DJI Osmo Action 4: Our Honest Hands-On Review

Like most travellers, we love filming our adventures around the world, both to keep as personal memories and to share them with family, friends and, of course, our readers.

For quite a time, we travelled with two Fujifilm DSLRs that, while undoubtedly offering amazing resolution, were bulky, heavy and attracted too much attention, which eventually resulted in one of the cameras getting stolen. Ever since we’ve been looking for a more discreet and compact way to record our travel memories other than using our phones, which overall lack a bit in image quality, storage and battery life.

We also wanted an affordable device that was easy to operate, and one that was rugged enough to not break when used in rough conditions.

In this post we’ll go over our experience using the DJI Osmo Action 4, an action cam released in 2023 that we believe fits all the characteristics we were looking for.

We’ll take a look at all of its features, compare its pros and cons and tell you why this is one of the best action cams for travellers.

Let’s get started!

Disclosure: This article contains affiliate links, and as Amazon associates we may get a small commission from qualifying purchases. We believe in only advertising products we trust in and use ourselves!

Design and durability

Weighing only 5 ounces (145 grams) and small enough to fit in the palm of our hand, the DJI Osmo Action 4 is incredibly compact and lightweight.

It’s an amazing choice for light packers like us, and we’ve had absolutely no issue carrying this camera in a sling bag with the rest of our EDC travel gear. The compact size also makes it super discreet when filming in crowded places,  and great to avoid attracting unwanted attention.

In addition to being small and lightweight, the Action 4 is built to as rugged as possible. It’s dust and dirt-proof, and waterproof up to 59 feet (18 meters) without the need to add any accessory. Adding a waterproof case is supposed to make it dive-resistant up to a whopping 196 feet (60 meters) deep, deeper than where even professionals divers usually go.

DJI implemented a useful system to ensure your device is waterproof:

All ports, such as the USB-C plug and the memory card slot, as well as any removable parts have red markers that, while visible, indicate that the device is not waterproof. When they are no longer visible, it means the Action 4 is ready to be submerged.

Still, while it can handle drops and impacts, it’s not indestructible. Both the back and front glass AMOLED displays are the most fragile components and need a screen protector, especially if you’re planning to use the camera to film sports and outdoor activities. The camera lens, on the other hand, comes with a replaceable protection.

Accessories

The Osmo Action 4 is sold in a number of combos, depending on your preference and intended usage.

We went for the Adventure Combo, which adds a 5 foot long (1.5 meters) extension rod and a multifunctional battery case with two additional batteries. The extension rod is extremely high quality, and we even felt safe enough using it to dangle the camera over a cliff. It’s also handy to use as a vlogging stick, or simply to provide you with a more secure grip when filming normally.

The battery case, however, is by far what we’ve been using the most. It allows you to store and charge three batteries simultaneously, and even has two additional slots to keep spare memory cards. What’s more, plugging another device to the case will allow to use the batteries as a combined power bank.

While we’ve been really happy with the Action 4’s battery life and can usually pull at least a combined hour and a half of footage in 4K at 30 FPS, having the peace of mind of being able to switch batteries on the go is great, especially when hiking or travelling over long distances without access to power outlets.

Alternatively, the DJI Osmo Action 4 can be hooked up to a power bank to keep it running, even while filming.

Extension rod included with the DJI Osmo Action 4 Adventure Combo.

Settings and video

It doesn’t really matter if an action cam is rugged, lightweight and comes with nice accessories if it doesn’t deliver great footage.

That’s why we’re super happy to say that so far we’ve been extremely satisfied with the overall performance of the Osmo Pocket 4. It’s a very simple camera to operate and figure out, and the settings are easy to configure even for users who don’t have any in-depth knowledge about cameras.

Image quality is crisp and detailed, but without any heavy post-processing that could make the video look too artificial. However, if you wish for more freedom of expression when colour-grading and editing, the Action 4 also has the option to shoot in dLog. The 1/1.3-inch sensor works very well in low-light conditions and we managed to capture some satisfying footage even at night, although it definitely works best when filming still videos.

Before we started using with the Osmo Pocket 4 on our trips, we did some research and finally settled on the following settings:

• 4K/16:9/30fps with RockSteady enabled

• Pro mode

• Exposure: Auto

• White Balance: AWB

• Color: Normal

• FOV: Standard (Dewarp)

• Image Adjustment: Custom, with -2 sharpness and -1 noise reduction

These settings have been ideal for filming scenes in multiple locations, scenarios and lighting conditions, from overcast mountain forests in Armenia to sunny, crowded medinas in Morocco.

We chose to shoot primarily at 4K/16:9/30fps, as it is for us the best setting to then export in 1080p for social media. With that said, these settings work well for us, we still recommend you experiment yourself to find what best suits your own filming style!

We also tend to use the standard field of view (equivalent to a 15mm lens), as we rarely need to go wider. The only con, even with the standard FOV, is that it causes nearby objects to appear further than what they really are, forcing you to get closer if you want a more detailed shot. This is not an issue with the camera per se, more of a limitation of all wide lenses. There is also a digital zoom function, but we never used it much, as we find it’s not worth the loss in image quality.

We generally leave RockSteady (DJI’s built-in stabilisation) enabled, since the only disadvantage is a small crop of the already large FOV. We used in a variety of situations, such as driving over dirt roads, while running and hiking on mountain trails, and it always provided a smooth footage.

Finally, the Action 4 has optional horizon lock to keep the footage level. We’ve used it from time to time, but have noticed that it works best with a fully unobstructed view of the horizon, as it can get confused by large items in the foreground.

Testing the DJI Osmo Action 4 from the top of Elizabeth Lookout in Budapest, Hungary.

Photography

The DJI Osmo Action 4 is capable of taking photos, but this feature honestly feels a little tacked on.

Don’t get us wrong, you can absolutely take some good shots with the Action 4’s 10 megapixel camera, it’s just easy to tell that it’s not its strong suit. Overall, the photo quality is probably not going to exceed your phone, so we don’t recommend buying the DJI Osmo Action 4 for photography alone.

Exporting footage and video editing

For exporting footage from the camera directly to your phone for quick edits, the main free apps for the Osmo Action 4 are DJI Mimo (their own app) and LightCut, a partner app that is recommended by DJI and that works seamlessly with all their devices.

Now, we both use Android phones and can’t speak for Apple users, but for us the DJI Mimo app is borderline unusable. On top of being confusing, it’s also buggy and sometimes fails entirely to even detect the phone or the camera.

LightCut, on the other hand, is super efficient and easy to use. As with DJI Mimo, you can transfer your clips directly on the app from your camera, allowing you to edit your video and share on the go, without having to fiddle around with cables. It also has a series of free templates that are great for beginners looking to get started with their video editing journey.

Filming with the DJI Osmo Action 4 by the city walls of Essaouira, Morocco.

Pros and cons

Here’s a recap of our the pros and cons of the DJI Osmo Action 4:

Pros:

+ Compact and lightweight design

+ Discreet and won’t attract a lot of attention

+ Out of the box waterproof and dust-proof

+ Rugged build

+ Easy to configure and operate

+ Great battery life

+ Affordable, especially when compared to the competition

+ Large number of accessories and combos

+ Easy to configure and operate

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Cons:

- Glass screens are fragile and need screen protectors

- Low-light performance is fine, but not great

- Digital zoom is not very useful

- Not meant for photography

DJI Osmo Action 4 camera in action.

Is the DJI Osmo Action 4 a good travel camera?

Two years after its release, the DJI Osmo Action 4 is still among the best action cameras ever made.

It has all the features you would want from a travel cam: It’s super lightweight and compact, and is easy to carry around in a pocket or a sling, while the small size makes it discreet and easier to use in crowded places.

And on top of everything it’s surprisingly easy to use and configure, and delivers crisp and satisfying footage that we believe can definitely match some more recent releases. Sure, some models have surpassed it slightly in features such as battery life, performance and overall image quality, but in our eyes the Action 4 still beats them by being the absolute best bang for your buck.

There is simply no other action cam on the market that can deliver what the DJI Osmo Action 4 can for the same price.

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