00:00Should you buy or skip the DJI Osmo Action 5 Pro? I mean, they've added Pro to the name,
00:07so it's got to be good this year, right? Well, this $349 Action 5 isn't as big of an upgrade
00:12as the Action 4 was to the 3, sticking with the same max 4K 120 or 1080p 240, but this year's
00:19model gets a slightly upgraded sensor offering 13.5 stops of dynamic range, and it now shoots
00:2540MP stills, as well as, and this is a big one, a more efficient processor for longer runtime.
00:31Not to mention, it now also has 48GB of internal storage, giving you about 80 minutes, 4K 60fps video,
00:38as well as a few other upgrades, which we'll get into. The Action 5 is undercutting most of the
00:42competition, including the GoPro Hero 13 Black and the Insta360 8 Pro by about $50, so here's
00:48everything you need to know before picking one up. That's a little steep. The first reason you should
00:53get the Osmo Action 5 Pro is that it uses a new 1950mAh battery, which also, as well as a more
01:03efficient 4nm image processor that gives it better battery life, actually the best battery life of
01:09any action camera, period. DJI now says you can get 4 hours of continuous recording, but that's at
01:151080p 30, which honestly I'm never touching because, ew. Disgusting! 4K is really nice, and I don't really
01:20need 4 hour long clips, but it's there if you need it. That said, 4K 60, I get about 120 minutes
01:26outdoors, and when you drop that down to 4K 30, it'll extend by another 30 minutes. And so with a
01:31mix of shorter 2 to 5 minute long and a few 10 to 15 minute long clips, I was able to record all day
01:37without charging it up. And so if you want an action camera that lasts the longest on a single charge,
01:42the Action 5 is king.
01:43The DJI Action Series has always stood out to me as the action camera to get because they
01:49prioritize video quality a lot more than the competition, in my opinion. You can quickly switch
01:54between multiple angles, from their extreme wide 9mm equivalent to 15mm with distortion correction and
02:01stabilization applied. You can also record in either 16x9 widescreen or 4x3 aspect ratio, which is helpful
02:08if you want to get both a widescreen and vertical crop from the same video clip without shooting
02:13natively wide or vertical. But more importantly, you've got three color profiles to choose from,
02:18standard, HDR, HLG, and D-Log M, the latter being what I almost entirely always shoot on.
02:24Because of its larger sensor, which we first saw on the Action 4, unlike most other action cameras,
02:30the Action 5 continues to be half decent in low light, especially when you shoot in that 10-bit
02:35D-Log M profile, and apply a little bit of noise reduction. Although its fixed depth of field won't
02:41trick you into thinking that this is a small pocket camera, and definitely not a DSLR, but it still
02:47offers incredible dynamic range, and lots of room to color grade, and it also matches really well to
02:52DJI's other cameras like the Osmo Pocket 3, which, if you've seen any of my recent videos, you know I use
02:58quite a bit. The Osmo Action 5 Pro includes a front and rear color display, both with touch support.
03:04The square front display is pretty small, measuring just 1.5 inches diagonally, but it has 800 nits of
03:10brightness, so it's easy to see outdoors. You can get all your functions really easily, it's pretty
03:14good. But new for this year, they're packing an even larger rear display, which is now 2.5 inches
03:19diagonally. The screen's also very bright, up to 1,000 nits, and it supports, again, those touch and
03:25swipe gestures as well. The screen is much better than the smaller and dimmer options that you'll see
03:30on the GoPro Hero 12 and even the Hero 13 Black cameras. Especially as a solo content creator,
03:37having these two really large, bright screens that you can easily switch between is great for reviewing
03:42your footage or just making sure your framing looks right. I think another strong point with
03:46the Osmo Action 5 is its connectivity. It has the one USB-C port, which is for charging and data
03:51transfer, and you can actually use this as a webcam when connected to a computer if you want. And even
03:56though this doesn't have a microphone port, you can either use a 3.5 millimeter adapter to connect
04:00a wired mic if you'd like. But even cooler, just like with the Osmo Pocket 3, the Action 5 can directly
04:07connect to the DJI Wireless Mic 2 via Bluetooth, which for 90% of my audio, including making this
04:12video right here, is my go-to choice because of how easy and quick it is to set up. Not to mention,
04:18the audio quality is really good too. So just like with the picture modes, if you already own other DJI
04:23cameras, being in that ecosystem really pays off here because you can use that same hardware for
04:29a really awesome setup. And new for this year, the Action 5 also extends its waterproof rating by an
04:35extra two meters, now totaling 20 meters, without even having a diving case. But what's even better
04:41is they now have a built-in pressure gauge to record and display water depth, altitude, and other data
04:46in real time to give your footage more context and make it feel a little bit more dynamic. In my experience,
04:52it's 4K is plenty of resolution, especially for an action camera. That being said, those who like to
04:58maybe reframe and crop or digitally add movement to their footage a little bit more might find the
05:04extra resolution offered by rivals like the new GoPro Hero 13 Black or the Insta360 Ace Pro to be an omission
05:11here with the Action 5. It's worth noting that this would obviously take a hit to the battery life, not to
05:16mention result in larger file sizes, but yeah, I'm never gonna say no to more resolution if it doesn't
05:22sacrifice image quality because sometimes it could be nice to have that little extra room for editing.
05:28Just like with the Action 4, I think the Action 5 Pro is incredibly reliable and does everything it does
05:33exceptionally well. That being said, it's been a few years since we've really seen anything
05:37dramatically innovative with this lineup. The one easy area that I think DJI should at least try to
05:43explore is offering similar GoPro style lens mods. The ability to add a macro anamorphic or extra wide
05:49angle lens to quickly change the look of your footage or even just quickly swap on an ND filter for
05:55better control over your lighting helps make that GoPro Hero 13 helps make the new GoPro Hero 13 more of
06:04an all-in-one camera that can adapt and help you be a little bit more creative with your shots. I wouldn't
06:09be surprised if DJI is working on something like this behind the scenes, but for now, the Osmo Action
06:14Series hasn't introduced its own niche yet. So tied in with that last point, I think if you've already
06:20got an Action 4, you probably won't see a huge need to upgrade to the Action 5 Pro. With basically the
06:27same sensor, I don't think you're gonna see much of a difference in video quality. Maybe if you're taking a
06:32lot of photos with this, the new 40 megapixel sensor might be enticing, though I don't really think anyone's
06:38primarily buying one of these as a photo taking device, you're probably better off just investing
06:42in a small pocket camera. Now the built-in storage, the bigger rear display and the improved battery
06:48life are definitely great, but if you weren't concerned with them on the 4 and you thought
06:51it was good enough, I don't think this is reason enough to upgrade again. To that point, if you haven't
06:55bought either and you're trying to decide between the two, I think that's an interesting question.
06:59You can't really go wrong with either. I think the $249 price for last year's Action 4 is a great deal,
07:05while spending the extra $100 premium to get the Action 5 Pro might be also a great investment for
07:11a lot of creators if you're going to be taking advantage of those new improvements features.
07:16So buy or skip, the DJI Osmo Action 5 is the standout choice for creators like me who are already
07:22heavily invested in DJI's other camera gear. From matching the color profile to my other DJI cameras,
07:28to pairing and using the mics between them, there's a lot of added value to an already very affordable and
07:34competitively priced action camera. And while I personally don't get to use these action cameras
07:38as much as I like anymore, when it comes to shooting action content, DJI continues to be my top choice
07:44just because of those aforementioned conveniences combined with its excellent video quality,
07:49even in low light. Not to mention, of course, its battery life will keep you rolling for hours long.
07:53It might not be the most exciting or fun action camera to use this year, but it maintains its notoriety
07:59for being reliable day in and day out. But let me know what you think. You can find us everywhere
08:04at Tom's Guide, and you can follow me to see what I'm reviewing next. Thanks for watching, I'll catch you in the next one.
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