DJI’s new Osmo Action 5 Pro is here to compete with the new GoPro Hero 13 Black. The company’s latest action camera is smaller and lighter, has 47GB of built-in storage, and battery life that GoPro owners dare not even dream of.
Add a new higher-resolution image sensor, improved low-light capabilities, subject tracking, and out-of-the-box support for the DJI Mic 2 wireless microphone, and you have a camera that’s not just capable of taking that photo. but it has the battery life to keep shooting long after the competition is over.
go longer
The Osmo Action 5 Pro stands out from the rest of the action camera market for its battery life. It can shoot for over two hours at 4K resolution and 60 frames per second, which is by far the longest runtime of any action camera I’ve tested (and I’ve tested many). I mention this first because something that often gets lost in reviews and spec comparisons is the simple fact that any footage is better than no footage.
Photography: Scott Gilbertson
To give a concrete example, I don’t love the color rendering of the Osmo Action 5 Pro in 10-bit Normal color mode, but I’ll accept it without any footage, which is what the GoPro Hero 13 would give me. after the record mark of 1 hour and 45 minutes, when the battery ran out and the camera turned off. Battery life is important, and for action cameras, since everything else (sensors, stabilization, ergonomics) can be so similar, it might be the most important factor in getting the photos you want.
The design of the Osmo camera has not changed: the body has a light texture, which makes it easier to hold, and it remains the same size, retaining the magnetic mounting system. (I’ve always liked that the Action series cage allows for both vertical and horizontal mounting.) While I don’t have any accessories other than some neutral density (ND) filters, anything that fits your Action 4 should still work. with the Action 5. And the larger capacity battery? It is compatible with previous versions of Action 4.