fine job capturing multiple shots and stitching them together, just it takes a good while to do so. Shooting the 27 images y'all demand for a 180-degree panorama requires yous to agree the gimbal relatively even so for a full minute, then you have to wait another 90 seconds for the app to stitch them together.

Stitch quality is mostly good, though we noticed some issues here and there. Even when capturing a scene that is mostly the aforementioned level of effulgence, in that location are some regions of the image that are darker than they should be. In mixed lighting, it struggles more. As with any stitched panorama, there's as well some issue with bailiwick motion—just look at the arm of the woman sitting toward the left of the frame in the image above.

There's no reward in resolution when stitching images together. Even with the full 27-shot panorama manner, the merged image is only 6.5MP (5,078 by 1,269) in resolution. You lot may as well just apply your phone'south panoramic sweep mode—it's quicker and delivers more consistent results.

Conclusions

The DJI Osmo Mobile two is an attractive accessory for videographers, travelers, and vloggers who primarily apply their smartphone for prototype capture. It adds Steadicam-level stabilization, and gives you the tools to capture stunning fourth dimension-lapse footage with move. It's not perfect—nosotros'd like to see more frame rate options for video in the app and improved panorama features—simply it costs but $129. For that price, information technology'south our Editors' Choice smartphone gimbal.

DJI Osmo Mobile ii

The Bottom Line

The DJI Osmo Mobile two is an affordable handheld gimbal for your smartphone. It smooths handheld video, offers several time-lapse modes, and has a long-lasting battery.

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Source: https://www.pcmag.com/reviews/dji-osmo-mobile-2

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