TECH REVIEW

DJI Osmo Action camera

R4 995

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If you’re looking for a GoPro comparison review, then sadly you’ve come to the wrong place. What got me interested in playing with the DJI Osmo Action camera was its dark, boxy shape – it was going to be a nifty little cam that could fit in any purse while still giving me the best picture quality I could hope for. Despite being the first of its line, the Osmo Action is an ideal GoPro alternative for vloggers and self-shooters.

The Osmo Action’s footage is Instagram-ready and is an accessible product from a price point of view. If you’re looking for an action cam that’s going to give you maximum bang for buck, the Osmo Action delivers. Something that I wasn’t prepared for – I honestly thought we had moved on from this – was that the camera requires a microSD card. In an ideal world, I would be able to connect to my phone or laptop via an app or cable to transfer everything – it was not that easy. So if you need an action cam with a great app, the Osmo Action isn’t it. Connecting with the app across iOS and Android was more miss than hit, with many unsuccessful pairing attempts.

One thing that I thought action lovers who lean towards these cameras would want, but that the Osmo Action is missing, is support for GPS. Whenever I transfer photos from devices, that’s the one thing that I expect to automatically happen. But my biggest Achilles’ heel would be that there’s not much support for instantly uploading footage and no support for livestreaming. Overall it’s a nifty little camera, weighing only 124g, but needs some work – even for the action types.