Specs and Key Features

Dimensions: 295x113x72mm

Weight: 485g

Charging Time: 2.5 hrs

Operating Time: 15 hrs

Price: $169.99 CAD

What is the DJI Osmo Mobile 2?

Ever tried to shoot a video on your smartphone and ended up with a shaky mess of footage? The DJI Osmo Mobile 2 is the answer to all your shaky footage prayers. The motorized 3-axis gimbal smooths out footage giving it a much more polished and professional look. This is the second smartphone gimbal that DJI has come out with and the price point is half of what the original Osmo Mobile was – the first Osmo was $399.99 CAD, while the current version is only $169.99 CAD. The reduced price tag was the main reason I decided to pick this up and try it out for myself.

For me, the big selling features of the Osmo is the affordable price point and how easy it is to travel with it. I hadn’t purchased the previous version of the Osmo Mobile, because I wasn’t keen on paying $400 for a stabilizer for my smartphone (which is not my main shooting camera) when I easily could’ve spent $400 on a different piece of equipment for my DSLR (which is my main shooting camera). The Osmo Mobile 2 also comes with a really handy hard-shell carrying case that easily fits in my backpack and kept the Osmo well protected.

The Osmo Mobile 2 is really light and comfortable to hold for long periods of time. The buttons on the controller are simple and placed well so it’s not awkward to use the joystick to pan or adjust the camera’s zoom using the zoom rocker. When you first download the DJI app and link it to your Osmo Mobile 2, the app will walk you through the different controls on the remote and how to use the Osmo to get the best footage possible.

I’ll admit there is a bit of a learning curve with it. The Osmo will shoot smooth and stabilize footage regardless of if you know what you’re doing, but getting it to point in the right direction takes a little bit of practice. There is a joystick on the Osmo that lets you pan up and down or from side to side; you can also adjust the speed of your pants via the DJI app to make them slower for a more cinematic look or speed them up. The app also lets you choose between Walk and Sport modes, adjusting the looseness of the gimbal accordingly. I had some trouble getting used to the Active Track feature so I didn’t use it much. Every time I tried to enter Active Track mode the gimbal just spun out of control, so I eventually gave up and decided to revisit it another time. The Active Track is a neat feature, but by no means necessary, so I wasn’t too bothered by its lack of cooperation.

I was also super impressed with the battery quality of the Osmo Mobile 2. It does take a little bit of time to charge, but it’s not that big of a deal if you remember to charge it overnight. The battery on the Osmo Mobile 2 lasted me an entire day and I even used the handy USB port on it to charge my iPhone for a bit because undoubtedly your phone battery will die before the Osmo does.

The only things that I wasn’t crazy about with the Osmo 2 Mobile were that you couldn’t shoot in 4k within the DJI app and it’s tricky to switch between portrait and landscape mode, because you actually have to manually remove your phone from the springs and rotate it. However, while you can’t shoot in 4k within the DJI app, the Osmo Mobile 2 will still work if shooting in your smartphone’s native camera app, which I appreciated.

Now, I don’t want to bore you with much more blabbing about the Osmo Mobile 2, so I’ll just say that if you’re looking to step up your video content game on a budget, you need this in your life. The price point is perfect for those just starting out and you’ll be surprised by the quality of footage you’re able to capture just from your smartphone. This is perfect for the casual vlogger or the up and coming filmmaker.

I’ll let this video do the rest of the talking now; I shot this using the Osmo Mobile 2 with my iPhone X for the very first time. I shot only within the DJI app, so it was shot at 1080 in 60 fps.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HI4j6tLPaog[/embedyt]