Mobile journalists, or Mojos for short, probably got the gimbal they’ve been looking for today – the Osmo Mobile. DJI aren’t the first to make a gimbal for smartphones (iKan and Feiyutech have produced them too), but the Osmo line is very refined (and light, thanks to the good use of plastics) so the news bodes well for shooters looking to increase the production value of their iPhone packages or stabilise Periscope and Facebook Live broadcasts.
The model has DJI’s firmware knowhow. They’ve gone further than any other gimbal company in making consumer stabilisation accessible. Everything is controlled by an app that’s pretty bulletproof.
As someone pointed out, the problem with all these smartphone gimbals is that plugging in a mic to your phone might be tricky; you end up with a cable dangling out of the gimbal that can get caught or unbalance the setup. If Apple do get rid of the mic/headphones jack you’ll end up with an even chunkier cable from your next smartphone which might end up unbalancing the whole thing. That might make you consider using a regular Osmo X3 instead, and you can already stream from the Osmo to your mobile. But if you’re trying to do work on the cheap, or you’re not worried about the audio, this should do the trick. (Incidentally, the regular Osmo makes some noise; this should be quieter, which could be an advantage).
Bear in mind the lens on an iPhone isn’t that wide compared to the regular Osmo lens; there are great wide-angled lenses solutions for smartphones, but it’s not clear how well this will manage the weight distribution when those are added. That will need testing.
Like the other Osmos it’s a three-axis gimbal. DJI’s ActiveTrack function allows users to simply tap the screen to indicate their chosen subject and the gimbal and phone will attempt to follow it. Having not seen it yet, it’s hard to know how well this will work in its smartphone iteration, but I suspect it will be reasonably good – which could be very useful for reporters wanting to do stand ups, walk around the scene or introduce things.
Just as on previous Osmos, the trigger control allows you to flip between different modes. One neat feature is that it will also let you toggle between the phone’s front and rear cameras (this should, for example, allow you to record both you asking a question and your interviewee’s reply). Let’s hope the iPhone 7 has a higher resolution front camera to make this feature really fly. Camera settings, such as ISO, shutter speed and white balance are reachable directly onscreen.
The price point, well below that of the regular version, makes it very accessible. I can imagine vloggers taking it up in droves. DJI has said they want to make stabilisation available to the masses; you can see this being the item that makes that happen. But it could still be that the take-up is still primarily with the pros – with the BBC or CNN snapping them up – instead of it hitting the consumer market in the way that GoPro has done.
The downside? Your producer, your reporter, even your intern might just end up with a more stable shot than you on occasion.
DJI say the Osmo Mobile is compatible with most recent smartphone models, including the iPhone 5, iPhone 6, iPhone 6s Plus, the Samsung Galaxy S7 and Huawei Mate 8. It should accommodate any Android or iOS smartphone with a width between 2.31 and 3.34 inches.
This from DJI:
Key features of the Osmo Mobile include:
Three-axis stabilization
Intelligent SmoothTrack
User-friendly DJI GO App with powerful functions (including ActiveTrack, Motion Time lapse, Live Stream, Panorama, Long Exposure, Camera Settings)
Trigger control (double-tap for re-center, triple-tap to change between front and rear-end camera, long press for locking gimbal direction)
Different operation modes (Standard, Portrait, Flashlight and Underslung)
Bluetooth connection
3.5 mm Charging/Upgrade Port
It is compatible with DJI Osmo accessories.
The Osmo Mobile’s EU retail price is 339€. Units are available for order and shipment on September 1, 2016.
For more information about the Osmo Mobile, please visit the DJI website.
