DJI Osmo 360 camera review: Impressive hardware, but there’s a problem

The DJI Osmo 360 is impressive 360 camera It’s capable of shooting 8K video at 50fps, 120MP photos (15,520 x 7,760) and thanks to its large 1/1.1 square image sensors, it can record in low light. These key specifications are as good, if not better, than the Insta360’s main camera. X5.

In practice, the Osmo 360 performs similarly to, and in many situations, better than, the X5 GoPro Max 2. The main problem with the camera is not technically the camera itself; It’s DJI and its relationship with Google and the US government. The DJI Mimo app is not available in the Play Store, and the DJI Mimo app is not available in the Play Store The FCC has issued recent rulings regarding drones that impact sales of DJI cameras In the United States. You can still get the Osmo 360; It was approved before the ban, but that adds a certain level of uncertainty that GoPro and Insta360 products don’t have.

Overall, the Osmo 360 is a great camera, with image quality similar to the Insta360’s X5, but for Android users and anyone not invested in the DJI ecosystem, the X5 is the easier option.

DJI Osmo 360

Image resolution	120 MP (15,520 x 7,760)
Video resolution	8K50
Sensor size	1/1.1 inch (x2)
lens	f/1.9
Screen type	2-inch OLED touch screen
storage	Internal (128 GB), microSD card
weight	183 grams (6.5 ounces)
program	iOS/Mac/Windows/Android (sort of)

The Osmo 360 has some great specifications. It meets or exceeds what’s available on the Insta360’s X5, GoPro’s Max 2, and even Kandao’s QooCam 3 Ultra. Sure, being able to do this in a body that’s a little larger than the Max 2 and at an almost identical price to the others is impressive.

To start, 1/1.1-inch sensors are some of the largest you can find in a consumer 360 camera. Larger than the 1/1.28″ X5 and much larger than the 1/2.3″ GoPro. It’s paired with a fast lens too, with an f/1.9 aperture, so it’s no surprise that the Osmo 360 performs well in low light.

The picture and image specifications are also impressive. The other cameras max out at 8K30 for video and 96MP for photos, and the Osmo 360 can capture more frames per second and higher-resolution images. But this does not tell the whole story, as I will discuss in the next section. If you have the ability and need for such resolutions and frame rates, you can get a lot out of this camera.

There is 105GB of usable internal storage space. This isn’t something that’s absolutely necessary in the age of cheap microSD cards, but it certainly doesn’t hurt. The 2-inch widescreen screen feels responsive when in use, and while the X5’s screen is larger and makes it easier to see what you’ve shot, the DJI’s is good enough for regular use, such as accessing various camera modes and settings. In addition to the standard tripod, the Osmo 360 has a DJI magnetic mount for quick attachment to its accessories. Speaking of cross-compatibility, the 360 ​​uses the same batteries as the Action 6 action camera, so if you’re going all-in with DJI, you can use a lot of the same equipment as well as the same app.

Oh yes. Application. We definitely need to talk about the app. I have a whole section on this topic below.

Ease of use and image quality

As you’d expect from great hardware, photos and videos from the Osmo 360 look great. It is bright and vibrant, one could say very lifelike. It falls somewhere between the contrasting look of the GoPro and the brighter look of the Insta360. You can enable manual mode to dial exposure, shutter speed, and white balance. Even with everything set to auto, image quality is good, if a little overexposed. If only one lens is facing the sun, the camera will have difficulty getting an accurate exposure, resulting in a noticeable stitch line between the hemispheres. However, this is something that all 360 degree cameras suffer from to a greater or lesser degree.

While 8K50 video and 120MP photos are certainly eye-catching specs, the reality is a bit more nuanced. Most people will never use 8K video for the simple reason that most phones can’t edit it. So, unless you plan to use your computer for editing, 8K videos will be useless. This also applies to Insta360 and GoPro 8K video. The actual maximum usable resolution for these cameras is 6K60 for the Osmo 360, 5.7K60 for the

The same goes for 120MP photos, which look impressive, but just like the X5’s high-res mode, photos don’t look much better than in the lower-res modes. In fact, in some situations, it can look worse because you’re losing HDR. So it becomes a question of “better” pixels versus more pixels. In fact, I’ve been using 360-degree cameras since the beginning, and have never used the maximum resolution mode for images, not least because some phones refuse to take such huge images and may require desktop software to edit them properly or even just open them.

Low-light situations have always been difficult for 360 degree cameras. The Insta360 X5 was the first device I tested that was able to capture usable shots at night or in dark places. The Osmo 360, with its larger sensors and slightly faster lens, is capable of recording… also in low light. The results are more similar than different. In fact, it’s probably because of the X5’s image processing that low-light shots tend to be less grainy. This means that apart from the specifications, the results are similar. Both are good, at least compared to other 360 cameras.

In terms of broader usability aspects, the OLED screen looks great, and launching the camera and navigating through menus is quick. Overall, it feels like a solid, well-made camera.

Application and global policy

I wish I could judge the Osmo 360 as just a camera, but that’s not the world we live in. For reasons beyond my interest in writing about them, the US government has placed restrictions on the sale of drones from certain companies, and some cameras attached to that. Products approved by the FCC before the ban went into effect, such as the Osmo 360, are still available for sale. It is impossible to say what will happen in the coming days or weeks or at any time. Does this directly affect the Osmo 360? Not exactly, but for me it’s still something to consider. How much of a factor you influence your calculations is entirely up to you.

The most immediate issue is that Google also has an effective ban on DJI. The DJI Mimo app, which is required to use the camera, is not available on the Google Play Store. To use it, you have to go to the DJI website, disable the security protection on your phone and download the APK containing the app. This is it probably Okay, but Google is banning Mimo for a reason, and this goes beyond that. I don’t think DJI is doing anything nefarious, but Google certainly does, and one of us is a multi-billion dollar global conglomerate, and the other writes books about how easy it is to travel when you’re broke. So, again, feel free to do your own calculations on this. Apple doesn’t seem to have a problem with DJI, and you can get the app if you’re on iOS.

The app itself is generally decent. It has the same editing functions as the Insta360 and GoPro, letting you choose the viewing angle, speed, etc. You can also edit multiple 360 ​​clips together into a longer video. However, I was regularly having problems trying to load the app at all. It will get stuck on the loading screen, and waiting or force closing will not fix the issue. I can’t even tell you what worked, because I’d give up, check it later and it would open fine. So there might be some loading or something going on in the background, but without any visual indication of that, the app just doesn’t seem to be working. I also received occasional error messages in Chinese. I hope they don’t matter.

There’s also DJI Studio desktop software for editing 360-degree photos and videos. It does most of what a mobile app does, but in a simpler way. I also had slightly better results with images using the desktop program, with more detail and fewer jagged diagonals.

Impressive hardware, but…

There are some simple and declarative things I can say. Competition is good. DJI makes some good cameras. Osmo 360 is good 360 camera. I can also say that the Osmo 360 takes great-looking photos and videos, and it does so in a compact, easy-to-use form factor.

If I judged these 360 ​​cameras solely by the devices I have on hand, I would be hard pressed to say whether the Osmo 360 or Insta360 X5 is better. While the former is technically capable of higher frame rates and image resolutions, this difference won’t be noticeable to most people. Not least because their phones can’t handle 8K video anyway, and for sharing on social media, the extra resolution rarely makes much of a difference.

Professional content creators — especially those who are already invested in the DJI ecosystem by purchasing batteries, mounts, etc. — may be able to get some shots with DJI that they couldn’t get with the X5. However, the X5’s interchangeable lenses should definitely be considered a major factor in its overall package. So, even aside from the nonsense I’ll get into next, I’d still say that most people should probably get the X5, if for no other reason than the fact that everyone inevitably drops a 360-degree camera, and it always seems to land face down.

But bullshit should be part of the conversation. I wish that wasn’t the case, but that’s how it goes. Since the Osmo 360 is available for sale, the FCC ban is not an issue. (Note, however, that DJI said that if repairs are necessary, it may take longer than usual because getting parts into the U.S. is more difficult than it used to be.) Some people won’t care that they need to disable security features on their phone to download the app. But I wouldn’t ask my parents, for example, to do that, so I can’t in good conscience say it’s a good thing for anyone. Your comfort level with the idea should certainly be a factor, especially since there are two other excellent 360-degree cameras available that don’t suffer from this problem.

In other words, the Osmo 360 has some great hardware and is a worthy competitor to Insta360 X5 and GoPro Max 2. But there’s a big asterisk at the end of that statement, which leads to 1,000 words in small print that basically say, “It’s complicated.”