The DJI Osmo Action 3 has more to offer than just easy mounting. Its field of view is wider than that of the GoPro Hero 11 Black. It is waterproof up to 16m, can be submerged 6m deeper, and costs less than the competition. It’s also a value champ, shipping with three extra batteries, multiple mounts, and an extending grip in an excellent Adventure Combo for less money than the standard GoPro Hero 11 Black.
When it comes to shooting modes and image quality, GoPro’s Hero 11 Black outperforms the DJI Osmo Action 3, and while DJI has some wins, it also fails to outperform its pricier competition with its videos or photos.
The DJI Osmo Action 3 is a compelling option despite costing less than its main competition and featuring some clear highlights, our favorite being the quick swap mounting system. While we miss the modular design of Action 2, you can’t deny that Action 3 is a much more practical package.
Design
The DJI Osmo Action 3 combines the guts of the Action 2 with the styling of the original Action, but it also includes a few unique updates of its own. At first glance, the body appears to be a generic action camera. There’s a removable lens and a front touchscreen on the front, a larger touchscreen around the back, and sliding doors to the left and right that cover the USB-C port on one side and the battery and SD card slot on the other.
The Action 3 comes with a magnetic mounting connector for landscape mounting, as well as a Horizontal-Vertical Protective Frame that wraps around the camera to enable tall, TikTok-ready portrait mounting.
DJI has done an excellent job of making the Osmo Action 3 feel sturdy, though the lens frame does protrude slightly around the sides of the camera. This could catch in the middle of the action, making it a potential weakness compared to the GoPro Hero line, which has lenses that are flush with the top and sides of the camera.
If the camera falls, the protruding lens could be a high-impact point, potentially damaging the glass. DJI includes a rubber element around the lens to reduce the possibility of damage. It is, however, simple to remove and simple to misplace, so keep that in mind. On the plus side, unlike the Action 2, the lens on the Action 3 is removable, so it can be replaced if damaged.
The inclusion of a front touchscreen on the Action 3 by DJI should not be overlooked. Front displays on action cameras were previously only used for framing up shots, but now you can control all of the camera’s features with your digits while vlogging without having to turn it around.
While the front touch display is small at 1.4 inches, the main screen is much larger at 2.25 inches. Both screens are plenty sharp, with a pixel density of 326PPI, and they also get nice and bright for easy outdoor viewing.
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Performance
If you have used the DJI Action 2, you will be familiar with the Osmo Action 3. When it comes to photos and videos, the cameras have the same features. That means the Action 3 isn’t the best in class, trailing both this year’s GoPro Hero 11 Black and last year’s Hero 10 Black in terms of performance. That’s not to say the video captured by Action 3 isn’t good.
You can shoot good-looking, sharp footage from the Action 3 at up to 4K resolution in well-lit environments. If you primarily shoot vlogging-style content and don’t require a super-wide 155o FOV, a less expansive action camera would be a better choice. When exposing a scene, the Action 3 does not prioritize faces, and it also misses out on detail picked up by competing cameras like the GoPro Hero 10 and 11.
DJI makes it more difficult to expose the image for all the elements in-frame by putting more in-frame with its wider 155o FOV. When vlogging, Action 3 has to contend with a lot of skies and, on the other end of the exposure spectrum, dark foreground and background elements in the bottom half of the scene, as seen in the sample above. With its limited dynamic range and inability to prioritize faces by default, Action 3 falls short of the mark for vlogging.
When you change the lens to one with a narrower field of view, the detail suffers and the camera continues to underexpose faces. For vloggers, we’d definitely recommend the GoPro Hero 10 or 11 Black with a Media Mod if you know you’ll be shooting outside in unpredictable conditions.
Horizon leveling, a feature introduced in Action 2, is also shown in the above video. This keeps your footage looking steady, compensating for tilts of up to 45 degrees at 4K resolution and handling 360-degree rotation at 2.7K without even a slight sway.
The Action 3’s horizon leveling would have been extremely competitive if the Hero 11 Black hadn’t been announced, but now that GoPro’s latest action camera ups the ante with its higher-resolution 5.3K 360-degree leveling, DJI’s implementation loses some of its lusters. It also performs poorly in dimly lit scenes, with tilts visible as judders in the footage. Given that the Action 3 undercuts the competition, it’s still an excellent feature for the camera’s price.
The DJI Osmo Action 3’s additional shooting modes are exactly what you’d expect from an action camera. Above is an example of a time-lapse video that looks good. The example also conveys the style in which Action 3 captures content. Although enjoyable, the dynamic range and detail are limited in comparison to some of the competition.
In terms of audio quality, the DJI Osmo Action 3 captures clear sound from its three microphones, effectively canceling out background and wind noise. When vlogging, we actually prefer the quality of its audio over the GoPro Hero 11 Black, especially if you’re out and about. If you have an excellent wireless DJI Mic, you can easily improve your audio quality by plugging the receiver directly into the side of the Osmo Action 3.
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DJI Osmo Action 3 features
The DJI Osmo Action 3 retains the same interface as the Action 2 – it was smooth and stable last year, and it is now. Large, finger-friendly icons make interaction easy, and the menu system is straightforward.
Where the DJI Action 2 fell short was in heat management. Its small size and exposed metal design resulted in uncomfortably hot temperatures even after short bursts of high-resolution recording. This time, however, DJI has made significant improvements.
The Action 3 can record for longer periods of time without overheating than the Action 2, shooting a 16-minute 30-second 4K clip at 60fps before stopping recording. Even when it overheated, the camera didn’t get too hot to the touch. This does not outperform the new GoPro Hero 11 Black, which records at the same resolution and frame rate for more than 10 minutes longer, but it is a significant improvement over the Action 2.
The GoPro Hero11 Black has more software flourishes than the Action 3, especially when it comes to photography. There isn’t even a night mode, so your smartphone’s ultra-wide angle lens will almost certainly capture a better low-light photo than DJI’s camera. With computational photography has advanced so far in recent years, and GoPro clearly paying attention, the Action 3’s poor photo capture – particularly in difficult scenes – is a significant drawback.
DJI does have an advantage in one area, however: its app, DJI Mimo. DJI’s app, like GoPro Quick, provides big-screen control over modes as well as a live preview of whatever you’re shooting. During our time with the camera, we found DJI Mimo to be more reliable than GoPro Quick – it doesn’t try to do as much, but it delivers a more stable connection with lower latency.
DJI’s interface is highly customizable. To begin, you can save up to five custom profiles to quickly switch between customized shooting modes. These modes can also be added to your Quick Switch command, which is activated by a single, short press of the power button.
DJI also makes available a number of Pro features. You can shoot in JPEG or RAW, select a wide or standard field of view, control shutter speed, and ISO, and adjust the white balance when taking photos. In terms of white balance, DJI includes a color sensor under the lens to assist the camera in capturing natural-looking hues.
Pro video capture, like Pro photo, allows users to control white balance, ISO, and shutter speed, but it also includes an extra color profile, D-Cinelike, for flatter tones that allows users to recolor with video editing software.
DJI’s interface is highly customizable. To begin, you can save up to five custom profiles to quickly switch between customized shooting modes. These modes can also be added to your Quick Switch command, which is activated by a single, short press of the power button.
DJI also makes available a number of Pro features. You can shoot in JPEG or RAW, select a wide or standard field of view, control shutter speed, and ISO, and adjust the white balance when taking photos. In terms of white balance, DJI includes a color sensor under the lens to assist the camera in capturing natural-looking hues.
Pro video capture, like Pro photo, allows users to control white balance, ISO, and shutter speed, but it also includes an extra color profile, D-Cinelike, for flatter tones that allows users to recolor with video editing software.
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DJI Osmo Action 3 release date and price
The DJI Osmo Action 3 is now available for $329 in its most basic configuration. DJI has also released the Adventure Combo for $439, which includes the camera, a variety of mounts, three batteries, and a charging cradle, as well as a grip and portrait-orientation mountable housing.
The DJI Osmo Action 3 is now significantly less expensive than the new GoPro Hero 11 Black, which starts at $499 ($399 with a GoPro subscription). Surprisingly, the DJI Osmo Action 3 is also less expensive than the Action 2, which cost $399 at launch. In these difficult economic times, DJI’s decision to create a more value-oriented alternative to the pricey action camera competition may be a wise one.
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