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Confirming long-standing rumour, DJI has just announced the Osmo 360, the company's first 360-degree camera, and a potentially very large rock lobbed into a pond where Insta360 was the big fish for years.
DJI has made a bit of a habit of disrupting industries in recent years when it chooses to expand beyond its core drone specialisation, launching everything from wireless mics to electric bikes to power stations. And now, with Insta360 just coincidentally announcing its own drone brand, Antigravity, a few days ago, it's taking aim at the 360-degree camera market with the Osmo 360.
It's hitting the ground running too, promising 1-inch 360-degree imaging. The company says the new Osmo 360 is the first 360 camera to shoot 8K/50fps 360° video, and is the only 360 camera that can shoot continuously for 100 minutes in 8K/30fps.
It's claiming another industry-first in that its square HDR image sensor maintains the same 360° image field as a traditional 1-inch rectangular sensor, while eliminating the unused area of traditional rectangular sensors. As well as resulting in what the company says is 'outstanding image quality', that lower power consumption helps result in an ultra-compact, lightweight camera body that weighs just 183 grams / 6.46 oz.
The Osmo 360 is also the first 360 camera to feature native 8K/30fps 360° panoramic video with large 2.4μm pixels. This, DJI reckons, is double the industry standard size of 1.2μm, which should result in the capture of more picture details, less noise, better low-light performance, and higher dynamic range.
Add to that pixel size impressive 13.5 stops of dynamic range and f/1.9 aperture, which significantly increases the amount of light intake, the Osmo 360 captures crisp, vibrant footage - even in low-light settings or high-contrast scenes like sunrise and sunset.
It also supports ultra-high-spec 8K/50fps 360° video, though you're not likely to get 100 minutes out of that. Elsewhere, a single lens mode converts the Osmo 360 into a first-person action camera. This will give you 5K/60fps flat videos with a sweeping 155° ultra-wide angle. Boost Video mode provides an even broader 170° field of view and smooth 4K/120fps video.
An Invisible Selfie Stick vanishes from 360° videos with no editing needed, while those that want to capture split-second details at a high frame rate can boost the unit up to 4K/100fps 360° video. There's also a 4x slow motion mode and you can freeze time down to a single still 360° photo up to 120 megapixels.
It also features some of the tricks you'd expect in a current cutting edge device: Gesture and Voice Control; HorizonSteady and RockSteady; while DJI Mimo’s GyroFrame allows users to adjust the 360° composition using motion control, and intelligent tracking makes it possible to lock onto and track people, vehicles, pets, and more.
Users can also edit videos with DJI Mimo or DJI Studio. DJI Studio offers a full suite of tools, and a very handy Premiere plugin streamlines the workflow to create stunning 360° videos.
In terms of specs and size, it features 105GB of built-in storage. As already mentioned, it can record continuously for 100 minutes at 8K/30fps resolution, and this can be extended for up to another 180 minutes with the Osmo 360 Battery Extension Rod. It recharges to 50% power in an impressively rapid 12 minutes.
Gauntlet down. Now to see if Insta360 can make an equally good job of its forthcoming Antigravity drone...
Price and Availability
The DJI Osmo 360 is available to order from store.dji.com and authorized retail partners, with shipping starting today, in the following configurations:
- Osmo 360 Standard Combo – $549 / £409 / €479
Includes Osmo 360, Osmo Action Extreme Battery Plus, Osmo 360 Protective Pouch, Osmo Lens Cleaning Cloth, USB-C to USB-C PD Cable (USB 3.1), Osmo 360 Rubber Lens Protector.
- Osmo 360 Adventure Combo – $699 / £539 / €629
Includes Osmo 360, Osmo Action Extreme Battery Plus, Osmo Action Multifunctional Battery Case 2, Osmo 360 Protective Pouch, Osmo Lens Cleaning Cloth, USB-C to USB-C PD Cable, Osmo Adjustable Quick Release Adapter Mount, Osmo 1.2m Invisible Selfie Stick, Osmo 360 Rubber Lens Protector.
A range of accessories is sold separately:- Osmo 360 Battery Extension Rod
- Osmo Motorcycle Heavy-Duty Mount
- Osmo Adjustable Quick-Release Adapter Mount
- Osmo 360 Transparent Lens Protectors
- Osmo Hanging Neck Mount Max
- Osmo Third-Person Helmet Mount Kit
- Osmo 70cm Invisible Selfie Stick
- Osmo 1m High-Strength Carbon Fiber Invisible Selfie Stick
- Osmo 1.2m Invisible Selfie Stick Kit
- Osmo 1.6m Tripod Selfie Stick
- Osmo 2.5m Extended Carbon Fiber Selfie Stick
- Osmo Dual Heavy-Duty Clamp
- Osmo Vortex Rotating Handle
- Osmo 360 Carrying Bag
- Osmo Bike Rear Mount Kit
Tags: Production DJI 360-degree cameras
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