Two new action cameras dropped on the same day?! We got new releases from GoPro and DJI in the HERO11 Black and Osmo Action 3, respectively. Both look similar (a dramatic change from DJI’s sophomore effort) and that likely means that there will be some natural comparison between the two. Fair enough, let’s take a look.
Considering GoPro has a strong hold over the action cam industry – there is a reason people refer to all these cameras as “GoPros” – it may be odd to think of them having competition that may in fact be better in some ways. Matti Haapoja is interested and checking it out.
Matti starts things off with a bunch of footage to directly compare the two cameras in the same scenarios. Take a look at that for a moment to get a good feel, but then let’s look at the specific cameras.
DJI Osmo Action 3 Features
The Osmo Action 3 moves back to the conventional action cam form factor after the Action 2 took an interesting detour. It has a magnetic mounting system which seems cool even if it isn’t a major difference for most people. It also has a nice little battery charing case.
Image Credit: DJI
An interesting thing to note is that the Osmo Action is noticeably smaller than the GoPro HERO11. If you are planning on mounting the camera on something like an FPV drone this will make a difference.
The lens is now offering an ultra-wide field of view. This is similar to the GoPro at its widest and this is nice for action shots. You unfortunately can’t use this setting if you want to shoot at 120 fps on either.
Color and Image Comparison
At launch, the GoPro has a slight edge with 10-bit footage. The colors do just seem a touch better anyway. A future firmware is supposed to bring 10-bit recording to the Osmo Action 3 but that’s always hard to judge until it releases.
The GoPro also seems to retain a bit more detail in the footage. This doesn’t mean just sharpening either, it looks like real detail.
Body and Size
Mentioned earlier, the GoPro is a bit bigger. The Osmo Action 3 also has some slightly nicer screens by Matti’s judgement. These touch controls are a bit more responsive as well.
One annoyance is that the Action will crop in on the front screen while the GoPro provides the full image along with some extra information.
Stabilization
Every generation of action cam comes with improvements to the stabilization algorithm and both the GoPro and DJI have upgrades.
Image Credit: GoPro
Still, GoPro holds an advantage here and looks a lot more stable. Plus, the ReelSteady feature using the software is going to provide a better stabilization by a far margin.
As for horizon leveling the GoPro can do it at basically all angles while the DJI has a limit when it hits a certain angle.
Slow Motion
Both cameras can do 4K up to 120 fps. If you want 240 fps the GoPro wins with a 2.7K resolution while the DJI needs to bump down to 1080p.
Low Light
GoPro wins in low-light situations without question. The DJI gets noisy quickly.
Price
While GoPro seems to have a lot of advantages, the DJI Osmo Action 3 comes in at a much more affordable price. The Osmo starts at $349 while the GoPro is over $500. That’s a big difference for an action cam and depends on how you plan on using it.
Which Should You Buy?
To keep it simple, the GoPro is the camera to get if you have the budget. It wins in so many important categories. GoPro has become the name in action cameras for a reason. However, if you are on a budget you can’t go wrong with the DJI.
Which one do you like best?
[source: Matti Haapoja]
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