00:00Should you buy or skip the DJI Osmo Action 5 Pro?
00:05I mean, they've added pro to the name,
00:07so it's gotta be good this year, right?
00:09Well, this $349 Action 5 isn't as big of an upgrade
00:12as the Action 4 was to the 3,
00:14sticking with the same max 4K 120 or 1080p 240,
00:18but this year's model gets a slightly upgraded sensor
00:21offering 13.5 stops of dynamic range,
00:24and it now shoots 40 megapixel stills,
00:26as well as, and this is a big one,
00:28a more efficient processor for longer runtime.
00:31Not to mention, it now also has 48 gigabytes
00:33of internal storage, giving you about 80 minutes
00:36of 4K 60 frames per second video,
00:38as well as a few other upgrades, which we'll get into.
00:41The Action 5 is undercutting most of the competition,
00:43including the GoPro Hero 13 Black
00:45and the Insta360 Ace Pro by about $50,
00:47so here's everything you need to know
00:49before picking one up.
00:51That's a little steep.
00:52The first reason you should get the Osmo Action 5 Pro
00:55is that it uses a new 1950 milliamp battery,
00:59which also, which also, as well as a more efficient
01:04four nanometer image processor
01:06that gives it better battery life,
01:08actually, the best battery life
01:09of any action camera, period.
01:11DJI now says you can get four hours of continuous recording,
01:14but that's at 1080p 30,
01:15which, honestly, I'm never touching, because ew.
01:17Disgusting!
01:194K's really nice, and I don't really need
01:21four hour long clips, but it's there if you need it.
01:23That said, 4K 60, I get about 120 minutes outdoors,
01:26and when you drop that down to 4K 30,
01:28it'll extend by another 30 minutes.
01:31And so, with a mix of shorter, two to five minute long,
01:33and a few 10 to 15 minute long clips,
01:35I was able to record all day without charging it up.
01:38And so, if you want an action camera
01:40that lasts the longest on a single charge,
01:42the Action 5 is king.
01:43The DJI Action series has always stood out to me
01:46as the action camera to get,
01:48because they prioritize video quality a lot more
01:51than the competition, in my opinion.
01:53You can quickly switch between multiple angles,
01:55from their extreme wide nine millimeter equivalent
01:58to 15 millimeter, with distortion correction
02:00and stabilization applied.
02:02You can also record in either 16 by nine widescreen
02:05or four by three aspect ratio, which is helpful
02:08if you wanna get both a widescreen and vertical crop
02:11from the same video clip
02:12without shooting natively wide or vertical.
02:15But more importantly, you've got three color profiles
02:17to choose from, standard, HDR, HLG, and D-Log M.
02:21The latter being what I almost entirely always shoot on.
02:24Because of its larger sensor,
02:25which we first saw on the Action 4,
02:27unlike most other action cameras,
02:30the Action 5 continues to be half decent and low light,
02:33especially when you shoot in that 10 bit D-Log M profile
02:37and apply a little bit of noise reduction.
02:39Although it's fixed depth of field
02:41won't trick you into thinking
02:42that this is a small pocket camera
02:44and definitely not a DSLR,
02:46but it still offers incredible dynamic range
02:49and lots of room to color grade.
02:50And it also matches really well to DJI's other cameras
02:53like the Osmo Pocket 3,
02:55which if you've seen any of my recent videos,
02:58you know I use quite a bit.
02:59The Osmo Action 5 Pro includes a front
03:02and rear color display, both with touch support.
03:05The square front display is pretty small,
03:06measuring just 1.5 inches diagonally,
03:09but it has 800 nits of brightness
03:10so it's easy to see outdoors.
03:12You can get all your functions really easily.
03:14It's pretty good.
03:15But new for this year,
03:16they're packing an even larger rear display,
03:18which is now 2.5 inches diagonally.
03:20The screen's also very bright, up to 1,000 nits,
03:23and it supports, again,
03:24those touch and swipe gestures as well.
03:27The screen is much better than the smaller
03:29and dimmer options that you'll see on the GoPro Hero 12
03:33and even the Hero 13 Black cameras.
03:35And especially as a solo content creator,
03:37having these two really large, bright screens
03:39that you can easily switch between
03:41is great for reviewing your footage
03:43or just making sure your framing looks right.
03:45I think another strong point with the Osmo Action 5
03:47is its connectivity.
03:48It has the one USB-C port,
03:50which is for charging and data transfer,
03:52and you can actually use this as a webcam
03:54when connected to a computer if you want.
03:56And even though this doesn't have a microphone port,
03:58you can either use a 3.5 millimeter adapter
04:00to connect a wired mic if you'd like,
04:02but even cooler, just like with the Osmo Pocket 3,
04:05the Action 5 can directly connect
04:07to the DJI Wireless Mic 2 via Bluetooth,
04:10which for 90% of my audio,
04:12including making this video right here,
04:14is my go-to choice because of how easy and quick
04:16it is to set up, not to mention the audio quality
04:19is really good too.
04:20So just like with the picture modes,
04:21if you already own other DJI cameras,
04:24being in that ecosystem really pays off here
04:26because you can use that same hardware
04:29for a really awesome setup.
04:31And new for this year, the Action 5 also extends
04:33its waterproof rating by an extra two meters,
04:36now totaling 20 meters, without even having a diving case.
04:40But what's even better is they now have
04:42a built-in pressure gauge to record
04:44and display water depth, altitude,
04:46and other data in real time to give your footage
04:48more context and make it feel a little bit more dynamic.
04:52In my experience, 4K is plenty of resolution,
04:54especially for an action camera.
04:56That being said, those who like to maybe reframe
04:59and crop or digitally add movement to their footage
05:02a little bit more might find the extra resolution
05:05offered by rivals like the new GoPro HERO 13 Black
05:08or the Insta360 Ace Pro to be an omission here
05:12with the Action 5.
05:13It's worth noting that this would obviously
05:15take a hit to the battery life,
05:16not to mention result in larger file sizes,
05:19but yeah, I'm never gonna say no to more resolution
05:22if it doesn't sacrifice image quality
05:24because sometimes it could be nice
05:26to have that little extra room for editing.
05:28Just like with the Action 4,
05:29I think the Action 5 Pro is incredibly reliable
05:32and does everything it does exceptionally well.
05:34That being said, it's been a few years
05:36since we've really seen anything dramatically innovative
05:39with this lineup.
05:40The one easy area that I think DJI
05:42should at least try to explore
05:43is offering similar GoPro style lens mods.
05:46The ability to add a macro anamorphic
05:49or extra wide angle lens
05:50to quickly change the look of your footage
05:52or even just quickly swap on an ND filter
05:55for better control over your lighting
05:57helps make that GoPro HERO 13,
06:01helps make the new GoPro HERO 13
06:03more of an all-in-one camera that can adapt
06:06and help you be a little bit more creative with your shots.
06:09I wouldn't be surprised if DJI is working on something
06:11like this behind the scenes,
06:12but for now, the Osmo Action series
06:14hasn't introduced its own niche yet.
06:17So tied in with that last point,
06:19I think if you've already got an Action 4,
06:22you probably won't see a huge need
06:24to upgrade to the Action 5 Pro.
06:26With basically the same sensor,
06:28I don't think you're gonna see much of a difference
06:30in video quality.
06:32Maybe if you're taking a lot of photos with this,
06:34the new 40 megapixel sensor might be enticing,
06:36though I don't really think anyone's primarily buying
06:39one of these as a photo taking device.
06:41You're probably better off
06:42just investing in a small pocket camera.
06:44Now, the built-in storage, the bigger rear display
06:47and the improved battery life are definitely great,
06:49but if you weren't concerned with them on the phone
06:51and you thought it was good enough,
06:52I don't think this is reason enough to upgrade again.
06:54To that point, if you haven't bought either
06:56and you're trying to decide between the two,
06:57I think that's an interesting question.
06:59You can't really go wrong with either.
07:01I think the $249 price for last year's Action 4
07:05is a great deal, while spending the extra $100 premium
07:08to get the Action 5 Pro might be also a great investment
07:11for a lot of creators if you're gonna be taking advantage
07:14of those new improvements features.
07:16So, buy or skip.
07:18The DJI Osmo Action 5 is the standout choice for creators
07:21like me who are already heavily invested
07:23in DJI's other camera gear.
07:25From matching the color profile to my other DJI cameras,
07:28to pairing and using the mics between them,
07:31there's a lot of added value to an already very affordable
07:34and competitively priced Action camera.
07:36And while I personally don't get to use
07:38these Action cameras as much as I like anymore,
07:40when it comes to shooting Action content,
07:42DJI continues to be my top choice
07:44just because of those aforementioned conveniences
07:47combined with its excellent video quality,
07:49even in low light, not to mention, of course,
07:51its battery life will keep you rolling for hours long.
07:54It might not be the most exciting or fun Action camera
07:56to use this year, but it maintains its notoriety
07:59for being reliable day in and day out.
08:02But let me know what you think.
08:03You can find us everywhere at Tom's Guide
08:05and you can follow me to see what I'm reviewing next.
08:07Thanks for watching.
08:08I'll catch you in the next one.
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