DJI’s New Action Digital camera Makes It Even Tougher for GoPro to Catch Up

Typical motion cameras are the easy “set it and forget it” sort of system utilized by anyone who needs a easy solution to movie their antics with out having to fiddle with digicam settings. But as an alternative of constructing its new Osmo Action 6 much more idiot-proof, DJI is introducing extra superior controls like the power to regulate the aperture (and crucially, the quantity of background blur, or bokeh) of the motion digicam’s lens.

All that’s to say, the variable aperture on the Osmo Action 6 makes the everyday, non-360 -degree GoPro appear a bit of lengthy within the tooth. And due to U.S. insurance policies, don’t count on this digicam to reach within the U.S. anytime quickly.

I noticed the DJI Osmo Action 6 on the IFA 2025 this previous summer time, although I didn’t have any probability to take it round and take a look at it out on any Berlin attendees. It appears to be like and feels very, very near final yr’s DJI Osmo Action 5 Pro, right down to the rear and entrance touchscreens and enormous, spherical lens. Most of what’s new is behind the lens, beginning with the brand new 1/1.1-inch sq. sensor. It will have the ability to seize a in another way formatted picture than the Action 5 Pro’s 1/1.3 CMOS sensor. Like the iPhone 17’s new selfie digicam, that sq. form will make it simpler to crop footage for sure side ratios.

Just by that assertion, you might already have the ability to inform that is an motion digicam that’s making an attempt to make the case for individuals who really know what they’re doing. That means taking away the standard mounted aperture on most different rugged cameras. The Osmo Action 6 can set the aperture from a bigger f/2.0 by way of a smaller f/4.0. At its widest setting, it permits in additional gentle to get by way of to the sensor, which can improve low-light taking pictures. The digicam additionally contains the power to shoot in SuperNight mode at 4K and 60 fps.

The extra you widen the aperture (smaller f-stop quantity like f/2.0), the shallower the depth of subject if you wish to isolate a topic. DJI claims the usual “Auto” mode will set the aperture vary routinely relying on the topic. There’s additionally a “Starburst” mode for capturing gentle trails of passing stars or metropolis streets at evening.

Like the GoPro Hero 13 Black from 2024 (which used an f/2.8 aperture), the Osmo Action 6 can be appropriate with a number of lens equipment, such because the Macro Lens for higher close-up photographs. All the Instagrammers on the market stubbornly taking meal pics within the age of ever-scrolling Reels might favor that lens over the FOV Boost Lens, which expands the digicam’s subject of view from 155 to 182 levels.

Otherwise, the Osmo Action 6 presents 13.5 stops of dynamic vary and might document as much as 4K and 120 fps. That’s lower than the 5.3K and 60 fps supplied by the GoPro Hero 13. However, it’s higher in gradual movement with a claimed 240 fps whenever you set the decision to 1080p. The motion digicam additionally comes with 50GB of inside storage so as to add to no matter microSD card you propose on utilizing (as long as you retain to the 1TB restrict). It’s the form of motion digicam that can make extra seasoned videographers a bit of happier.

Meanwhile, DJI’s newer Osmo Nano appears to be geared for the extra conventional motion cam person because it’s extra compact and less complicated to function. Like Insta360’s Go Ultra, DJI’s digicam pod is magnetic, which means it might probably connect to extra advanced mounts and even your fridge door.

While the Osmo Action 6 shall be out there abroad, in an electronic mail assertion, DJI instructed Gizmodo, “The Osmo Action 6 will not be available for sale immediately in the U.S. market via DJI’s official channels. We currently do not have an estimated timeline for when it will be available.”

It’s the identical assertion relayed for each one of many firm’s many previous merchandise revealed over the previous two months. That contains two new drones—the Mini 5 Pro and the Neo 2—plus a robovac dubbed the DJI Romo. DJI remains to be struggling as a result of U.S. authorities’s allegations that its ties to China make the corporate a nationwide safety danger. The U.S. has blocked a lot of DJI’s imports to the U.S. by way of its first-party channels. It now faces further sanction from the Federal Communications Commission if the company decides to dam new DJI certifications.