Last year, DJI introduced the Osmo – a motor-stabilized rig that smooths out the shakes in handheld video footage. However, while the device incorporates a 4K camera adapted from the company's line of drones, the fact is that most people use smartphones to shoot their videos. It was with this in mind that DJI just unveiled the phone-friendly Osmo Mobile.
Announced this week at the IFA electronics show in Berlin, the Mobile works much like its predecessor, with the exception that it utilizes the user's own Bluetooth-connected Apple or Android smartphone instead of a DJI-supplied drone camera.
First and foremost, it still uses a 3-axis gimbal to compensate for jitters when shooting handheld video. This also allows for non-blurry long-exposure still images, without the use of a tripod. The Mobile can additionally capture motion time lapse footage (where the camera pans or tilts as it's shooting time lapse), along with panoramic stills.
A variety of functions – such as record start/stop, motorized pan/tilt, or manual white balance, ISO and shutter – can be controlled using physical buttons on the joystick. Additional functionality, however, is possible via the DJI Go app. Utilizing the app's ActiveTrack mode, for instance, users can tap on a moving subject on the phone's screen, after which the Mobile will automatically adjust the shot to keep that subject centered.
One 3-hour charge of the removable battery should be good for 4.5 hours of use.
The Osmo Mobile is available as of Sept. 1st, priced at US$299. Footage shot using it can be seen in the following video.
Source: DJI
