DJI Osmo 360 review: A capable action cam that's a real threat to Insta360

DJI is finally taking on rising rival Insta360 with its first panoramic action camera, the Osmo 360. The company dug into its deep engineering toolkit in an effort to one-up the competition with features like a new sensor design, up to 8K 50 fps 10-bit log recording and a smaller, lighter body.

It also matches or beats its rival in other areas, with similar battery life and superior low-light capability. After testing the device in various scenarios like riding around on an e-bike, I’m impressed. Like other 360 cameras, though, the Osmo 360 sacrifices video quality for the convenience of unlimited angles. Plus, DJI’s editing app still needs some work.

Design and features

Insta360’s cameras made a splash in the action cam world because of a then-unique trait: they capture footage from all angles. That lets you reframe video in any direction so you’re not stuck with a traditional camera's forward-only view. The downside is that quality is reduced from the stated resolution (from 8K to 4K, for example) when footage is "de-warped" or flattened to create the final video.

DJI has so far stayed out of this category, but that's changed with the Osmo 360. Like rival models, it has a lens and sensor on each side, with a display at the back and a record and camera view button below (just like Insta360). There’s also a power button on the side. Other settings and controls are operated from the screen or a smartphone via DJI's Mimo app.

A key feature is the new 1-inch square sensor designed specifically for panoramic shooting. That allowed DJI to use 25 percent more of the sensor than rival models with rectangular chips, in turn boosting image quality and low-light capability. It also makes the camera more power-efficient.

The Osmo 360 is a bit smaller than Insta360's latest model, the X5. Though a bit thicker and wider, the Osmo is substantially shorter at just 83mm compared to the X5 (124.5mm). It's also about 9 percent lighter at 183 grams. All that makes it slightly easier to carry and attach to your body, bikes or other things, though it's still bulkier than a regular action cam.

Another bonus with the Osmo 360 is the 105GB of usable built-in storage (plus a microSD slot), compared to… zero for the competition. The battery is the same as the one in the Osmo Action 4 Pro and 5 Pro, so owners of those models already have a compatible battery. It supports up to 120 minutes of 8K 30 fps recording in endurance mode, or 100 minutes in regular mode, similar to the X5's 93/115 minutes. On top of that, battery life on the Osmo 360 can be boosted to 180 minutes with an optional battery extension rod.

Video and audio

DJI

With its new sensor, the Osmo 360 can produce the highest quality video in the 360 category at up to 8K 50 fps, compared to 8K 30 fps on the Insta360 X5 and 6K 30 fps on the Insta360 One RS. That in turn lets creators capture high-quality flat (de-warped) video at up to 4K 50 fps. The new model also offers 10-bit D-LogM recording to boost dynamic range, which is better than the X5's 8-bit I-Log. And if you'd rather record flat video, you can do that in single-lens "Boost Video" mode at 4K 120 fps, with a field of view up to 170 degrees.

The other benefit is improved low-light capability in all modes. DJI says that the native 8K pixel size is 2.4 micrometers, twice that of the X5, allowing for increased light gathering. If you want to take panoramic photos, the Osmo 360 beats the competition there as well with up to 120MP photos (compared to 72MP for the X5), or it can bin four pixels down to one for 30MP photos with lower noise in low light.

After testing it in day and night conditions, I’m impressed. In good light, it was on par with Insta360's X5 in terms of sharpness and color accuracy. It was superior in tricky contrasty situations, though, with the D-LogM profile boosting dynamic range. Skies, shiny roads and other brightly lit objects showed more detail than the 8-bit I-log video shot with the X5 and shadows were also less washed out.

DJI's digital RockSteady stabilization delivered impressively smooth video, even over rough cobblestone roads. And as with other DJI devices, you can let the camera bank with your movements or keep the horizon level (HorizonSteady), although that will come at the cost of some resolution. Stitching was also seamless (except occasionally with objects close to the camera), so I could choose any angle without worrying about distortion.

Not all was perfect though. As with other 360 models, the Osmo 360 is clearly less sharp than DJI's Action 5 Pro after conversion to 4K flat video. And while low-light performance was indeed very good, digital stabilization became problematic when shooting at night, showing signs of pixelation and video tearing due to motion blur. However, that’s a problem that’s typical with all action cams since they lack optical stabilization.

Like other DJI Action cams, the Osmo 360 supports the company's Mic 2 and Mic Mini wireless microphones and can record from two of those at the same time via its OsmoAudio direct connection system. You can also connect third-party wireless earbuds as I did with Samsung's Galaxy Buds Pro 2, though only one set at a time.

DJI’s mics allow for crisp and clear audio, and add a lot of convenience. When paired with the camera, they can also record audio internally to provide a backup copy. Insta360 recently released its own microphone system with the $50 Mic Air that connects directly to the Insta360 X5 and Insta360 Ace Pro 2. However, those models can only use one mic at a time rather than two like the Osmo 360.

DJI Studio editing

Software is an important component of panoramic cameras. On top of editing, they help creators change camera angles and do 360-specific moves. And if you plan to output full panoramic content, it injects that metadata into the final video so that apps like Facebook and YouTube will recognize it correctly.

A big reason for Insta360’s success has been its excellent Studio app that helps users do all of those things. DJI’s response to that is a new app of its own, which is also called Studio, but its first crack at a 360 editor doesn’t quite measure up to its rival.

DJI Studio does let you do basic editing, like inserting shots and trimming them. However, it’s not the most intuitive process — it took me too long to figure out how to trim shots before inserting them into the timeline. It’s also a bit buggy: the source display tends to show shots you haven’t selected and the camera angles sometimes randomly change. It also lacks features found on Insta360 Studio like text overlays and transitions.

That said, DJI Studio does a good job with its most important task. It’s easy to switch to a new view using keyframes and set animations to improve smoothness. You can then export video in either flat or panoramic formats and import it into apps like Premiere Pro or DaVinci Resolve for the final color correction, effects and titles. All told, DJI Studio is good for a first release, but still needs work compared to its main rival.

Wrap-up

Steve Dent for Engadget

It took DJI awhile to get a panoramic action cam into the market, but the Osmo 360 was worth the wait. It stacks up well against its main rival, Insta360’s X5, by offering better video quality in low light or high-contrast situations. It’s also easy to use, offers good battery life and trumps its competition with a large amount of built-in storage.

The primary drawbacks are slightly lower image quality compared to regular action cams and stabilization that breaks down a bit in low light. The all-new DJI Studio app also needs some work. For a first effort, though, the Osmo 360 is a surprisingly solid rival to Insta360’s X5.

DJI's Osmo 360 is now available nearly everywhere but the US at €480 for the Standard Combo (around $554) which includes a single battery, protective pouch and rubber lens protector, or €630 ($728) for the Adventure Combo which adds two extra batteries, a charger, a quick release adapter mount and a 1.2m Invisible Selfie Stick. As for US availability, "it will not be available for sale immediately in the U.S. market through official DJI channels," a DJI spokesperson told Engadget. "We currently do not have an estimated timeline… but we will let you know when we do."

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