Chinese tech conglomerate DJI is continuing a torrid summer for new product releases with another announcement: the DJI Osmo Mobile 3. The third-gen handheld smartphone stabilizer has several new features, but the biggest is that the Osmo Mobile 3 folds up for easier packing.
The Osmo Mobile 3 costs $119 and is on sale starting today. DJI is also selling a combo pack that includes a tripod and carrying case for $139.
Overall, the Osmo Mobile 3 is shorter and smaller than its predecessors, meaning it should be easier to hold for longer periods of time. But DJI didn’t cut corners or skimp on features to make this happen. In fact, it even brought back the trigger button from the first-generation Osmo Mobile.
The company says the controls have been streamlined so the new Osmo Mobile is easier to use one-handed, and the folding design has also opened up access to ports that can charge the user’s phone or allow them to hook up an external microphone. The Osmo Mobile 3 has roughly the same 15-hour battery life as its predecessor, though it now charges via USB-C.
Not being able to easily pack away the Osmo Mobile was a common complaint with the first two generations of the product. DJI also says users complained that it wasn’t easy enough to quickly switch the smartphone’s orientation from portrait to landscape (or vice versa). That has been fixed with the Osmo Mobile 3. Users can now just tap the “mode” button three times, and the gimbal will rotate the smartphone automatically.
Just like it did with the Ronin SC gimbal and the RoboMaster S1 toy tank earlier this year, DJI is taking some of the smart features it developed for its drones and bringing them to the Osmo Mobile 3 via the Mimo app. The headliner is Active Track, DJI’s computer vision tracking system. There are also options like time-lapse, hyperlapse, panorama, gesture control, and a “story mode” that automatically edits footage together for beginners.
DJI is best known for its flying drones, but it’s been a while since the company released a new product in that category. Instead, DJI has spent most of 2019 broadening its portfolio and iterating on other popular products. The Ronin SC is a more refined, portable, and affordable gimbal for mirrorless cameras. The Osmo Action is a legitimate GoPro competitor, despite being DJI’s first entry into the category. The company released a new set of FPV goggles and a tiny camera tailored for drone racers and filmers, as well as the more educational-focused RoboMaster S1. The Osmo Mobile 3 is just the latest example of the Chinese company’s growing consumer product prowess.
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Comments
Each of those prices is $20 too high: https://m.dji.com/product/osmo-mobile-3?site=brandsite&from=buy_now_bar&vid=83721
By Stormageddons on 08.13.19 9:06am
Name recognition is always marketable. DJI is building quite a reputation for itself. People probably wont mind $20 more when the competition has none, and they keep producing products people rave about.
By Tinfoil Cowboy on 08.13.19 9:30am
OP is saying that the article is incorrect, the base model is $99 and the combo is $119 (See link), bargain!
By Matthew Birch on 08.13.19 9:34am
Aye? I’m seeing osmo mobile 3 for $119 and combo for $139
By llort on 08.13.19 10:09am
DJI has regional pricing, and the website’s price will change based on your region! As USA is affluent DJI charges US customers the highest price. I went through a similar confusing experience with the Ronin SC launch as well.
By yslee on 08.13.19 11:46am
Hahh. What market is it that I can get a $100 osmo 3?
By llort on 08.13.19 12:07pm
You’re not in the USA, that’s why. DJI has regional pricing.
By yslee on 08.13.19 11:46am
What I want to know is can you use external lenses with your phone and can you balance the gimbal? The Mobile 2 would never balance correctly and the gimbal would often just give up in the in the middle of the shot and flop over like a wet noodle. The Mobile 1 was slightly better due to the sturdy construction and the different arm placement. I’m also wondering if they fixed the awful problem of the gimbal arm showing up in your shots as you pan? Especially if you’re using a wide angle or anamorphic lens, you’ll see the gimbal arm in your shots.
By Vaughanabe13 on 08.13.19 9:23am
Yep!
"Best of all the Osmo Mobile 3 doesn’t need a counterweight to shoot with our lenses. The stronger motor and smarter software just works out of the box." – from Moment’s website.
By IntergalacticIguana on 08.13.19 9:48am
Matti Haapoja over on Youtube was using an anamorphic (Moment) lens with no counterweight since the phone can just slide further right; basically using the phone as a counterweight. Granted this is for a regular phone because on another video I watched, apparently bigger phones will hit the motor when panning high up.
By dizzysEat on 08.13.19 10:11am
The fact that its available in black vs the ugly gray of the previous gen makes it very droolworthy indeed. (and all the other things)
By llort on 08.13.19 10:01am
I stand corrected. Looks like its still only ugly gray.
By llort on 08.13.19 10:10am
I guess I don’t understand why the color matters. It won’t be in the video.
By Evo5150 on 08.13.19 10:12am
I just want a black option
By llort on 08.13.19 12:08pm
I have an Osmo Mobile 2 and I rarely use it because of its size, may have to look into one of these.
By DFrance on 08.13.19 10:01am
Nothing gives me more of a tech boner than hearing the words "charges with USB-C"
By Supraman21 on 08.13.19 10:47am
Curious, are the features (ActiveTrack 3.0, Hyperlapse, Gesture Control, and Quick Roll) performed by the hardware or depended on an app on the software OS?
By xlerate on 08.13.19 1:14pm
Most definitely in the DJI Go app.
By 4ndrew on 08.13.19 1:48pm
DJI’s biggest con is its abysmal customer service and product support. Lots of horror stories about them. Ronin S users are complaining about the lack of update for a <1 year old product.
By OpssYourBad on 08.13.19 2:06pm
The use of the word torrid here seems off.
By veritas2884 on 08.13.19 3:00pm
I’ve been looking for a good solution for some live streaming on the go. Does anyone know if you have to use their app to get the most out of this? Does their app support live streaming to Facebook, YouTube, etc.?
By c4jones2 on 08.13.19 4:07pm
It’s astonishing how much the price has dropped since the first version. I bought mine for just under £300 and the Apple store was the only place you could buy it in the UK, at least when I bought mine. I’m very tempted to pick this up.
By EddieRiggs on 08.14.19 2:34am
Waiting to see what Zhiyun comes out with to compete with the Osmo Mobile 3 (perhaps a new Smooth 4 or SmoothQ2). I wish DJI Osmo Mobile 3 would have near 360 rotation and give the user an option to rotate the rear camera forward facing the user and rotate it back via a triple tap on the "M" button. Since the prices had come down, I imagine that we’ll see these everywhere soon… effectively, the new "selfie sticks"… and inevitably, the newly banned devices in museums and other similar venues.
By tsizzles on 08.22.19 4:04pm