One-eyed DJI Osmo Pocket 4 pocket gimbal camera arrives – is this the change we were hoping for?

DJI has just announced its latest gimbal camera, the Osmo Pocket 4, as teased last week. The camera is mounted on a 3-axis gimbal, similar to some DJI drones, helping you get smooth shots all the time, and previous models became very popular with vloggers.

Boasting upgraded features over its hit predecessor, the new camera still has a 1-inch CMOS sensor, but is now capable of 14 stops of dynamic range, or 10-bit D-Log HDR. The camera also boasts faster 4K/240fps slow motion (double the previous frame rate), and gesture control, so the automatic subject tracking can be initiated by a hand gesture or the 'peace' sign.

This comes under the heading of a step from ActiveTrack 6 to ActiveTrack 7 in DJI's linguistics.

In terms of image quality improvements, there are a number of changes, including in-camera AI Beauty effects which can tweak the subject's skin smoothness – this kind of feature has proven very popular with vloggers in my reviews of the best webcams.

The new design adds two new physical buttons, tucked behind the touchscreen until it is rotated to switch on the device. One allows switching between zoom presets (1x, 2x, 4x) and the other is a customisable button.

A significant change that is less obvious – because there is still a MicroSD card slot – is that the Pocket 4 boasts 107Gb of on-board storage for video or images. These can be transferred at up to 800MB/s to an attached computer via USB-C, or wirelessly to the DJI Mimo app.

Stills photo resolution is also 33MP rather than the previous 7MP. In addition, the accessory range now includes an attachable fill light as well as a battery handle.

The Osmo Pocket 4 Standard Combo goes on sale for £445 / €499 today (though officially will not ship until April 22), while the upgraded Creator Combo (including the same plus a wide-angle lens, Mic 3 transmitter & charger, mini tripod and a carrying bag (as well as the carrying pouch).