DJI - Osmo Action 1

I have used the original DJI osmo action 1 on my 5 inch before as it’s the only action camera I have. It was pretty heavy and there doesn’t seem to be a naked version of it so you can’t really make it any lighter. The footage and stability was pretty good though.

I love this question and the discussion going on here. I wanted to begin just making home movies again, like the good ole days. So I pulled out an old action camera that was sitting in my drawer, Osmo 1, and finally got to using it. Sorry for ranting, but I've been working through these thoughts for a good while now and am struggling to arrive at a conclusion as well. The ideas brought up in this thread pretty much touch on my experience so far. My video taking journey begins with wanting to record a couple of minutes or so at a time throughout an eventful day, combine those clips, and just have that footage for me and my family. With this in mind, the constraints I have come across for an action camera vs a phone have been memory. My phone certainly takes video, 4k 60fps, that is just as good or better cause it has zoom too. However, I prefer to use my phone separately cause it's my phone and it's also for photos, but mostly I wanted to edit the video on my phone too, rather than carry around a laptop, so I needed the extra space for exporting. Then I had to research editing software. I have yet to find an editor that exports directly to an external SSD, I use a 1tb Samsung t7. I currently use the purchased version of LumaFusion and it comes close to doing that, but it still requires space on the phone to export, it will temporarily export to the space available in your phone then transfer it to the SSD. Maybe someone here knows an editor that exports directly to an SSD so I don't use phone memory at all. Obviously, using a separate device like a PC is still another option, but you gotta carry around more stuff. Perhaps my experience would be different if I had more space on my phone. Because of a broken phone and a rush to get a new one I took advantage of an offer on a free pixel 8 pro but it only came with 128 GB. If I had 512 like my old 6 pro had it would be a different story. Anyway... This being said, I recently took a trip to Grand Canyon and borrowed an X3 from a friend. So I have experience with using all 3 types of cameras on a single trip. What someone mentioned here about the editor is spot on, it's absolutely great. However, editing 360 videos is terrible for long vacation videos like I want. Editing 360 videos to regular format requires you select a scene and hold a record button, select another scene and hold the record again imagine doing this for a 30 minute clip vs a 2 minute clip. There are options to have it auto scene select in various ways but that's the gist of it. You can imagine the issues that can come up when it doesn't select the correct scene from your 360 capture. It would be amazing for short Instagram reels tho, it is quick to use for this style of video. (Mental note: I need to comeback with an update on whether this editor can export a video in its own SD card or if it exports to the phones memory, this would be a huge positive in using insta devices) And let me just jump to a semi-conclusion here... In summary, TLDR, if you want non-action videos a phone with plenty of memory is a great option (you're probably gonna want a gimbal). Also, if you get an action camera then also end up taking vids with your phone, now you have more work in gathering all that video together. It may or may not be more work than you're looking to do. One camera is definitely a good option. You will need to account for 30 to 40 gigs per hour, plus the export video that can be up to 15 gigs per hour depending on bitrate. Action cameras are just about equally awesome, the new ones have horizontal lock (no gimbal needed) and aren't in your face as much as a phone. I feel they are more respectful, and mindful of those being filmed (very demure IMHO). Same memory resources are needed, but they don't have any zoom I know you didn't ask about the 360 cam, but editing long 360 videos is terrible. Quick 360 videos are awesome tho and the insta editor is probably the best out there. No clear winner because much depends on budget and purpose. I hope we can get to the bottom of this issue. But these are just my 2c.

I had an original DJI osmo action, flooded in less than 2m of water. They replaced it under warranty 3 times and I just gave up. Great image quality tho. Have a GoPro 12 now and got the housing for it straight away to avoid any issues. The polaroid version looks pretty good too.

I have a Osmo Action 1. is the Upgrade to the 4 Worth it?

This is so disappointing to hear. I thought the video looked pretty impressive on some of the early reviews (I tend to, perhaps naively, trust potato jet's thoughts). I have an OA1 and almost got the 4 a month or two ago. On paper and by early reviews, it seemed the OA5 was a no-brainer for only an extra $50. Now I need to dig through some of the comparison videos posted in this thread to review more closely. I only record things casually so using things in "normal" model are more my speed, vs. color-grading D-log footage (which sounds like currently the way to get the most out of the OA5?). I do have DaVinci Resolve but I only occassionaly dabble with it.

Kung second hand, don't go lower than a Hero 7 Black for GoPro. Huwag yung Silver versions, stick to Black. Exception sa rule neto ay yung Hero 5 Session dahil sa form factor. Osmo Action 1 is good contender din. Not as wide as the GoPro pero goods yung stabilization. Brand new, stick to GoPro, DJI, and Intsa360. Serviceable naman yung quality ng mga SJCam at Akaso pero hahanapin mo pa din yung linaw at wide fov.

4-5 years ago I did research on an action camera. Bunch of reviews stated GoPro had over heating issues. This past year I looked at reviews again and people were still complaining of the SAME issues GoPro had vs DJI. Bought a DJI OSMI action 1 and now have an action 5. They're great action cameras and the market is full of a competition. So there is just way more cameras to choose from vs long ago when GoPro was king and one of the only choices you had for an action cam.

Insta360 or DJI action cam. The current crop of go pro cameras need to have the heavy duty (white) batteries and often will shut off due to the battery vibrating and the camera thinking it is overheating. My favorite for all around view is insta360 rs one with 360 module. It's discontinued, but great quality and size. The DJI action is great and usually on sale. For 4k the insta360 rs pro. PS, you don't need to respond to this comment and tell me your go pro works fine. I own 3-12 blacks, 6-11 blacks, a few 10s and I'm almost rid of all my 9s finally. I do video coaching and use them extensively, all run dev firmware.... I own 4 of the rs ones, 2 rs pros, 3-action 4s, an action 5 and 2 aim smartycam 3 units.

I still have the action 1

I had the same quandry. The go3s would destroy the market if they added external mic support. So I just use an Osmo action 4. No where near as discrete and it's a bit of a pain to have hanging off your body, but it's the only decent option.

What did you end up getting? I’ve had the insta360 for a couple years, the eis is amazing but night video is crappy. Just got the osmo action 4, and night shooting is far better, but eis is just awful. I shoot biking on lots of cobblestone streets in France.

I have an Action 4 and Pocket 3. I have recently acquired both of them to replace an original Action and original Pocket. The Pocket 3 has better image quality than the Action. You will get a bit of background blur with the Pocket and none with the Action because the Pocket has a larger sensor. The larger sensor also means the Pocket is better in low light. The Action 5 is probably the best action camera you can buy in low light but the Pocket is still quite a bit better. The Action is more rugged and more compact. The Pocket is steadier because of the gimbal but the electronic stabilization on the Action is quite good. The Action is weather sealed, the Pocket is not. So if you’re outside shooting and it starts raining, you better put the Pocket away whereas you can keep shooting with the Action. Both are fantastic cameras and I can wholeheartedly recommend both. It just depends on what you’re going to be using it for. If you don’t need the ruggedness of the Action then I would go with the Pocket.

I agree, some of the footage I've seen in the reviews looks absolutely horrible. Like something out of a 2010 mobile phone camera. That being said I have osmo 4 and nothing bad to say about the quality. I also wanted to mentione some things that noone is talking about comparing dji action and gopro. Osmo is like 50x more reliable. I've had multiple gopros and crashes are pretty much a common thing with them, it sucks. Never had a crash in osmo actin camera. Also the touch screen reaction time and ui responsiveness is just so much better than gopro, it's not even funny . The user experience is just so much better in osmo action cam that I'm willing to tolerate a little bit worse picture quality

I would avoid GoPro Hero 10 or beyond. Those are the only Hero cameras I have experience with and they're a huge PITA especially for motorcycling. It either doesn't turn on, doesn't record, or records with no audio ALL THE TIME. If you happen to notice it's not turning on, then you get to pull over, take your helmet off, unmount the camera, and fiddle with it until you figure out what's not working. Usually requiring you to remove and reinsert the battery. It's the most frustrating thing ever on a bike and I'd argue dangerous since you're preoccupied with the camera instead of your ride. I tried working with a Hero 10 and 11 for over 2 years before I swore them off forever. I recently switched to Insta360 and couldn't be happier. The Insta has literally not one time malfunctioned or not recorded when I pressed the button. I also have an old DJI Osmo Action that never had reliability issues. I would say any Osmo Action gen or the previous gen Insta360 (R One or something like that I cant' remember the name) would do the job well. If part of its job is dashcam you might also consider a 360 camera. You'll have way butter luck catching incidents with it than a regular action cam. I also have a GoPro 360 MAX camera. Unlike the Hero cameras, it's been great. It's still glitchy at times but nowhere near the regularity of the Hero cameras. It's kind long in the tooth now too so you may be able to find them on a good deal somewhere.

We use GoPros at work for in car spiels, and we have found the latest ones annoyingly buggy. Sometimes (not often) shutting down randomly and sometimes not saving a video and throwing up an error. It also tends to overheat when mounted on the windshield since we live in a hot country (happens often). Image quality is great, to be fair, but we shifted to osmo actions because of the more reliable software, more reliable heat dissipation and longer battery life. Transfer by files is also easier on the DJI with a better iPhone app. Overall, go pro has really good video quality, but the few times it failed, they were mission critical shots, and we just can’t afford to have that gap in our workflow.

Go pro or the osmo would be the way to go. Camera quality is great and you can chin mount them. I think it should be a must for all bikers because you never know who might hit you and then claim it was the other way around. It’s already happened to me.

As of Feb 22, 2025, Insta360 Ace Pro, Ace Pro 2, GoPro 12 and DJI Osmo Action are the three best action cams for motorcycle riding. If you do low light riding (night or overcast weather), go with Ace Pros. It has much better dynamic range and much higher image quality in low light. You'll find many comparison reviews in YouTube, I'd advise checking out a few of them for yourself. I own an Ace Pro and I never looked back.

DJI action and it’s not even close. Far better than GoPro. I tested it on my recent diving trip.

I recently purchased the DJI Osmo. Primary use for me is scuba diving and it has a much larger sensor than GoPro, which makes a big difference in terms of color underwater.

If you're looking for something affordable buy used. Action cams are designed to be durable so the risk of a used one breaking are fairly minimal. Most people use GoPro cameras but I for one would take the DJI Osmo action over it.

Osmo has been the best I have seen. I am planning on ordering one within the upcoming weeks for some spirited mountain riding with my buddy.