DJI Osmo Action 4 review: Deeper dives, sharper action

TechCamerasGoPro & Action CamerasDJI Osmo Action 4 review: Deeper dives, sharper actionLatest action cam from DJI is more waterproof than before but doesn’t offer as high resolution as some of its competitorsWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.(Image credit: Jamie Carter/T3)T3 VerdictWith excellent image stabilisation, ease of use and a brilliant magnetic mounting system for accessories, the DJI Osmo Action 4 is an excellent rugged action camera that loses out to the likes of GoPro Hero 11 Black only in its lack of 5.7K video resolution. If that’s not important to you, then you’ll love the DJI Osmo Action 4.Reasons to buy+Improved low-light performance+Goes 18m/59ft underwater without a case+Front and rear LCD touchscreens+Accessory can collect GPS data+Easy to swap between horizontal and verticalReasons to avoid-No 5.7K video resolution-Small upgrade on predecessorWhy you can trust T3Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you.Find out more about how we test.

TechCamerasGoPro & Action CamerasDJI Osmo Action 4 review: Deeper dives, sharper actionLatest action cam from DJI is more waterproof than before but doesn’t offer as high resolution as some of its competitorsWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.(Image credit: Jamie Carter/T3)T3 VerdictWith excellent image stabilisation, ease of use and a brilliant magnetic mounting system for accessories, the DJI Osmo Action 4 is an excellent rugged action camera that loses out to the likes of GoPro Hero 11 Black only in its lack of 5.7K video resolution. If that’s not important to you, then you’ll love the DJI Osmo Action 4.Reasons to buy+Improved low-light performance+Goes 18m/59ft underwater without a case+Front and rear LCD touchscreens+Accessory can collect GPS data+Easy to swap between horizontal and verticalReasons to avoid-No 5.7K video resolution-Small upgrade on predecessorWhy you can trust T3Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you.Find out more about how we test.

Latest action cam from DJI is more waterproof than before but doesn’t offer as high resolution as some of its competitors

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

(Image credit: Jamie Carter/T3)T3 VerdictWith excellent image stabilisation, ease of use and a brilliant magnetic mounting system for accessories, the DJI Osmo Action 4 is an excellent rugged action camera that loses out to the likes of GoPro Hero 11 Black only in its lack of 5.7K video resolution. If that’s not important to you, then you’ll love the DJI Osmo Action 4.Reasons to buy+Improved low-light performance+Goes 18m/59ft underwater without a case+Front and rear LCD touchscreens+Accessory can collect GPS data+Easy to swap between horizontal and verticalReasons to avoid-No 5.7K video resolution-Small upgrade on predecessor

(Image credit: Jamie Carter/T3)

(Image credit: Jamie Carter/T3)

T3 VerdictWith excellent image stabilisation, ease of use and a brilliant magnetic mounting system for accessories, the DJI Osmo Action 4 is an excellent rugged action camera that loses out to the likes of GoPro Hero 11 Black only in its lack of 5.7K video resolution. If that’s not important to you, then you’ll love the DJI Osmo Action 4.Reasons to buy+Improved low-light performance+Goes 18m/59ft underwater without a case+Front and rear LCD touchscreens+Accessory can collect GPS data+Easy to swap between horizontal and verticalReasons to avoid-No 5.7K video resolution-Small upgrade on predecessor

T3 VerdictWith excellent image stabilisation, ease of use and a brilliant magnetic mounting system for accessories, the DJI Osmo Action 4 is an excellent rugged action camera that loses out to the likes of GoPro Hero 11 Black only in its lack of 5.7K video resolution. If that’s not important to you, then you’ll love the DJI Osmo Action 4.

T3 Verdict

With excellent image stabilisation, ease of use and a brilliant magnetic mounting system for accessories, the DJI Osmo Action 4 is an excellent rugged action camera that loses out to the likes of GoPro Hero 11 Black only in its lack of 5.7K video resolution. If that’s not important to you, then you’ll love the DJI Osmo Action 4.

Reasons to buy+Improved low-light performance+Goes 18m/59ft underwater without a case+Front and rear LCD touchscreens+Accessory can collect GPS data+Easy to swap between horizontal and verticalReasons to avoid-No 5.7K video resolution-Small upgrade on predecessor

Reasons to buy+Improved low-light performance+Goes 18m/59ft underwater without a case+Front and rear LCD touchscreens+Accessory can collect GPS data+Easy to swap between horizontal and vertical

Improved low-light performance

Goes 18m/59ft underwater without a case

Front and rear LCD touchscreens

Accessory can collect GPS data

Easy to swap between horizontal and vertical

Reasons to avoid-No 5.7K video resolution-Small upgrade on predecessor

No 5.7K video resolution

Small upgrade on predecessor

Why you can trust T3Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you.Find out more about how we test.

Why you can trust T3Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you.Find out more about how we test.

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Recent updates19 September 2024– FJI launched the successor to the Osmo Action 4, theDJI Osmo Action 5, with a higher max photo resolution, more battery power, huge internal storage and brighter, larger dual OLED touchscreens. It’s a killer of an action camera!

Recent updates19 September 2024– FJI launched the successor to the Osmo Action 4, theDJI Osmo Action 5, with a higher max photo resolution, more battery power, huge internal storage and brighter, larger dual OLED touchscreens. It’s a killer of an action camera!

Recent updates

19 September 2024– FJI launched the successor to the Osmo Action 4, theDJI Osmo Action 5, with a higher max photo resolution, more battery power, huge internal storage and brighter, larger dual OLED touchscreens. It’s a killer of an action camera!

DJI Osmo Action 4 review: price and release date

The DJI Osmo Action 4 was announced in August 2023 and is available to buy now atDJI UK,DJI USandDJI AUfor a recommended retail price of £379/ $399/ AU$ 590. This makes it more affordable than theGoPro Hero 11 Black, but more expensive thanGoPro Hero 11 Black Mini. However, the DJI Osmo Action 4 does come with significant accessories.

The Standard Bundle includes a battery, a horizontal-vertical protective frame, a quick-release adapter mount, a locking screw, a USB-C PD cable, a lens hood, a curved sticky base, and an anti-slip pad. Pay £469 /$599 /AU$ 885 for the Adventure Bundle, and you also get an extra quick-release adapter mount and locking screw, but most significantly, a battery case that can charge three batteries simultaneously (via USB-C), two extra batteries and a 1.5m selfie stick.

(Image credit: Jamie Carter/T3)

(Image credit: Jamie Carter/T3)

DJI Osmo Action 4 review: specifications

(Image credit: Jamie Carter/T3)

(Image credit: Jamie Carter/T3)

DJI Osmo Action 4 review: design and build quality

At those kinds of depths, another new feature on the DJI Osmo Action 4 will prove tempting to many – a new CMOS sensor that’s 1/1.3-inch in size, giving a 65% increase in sensor surface area (thanks to bigger pixels) compared to the DJI Osmo Action 3. It has a maximum photo resolution of 3648x2736 pixels (10 megapixels) and a max video resolution of 4K 3840×2880 (60fps), but can also shoot in 4K 3840x2160 (120fps).

Perhaps the most obvious physical feature on the DJI Osmo Action 4 is its two large LCDs – a 1.4-inch front screen (320x320 pixels, 323 ppi) and a 2.25-inch rear screen (360x640 pixels, 326 PPI), both of which are touchscreens. Alongside the former are the lens, which offers a 155º field of view – ever so slightly less than the GoPro Hero 11 Black – and achieves f2.8 and ISO 12,800, with a focus range of 0.4 m to infinity. It’s slightly surprising that the new larger CMOS sensor for shooting in low light doesn’t also come with a f/2.0 aperture or similar. However, what this new version also allows is manual adjustments to sharpness and noise reduction levels.

Surely a must-have accessory for the DJI Osmo Action 4 for anyone planning long shoots is the battery case, which can charge three batteries simultaneously and uses a versatile USB-C cable. The batteries themselves have a capacity of 1,770mAh that is rated to last a little over 2.5 hours. They also support 30W fast charging, achieving an 80 per cent charge in 18 minutes.

There are also some excellent new accessories available for the DJI Osmo Action 4 that make it easier to film POV footage, including the DJI Hanging Neck Mount, DJI Biking Accessory Kit (a handlebar mount and a body harness) and the handy Osmo Backpack Strap Mount. The XXX also now collected gyro data, so with a GPS Bluetooth remote control, it’s now possible to display data on speed, tilting, angle, acceleration and route mapping within the Mimo app.

(Image credit: Jamie Carter/T3)

(Image credit: Jamie Carter/T3)

DJI Osmo Action 4 review: set-up and use

Judged purely as a standalone action camera, the DJI Osmo Action 4 is physically impressive and easy to use. As well as a study build, it’s magnetic, with its quick-release adapter mount fastening strongly to the chassis and clipping into place. That only applies to the bottom of the chassis but put the DJI Osmo Action 4 into its horizontal-vertical protective frame, and it’s possible to attach a quick-release adapter mount to the side, thus allowing vertical videos without any cropping required.

Perhaps more importantly than that, it makes swapping between those two orientations very quick and easy. Although it’s perfectly possible to control the DJI Osmo Action 4 using its excellent LCD touchscreens – both of which are responsive and full-featured – the DJI Mimo app offers a lot more options, including live previews and downloads.

DJI Osmo Action 4 review: sample gallery

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(Image credit: Jamie Carter/T3)

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(Image credit: Jamie Carter/T3)

(Image credit: Jamie Carter/T3)

(Image credit: Jamie Carter/T3)

(Image credit: Jamie Carter/T3)

(Image credit: Jamie Carter/T3)

(Image credit: Jamie Carter/T3)

(Image credit: Jamie Carter/T3)

(Image credit: Jamie Carter/T3)

(Image credit: Jamie Carter/T3)

(Image credit: Jamie Carter/T3)

(Image credit: Jamie Carter/T3)

(Image credit: Jamie Carter/T3)

(Image credit: Jamie Carter/T3)

(Image credit: Jamie Carter/T3)

(Image credit: Jamie Carter/T3)

(Image credit: Jamie Carter/T3)

(Image credit: Jamie Carter/T3)

(Image credit: Jamie Carter/T3)

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(Image credit: Jamie Carter/T3)

(Image credit: Jamie Carter/T3)

(Image credit: Jamie Carter/T3)

(Image credit: Jamie Carter/T3)

(Image credit: Jamie Carter/T3)

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(Image credit: Jamie Carter/T3)

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(Image credit: Jamie Carter/T3)

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(Image credit: Jamie Carter/T3)

(Image credit: Jamie Carter/T3)

(Image credit: Jamie Carter/T3)

(Image credit: Jamie Carter/T3)

(Image credit: Jamie Carter/T3)

(Image credit: Jamie Carter/T3)

(Image credit: Jamie Carter/T3)

DJI Osmo Action 4 review: performance

Look through the image gallery above, and you’ll see that the DJI Osmo Action 4 is adept at taking stills. It’s not quite as good at close focus as its predecessor, but that’s hardly relevant for an action camera whose wide-angle 155º field of view is its main attraction. As with all action cameras with that kind of wide view, some distortion is inevitable, but there is a de-warp mode that automatically undoes it. With well-saturated colours and a well-judged dynamic range, photos taken in daylight impress. So do images indoors, which make use of this camera’s all-new 1/1.3-inch CMOS sensor to help reveal more detail in dingy conditions.

This sample footage of the DJI Osmo Action 4 operating at full 4K was shot indoors, so makes use of the new larger sensor. While it’s impressive in comparison to the DJI Osmo Action 3, it’s not class-leading. This video comes straight out of the camera and hasn’t been edited or touched up at all, but the DJI Mimi app does offer a decent suite of editing features, shooting templates and an AI editor that picks out the highlights from the footage, though it’s more basic and hit-and-miss than it sounds. There’s a pro-editing area of the app that allows in-depth cuts, edits, speed tweaks and volume changes.

Here’s a Hyperlapse sample shot in 2.7K (16:9) with a frame rate of 60fps, which is the limit for DJI’s HorizonSteady and HorizonBalancing features, which only work for horizontal shots. It also features  RockSteady 3.0+ image stabilization. The video is exposed well and reasonably detailed, if a little jumpy, but the real value of Hyperlapse (and Timelapse) on the DJI Osmo Action 4 is that it can be shot very easily in vertical as well as horizontal orientation, albeit without HorizonSteady and HorizonBalancing. Hyperlapses and Timelapses can be shot in up to 4K resolution.

(Image credit: Jamie Carter/T3)

(Image credit: Jamie Carter/T3)

DJI Osmo Action 4 review: verdict

The DJI Osmo Action 4 is a fine all-round action camera with some excellent accessories and ease of use. Able to go deeper underwater than ever, its larger CMOS sensor addresses a problem with the DJI Osmo Action 3. However, it arguably achieves very little more than its predecessor, so it could be argued that unless you do plan to use the DJI Osmo Action 4 deep underwater and/or in the twilight, it’s probably not worth paying extra for.

That said, with excellent image stabilization, ease of use and a brilliant magnetic mounting system for accessories, the DJI Osmo Action 4 is an excellent rugged action camera that loses out to the likes of GoPro Hero 11 Black only in its lack of 5.7K video resolution. If that’s not important to you, then you’ll love the DJI Osmo Action 4.

DJI Osmo Action 4 review: alternatives to consider

The obvious competitor to the DJI Osmo Action 4 is theGoPro Hero 11 Black, which it loses out to on ultimate video resolution, but beats on underwater rating. However, while it beats it with a front LCD screen, the DJI Osmo Action 4 may struggle when up against theGoPro Hero 11 Black Mini, which boasts 5.7K video despite having a much smaller form factor and a significantly lower price. Another competitor is the product it replaces, theDJI Osmo Action 3, which it’s much pricer than despite being only an incremental improvement.

DJI Action 4: Price Comparison

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Low Stock$409.99View

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$409.99View

$409.99View

$409.99

$409.99

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