DJI Osmo Action 4: Real-world MTB POV Testing

[@ddangerousddave]

Let me know if you have any questions about the DJI Osmo Action 4 or my video setup. As you can see by all the unreleased footage in today's video, there are plenty of riding videos on the way 😉. bit.ly/DJI_Osmo_Action_4

[@mahonryjaen5304]

Do you have a discount code to get one?

[@popcorn32145]

60 FPS far far better. And I feel like the DJI looks WAY better than the Insta360.

[@nufobiketrip]

Oh im so glad you ditched the 360, DJI is the best camera at this moment for mtb.

[@streetpigeonmtb]

Thanks for the video! I film MTB vlogs in Scotland where we have really big issues with low light on the trails. I also did a review for DJI and was so impressed that I ended up selling my GoPros. I think is a wildly, brilliant piece of kit. On another note, the riding and locations in this video are next level! Looking forward to checking out more of your content 😊

[@Kissenger_]

As others have said, 60 frames per second is so much better than 24 or 30. Think about buying more batteries and cards if you can afford them. I'll enjoy your videos a lot more

[@ddangerousddave]

Interesting. I have videos filmed in each of those frame rates so everyone will be happy at some point 😆

[@AbidAli-bo8sv]

​@@ddangerousddave specially when you are filming moving objects or the scenarios of cycling etc., 60fps is what makes it so soothing.

[@trailjockeytj6160]

Awesome! A video from DD! Well, I guess I’m sold on this camera because both you and Dale like it. Although Dale has the Dale scale. You need to make up a catchy gimmick like that although very informative and good to see you on KZbin again.

[@johntate5284]

You definitely have the DJI dialed in now with a good balance between ground and sky when compared to your last video. Thanks for going into detail about the enhancements that you use and i think the Osmo action 4 is a good upgrade. Thanks for taking us along and looking forward to the next adventure:)

[@outlandishmtb]

Good review Dave. I've just started my channel and bought this camera. I love the colour out of camera, it saves a lot of time. I do a little adjustment to taste but that takes a couple of minutes. I will have to test the Dlog for those bright sunny forest rides and see how it compares. I see you rode Chainsaw Ridge! I just rode it last Friday, what a blast, I was so pumped I posted the video right away! :) Cheers from Cumberland.

[@CODE-BROWN]

I don't normally like sponsored videos but I did want to chime and say that watching at 60fps is significantly nicer than 30 or 24. Especially on when I watch them on a proper 4k monitor or TV. Cool that you can grab footage and not need to edit it.

[@Beiberhole69RVA]

Nice! I got an Action 4 as my first action cam, and it's sick. My other friends have GoPros, and I think this has them beat. And as far as the wind reduction, from what I've seen on another review, when it's on, it switches the mic to one that's either inside the battery port, or USB port, and turns off the front two mics...but I can't remember exactly. These are my all around MTB settings. I haven't experimented with the vertical mounting yet, but will give it a try soon, to see how they look on IG (I only recently started posting MTB footage on IG). Resolution: 4k/16:9 Frame Rate: 30 FPS Shutter: Auto 1/400-1/800 EV: -0.3 ISO 100-800 White Balance: 5500K FOV: Wide Color: Normal Sharpness: -1 Noise: 0 Low-Light Image Enhancement: Auto

[@CeNDShaNtIOtErSocESANTIouS]

love the fact that you named yourself over the game

[@luchoule]

I'm so glad you are back on the bike! Do you have a link for the furry cover wind noise reduction on Amazon? Thank you!

[@ddangerousddave]

Something like this: www.amazon.ca/SUNMON-Camera-Windscreen-Outdoor-Windshield/dp/B07YD4DC44. I actually ended up just buying a large furry windscreen and then just cutting small pieces off as needed. Getting them to adhere, or at least stay adhered, to this cam is a bit tricky because mics are covered by the 'Action 4' raised logo so I might just try to superglue them on next time they come off.

[@casestudymtb]

Man, DJI is really trying to move extra action 4's ahead of the 5 release haha. But it is a sick camera, I've been a huge fan of mine.

[@kurztom]

Thanks dude for this video, i also cange to the dji cam an am happy with it

[@aphinion]

... and somehow your steep hills now actually look steep. For some reasion that lens-distortion of gopro flattens them out way too much while this one really gives you a sense of what you're riding. I think DJI finally has done it. A cam that beats the GoPro in most aspects and is at least on par in all other fields. ... and most importantly: it responds to your inputs and doesn't crash mid-recording :P

[@ddangerousddave]

Having the camera crash/not record was the most frustrating thing about using GoPro in the past. It didn't happen often, but when it did, it made me want to scream.

[@aphinion]

@@ddangerousddave I would have screamed and thrown it against a tree even xD

[@DTshredzMTByt]

Great video! Would you be able to make a tutorial on how you color grade your footage? I would really appreciate that!

[@boogiedownbronx73]

in addition i would add by filming in 4/30 frame you can then crop to 16/9 in post....this allows you to have more frame/view

[@Joy-Girl]

Hi Dave I love watching your adventures ❤I have watched your videos that try out the GoPro and the insta360 and another one I can’t remember but this one the action 4 is the best I don’t like GoPros too much pixelating and slow to adjust to dark conditions, it also seems to curve the sides round ruining the horizon line. Instead the action 4 doesn’t pixelate and delay the adfusting to changing light and the colours are sharp even without editing hmmm very nice makes me almost want one 😊

[@Sorgenfrei6250]

I like 24 or 30 fps. I still use my Hero 7. No need for a new cam. The crucial point is the post-processing of the video material. Most action cams these days come with a lot of useless stuff, such as a color display on the front. But somehow you have to offer something new, I guess. What I would really like to see would be an action cam with a suitable optical zoom, mechanical stabilization and a night-capable sensor in a compact, sturdy housing. Add to that a simple way to attach stable ND filters and a connection option for external microphones. That would be a jack of all trades. Even if this camera were a little bigger and more expensive, I would buy it in a heartbeat. Otherwise, all the new action cams aren't really any better than the Hero 7, if you know how do the post-processing. This is just my opinion.

[@ddangerousddave]

The video and audio quality from the 7 was good, but I had issues with errors/freezing and the battery life wasn't great. Front facing display isn't a need to have or something that would make me switch cameras, but it's been pretty useful for framing when filming vlog-style. I agree that mechanical stabilization would be really interesting to see, although no camera companies seem interested. As for the external mic, being able to pair the Action 4 to the Mic 2 via bluetooth is pretty slick. Definitely better than having to plug in adapters, etc.

[@Sorgenfrei6250]

@@ddangerousddave I also read that many people had technical problems with their Hero 7. I was lucky, my two Hero 7s were largely spared from this, apart from the fact that the battery discharged itself a few times when the camera was switched off and the connection to the GoPro app never worked properly. In fact, the front display might be a good thing for vloggers. Thank you for your answer and I wish you much success with your future videos. They're great!

[@KoreanBKing]

Reading through the comments and got lost. Do you have a link for your camera helmet mounts? Great video and thank you for putting in the leg work for all of us! Get Some #bodybychief

[@ddangerousddave]

probike3d.com/ 👍

[@lakaldrak]

Rly looks better then action 3. I think i gonna wait for the action 5. Weird that with my action 3 i need to use atleast -0.7 EV to not get overexposed on sunny days. What shutter speed did u use?

[@ddangerousddave]

I just set to -0.3 EV comp and auto shutter speed. I'll occasionally get blown highlights and could probably bump up to -0.7EV on high contrast days, but -0.3 has worked well for most situations. Using the d-log m profile might be helpful there too.

[@n3v3r1s4]

dude 60 frames is insanely better, everybody of us that loves watching these videos think 30 frames is a slideshow in comparison edit: well, most, according to the comment section, but the point still stands =D do love the videos, but I do think I'd love them more at 60 hz xD

[@SSkysTheLLimit]

Everybody is gonna hate me for this, but I prefer 30fps… 60fps just seems to smooth in my opinion

[@ddangerousddave]

I can appreciate both. 60fps is so crisp and clear, but certain movements look almost fake.

[@MTBGarage]

I can only think that the 60fps crowd is focused on the clarity of the middle of the screen, which is where it does look better, but the lack of motion blur ruins it for me, looks too slow. I guess we need a digital portrait mode for video to get both!

[@TJ_Wayne]

I dig 30 or 24 fps. Adding the little bit of motion blur on sides helps make the riding look wicked fast

[@MuratDumanl]

Hi! Can you share your color Luts please? , I love it

[@lite31]

thanks for the video, I'm more interested in how it compare to gopro or other action cam about the field of view in widening aspect. Such like gopro make view looks wider which end up making it look things look flat when in reality the trail is much steeper. I think every action cam looks differently in this. It seems Action4 doesn't make things look as flat as gopro. And also for rider who prefer under visor mount often go for gopro as gopro have a smaller profile on the mount where action4 will end up sticking out more as the magnetic mount makes it longer.

[@MountainBikingTrips]

Hello, whats your set up on reduce shaky video if you have camera mount on chest strap? ISO, Shutter speed? thanks

[@ddangerousddave]

It's been a while since I used a chest mount, but I used to make sure the straps were REALLY tight to minimize bouncing. Otherwise your best bet might be to increase the shutter speed (which would increase the ISO to compensate). But there's only so much you can do besides buying a small gimbal.

[@ApolloSevan]

It would be interesting to get a download of this video to remove the KZbin compression. Though, I guess thats part of the discussion.

[@janthomas7244]

Hello, could you please tell what helmet you use? I’ve been searching and I’ve seen so much price variety going up to 500€

[@ddangerousddave]

I use a Troy Lee Design Stage helmet.

[@lesliemajor2820]

Amazing quality

[@teoteagueosborne]

Looks fantastic. I don't understand the appeal to the crazy fish eye shots.

[@MTBGarage]

Dave, this is a constructive comment, I think you are over-doing something in editing, the graded footage seems to look much grainier than the d-log, I don't know if you are an adobe guy or FCPX, if adobe, maybe the different footages are getting interpolated on the same timeline, I always had the best results using a 30FPS timeline and exporting that for YT. Or you could just be pushing the sliders too much and it's doesn't have the bit rate on export? Overall is does look good, but I think a few tweaks could make a difference.

[@ddangerousddave]

Thanks for the feedback! I shoot with -2 sharpness (lowest setting) when filming in D-Log and then sharpen in post (Davinci Resolve). This was a 60fps timeline with a mix of 60, 30 and 24fps clips which is definitely not ideal.

[@jorissmal1769]

30 fps feels faster but 60 fps is more pleasant to the eyes

[@slendycz7931]

30fps ruins the video experience and makes the video difficult to watch IMO, the 60fps footage was absolutely beautiful and much more comfortable to watch.

[@EmreTokyuz]

Maybe it's because the video is in 60fps and it has to interpolate the scenes from the 30fps video?

[@Kissenger_]

I couldn't agree more. 60fps is the most important setting to have.

[@FRonTLinES10064]

Nah, 24 or 30 FPS is the best. 60 FPS for MTB doesn’t really look realistic

[@Kissenger_]

@@FRonTLinES10064 How can increasing the number of frames per second and making it closer to real human vision make it less realistic 😂

[@FRonTLinES10064]

@@Kissenger_ because on video, the 60 FPS looks slower because it’s catching more frames per second so each frame is closer together. Look at a 60 FPS video of MTB compared to a 24 FPS video of a trail that you know, the 24 FPS will look more like your own recollection than the 60 FPS. I have filmed in all 3 frame rates and 24 FPS is the most similar *on video* to real life. Sounds weird but it’s true.

[@MT_20_24]

Forward to 7:38 was that scene 4k/60fps and d-log m graded ?

[@LimeymanZero]

60fps is so much better, just buy more batteries and cards, it's worth it for the better viewing experience.

[@a.w2776]

Action 4 big sales now in nz coz the 5 is out. Gonna get the 4. More than enough.

[@_systemd]

I shot in 24fps - less heat, more battery, more memory and less post processing overhead. sometimes max bitrate is the same for either fps but it gets divided between 24 frames only and not 60. as you mention the stabilization can nowadays make footage unnaturally smooth - this works well w 24fps but imho becomes overemphasized w 60. The 60fps footage you showed just looks nasty smooth. that's absolutely not a realistic representation of what my eyes see when I ride.

[@alex737M]

I use a minimum of 1/400 for the shutter speed, that gets rid of nearly all the stutter in low light. I also noticed that in dark, foggy conditions there was alot of ghosting, it was caused by the noise filter, putting it to -2 solved this (and smearing too). looking foward to more vids, its been quiet!

[@reneeschke]

I find the stabilization during the fast left-right swoops at 1:46-1:54 too aggressive. It's hard for me to pinpoint what it is exactly. Could be the horizon lock? Or maybe you're just too good as a rider and the camera actually did stay perfectly in the middle of the "swoops"? I personally like my chesty footage to convey the roughness of a track, which is why I never use Horizon lock. If you would crop in by factor 2 for instance the track just doesn't move at all and its like a drone is flying through it. Could you tell me what is bugging me here? EDIT: Wait a sec- could it be you're not using a chest mount here? just a very low hanging chin mount? EDIT2: Yeah, a shadow revealed it- that explains a lot. Goes to show again, I'm a chesty guy unless I want to film someone in front of me

[@ddangerousddave]

Yep, chin mount! That corner was a pretty awkward right hander with no catch berm so the head/bike/body position might have been pretty wonky too.

[@3-d-printing-galaxy-halifax]

Looks good:)

[@jamiebonczek8026]

So much better than that insta 360.

[@paddor]

That does seem like a usable action camera. I effing hate GoPro at this point. The UI is terrible, and the standard batteries are unusable in the cold. I just wish this was a more affordable 200 bucks instead of 400.

[@ddangerousddave]

At some point, I bet DJI will release an Action 5 and you'll be able to score an Action 4 for cheaper :p

[@SwordTomato]

the action 3 really isn't that different and it is 200

[@deepsekhar7608]

Does it overheat?

[@ddangerousddave]

No issues so far when filming in 4k 60 with standard stabilization on. That's for riding footage. I've never tried using it stationary on a tripod which would be a more challenging test for overheating I imagine.

[@ostankovalex1176]

frankly saying, i dont like insta360 at all. the footage is VERY distorted and makes me feel uncomfortable watching it + the colors are unnatural imho DJI is just a few levels above

[@ddangerousddave]

DJI image quality is noticeably better than the X3. The biggest benefit that I noticed when using the Insta360 was being able to reframe footage in either vertical or horizontal so I could export the same footage to Instagram and KZbin. Although since I rarely post to Instagram these days, I'm happy to use the DJI and prioritize horizontal footage for KZbin.

[@ostankovalex1176]

@@ddangerousddave Ye, somehow I just can't stand a significant fisheye distortion it just seems very unnatural and DJI delivers good quality without overdoing it

[@baykkarl9541]

In between gopro. I will choose gopro. In between insta i will choose dji. Gopro battery sucs thats it.

[@MarioLamRedRebel]

I rader see you ride your bike. I hope send some video 's soon 😂 Respect and Greetings from the Netherlands

[@ddangerousddave]

They're coming :)

[@MarioLamRedRebel]

@@ddangerousddave Good to hear 🤣 How are you ?

[@djgolf3256]

Oh boy yet another Osmo action review.. 🥱 I've watched so many of those lately lol

[@ddangerousddave]

My feed is full of them too lol.