DJI is a major player in the camera market with its drones and gimbals, so why hasn’t it had the same success with action cameras? The answer is simple: GoPro. of the company Hero row offered superior image quality and stabilization. It goes for the same Insta360s action cameras that capture the imagination of the public.
Now, with DJI, it’s taking another shot at its competitors $350 Osmo Action 5 Prothis is perhaps the biggest improvement in this series. Almost everything inside has changed, from the sensor to the battery life and storage. However, it looks very similar to its predecessor, the Osmo Action 4.
DJI
With the Action 5 Pro, DJI finally has a worthy competitor to the GoPro and Insta360 action cameras thanks to excellent battery life and solid image quality.
- Best action camera battery life
- Good in low light
- Unique thread tracking feature
- DJI Mic 2 compatibility
- Internal memory
- Oversaturated color
- Video is less sharp than competitors
Video quality only goes up to 4K on the new model, compared to 5.3K and 8K for the latest GoPro Hero 13 for the Insta360 Ace Pro 2 released last week. Still, the Action 5 Pro outperforms its competitors in several key areas, and it’s easily DJI’s best action camera yet.
Long battery life and internal memory
The Action 5 Pro has the longest battery life of any action camera right now, and it’s not even close. Thanks to a higher-capacity 1950mAh battery (up from 1770mAh), it can shoot 4K 60p video for over two hours and 1080p video for four hours. By comparison, the GoPro Hero 13 can only go 88 minutes at 4K 60p with a similarly sized battery. Another competitor, the Insta360 Ace Pro 2, can run just over 90 minutes at the same resolution.
With optional charger (available from dealer $400 adventure combo with two extra batteries), it takes about 30 minutes to fully charge the battery. Three batteries should be enough for most people to shoot all day at 4K 60p without recharging – which is pretty impressive for an action camera.
Another big upgrade on the Action 5 Pro is 47GB of internal storage, compared to the previous zero, on top of the microSD slot. This allows you to record an additional hour or more of 4K 60p footage when you charge your memory card. Neither the Hero 13 nor Insta360’s Ace Pro 2 have any built-in storage.
At 5.15 ounces, the Action 5 Pro is slightly smaller and lighter than the Hero 23, which weighs 5.6 ounces. In addition, the Action 5 Pro is waterproof up to 66 feet, which is twice the Hero 13’s limit. If you really need to go deeper, DJI’s waterproof housing extends the maximum depth for this device to around 200 feet.
DJI has increased the size of the rear OLED display from 2.25 to 2.5 inches by shrinking the bezels – a small change that makes the touchscreen menus easier to use. The 1.4-inch front OLED panel is also slightly larger than before. Both screens are sharp and easy to see in sunlight with a maximum brightness of up to 800 nits.
The Action 5 Pro’s textured body provides a firm grip, and the record and power buttons are larger and less rigid than those on the Action 4. Settings can be changed from the rear display by swiping up and down or side to side. it’s hard to remember where the settings are. You can also connect your smartphone using the Mimo app to control the camera and access editing features. An interesting addition is a new pressure sensor that shows how deep you dive or how high you climb – a useful feature that rival cameras lack.
One thing I love about DJI’s last few action cameras is the magnetic mounting system. It lets you instantly attach the Action 5 Pro to almost any accessory, including cars, bikes, helmets and chest mounts, without the need to fiddle with screws or awkward brackets. However, GoPro finally implemented its own magnetic mount on the Hero 13, and the Ace Pro 2 has a similar system.
However, DJI has outdone its main competitor in optics. GoPro’s Hero 13 now supports optional detachable lenses, allowing you to go from typical wide-angle field of view to ultra-wide, macro and more. While they are quite expensive, it’s a nice option if you want something other than the usual action camera look.
Sharper video and subject tracking
With a new 1/1.3-inch 40-megapixel sensor, the Action 5 Pro has a sensor that’s the same size as its predecessor, but nearly four times sharper. It is much larger than the GoPro Hero 13 sensor, which has more than twice the area. This extra size helps the Action 5 Pro produce clearer shots with more detail, especially in low light.
You can shoot 4K at up to 120fps in super slow motion or 1080p at 240fps. However, there’s a new twist with 3840 x 2880, as well as “open door” 4:3 shooting at up to 120 fps. This square frame makes it easy to crop vertically for social media while still maintaining the full 4K width. Another new feature is 10-bit support for regular video instead of just D-LogM as before. However, the GoPro Hero 13 supports sharper 5.3K video, which allows for more cropping options in recording. And the Insta360 Ace Pro 2 can shoot 8K 30p video or 4K candid, just like the Action 5 Pro.
As with other DJI products, the Action 5 Pro captures bright and colorful videos straight out of the camera. However, to my eyes the colors look less natural compared to the GoPro Hero 13. Skin tones aren’t that warm and colors are too intense for my taste. The ability to capture 10-bit color in normal mode is a huge help, providing additional room for editing without D-LogM capture, which can be difficult for beginners. My preference is still to shoot D-LogM, then apply DJI’s LUT in post. This produces more natural, less saturated colors and gives you up to 13.5 stops of dynamic range in challenging lighting conditions, such as shooting in the woods on a sunny day.
Thanks to the larger sensor, the Action 5 Pro outperforms the GoPro Hero 13 in low light, with less noise and artifacts. If things get really dark, the new Super Night mode makes video even brighter, but the aggressive noise reduction applied can create an artificial look and reduce sharpness. Low-light quality is similar to the Insta360, as both have similar 1/1.3-inch sensors. While not primarily a camera, the Action 5 Pro can take 40-megapixel photos, compared to 27-megapixel shots for the GoPro Hero 13.
Video stabilization is very important for action cameras and is a big reason why GoPro has been dominant for so long. However, the Action 5 Pro has finally reached that level with the latest RockSteady 3.0+ stabilization. I tested it with a mix of sports, including cycling, swimming and kayaking, and it took steady shots with none of the minor touch and shake I’d seen before. As before, it also offers HorizonBalancing to keep the image level even when the camera is tilted up to 45 degrees. Another mode, HorizonSteady, keeps the image level even if you rotate the camera 360 degrees.
A key new feature in the Action 5 Pro is subject centering and tracking, allowing creators to shoot without a gimbal. As with other DJI products (like ActiveTrack on drones), it detects the subject’s position and dynamically adjusts the composition to keep them centered in the frame. Although limited by the 2.7K resolution, it did well to frame me near the middle of the shot during activities like cycling and swimming.
Finally, let’s talk about audio. On top of the built-in microphones, which offer decent quality, the Action 5 Pro connects directly DJI’s Mic 2 transmitters Over Bluetooth (up to two at once). These microphones allow you to capture high-quality audio and automatically reduce noise, even if you’re filming on a moving downhill, like a mountain biker. It’s easy to set up and given the popularity of the Mic 2, it should be a hit with creators.
Collection
The DJI Osmo Action 5 Pro costs $350, while the Hero 13 Pro and Insta360’s Ace Pro 2 cost $400. DJI excels both in terms of battery life and is on par with its competitors when it comes to stabilization. The Action 5 Pro also offers superior low-light and log shots, though I prefer the GoPro Hero 13’s video over the live camera.
Considering the price, the Action 5 Pro is a very attractive option. It’s one of the best action cameras I’ve used, with battery life well above its competitors, a solid waterproof build and full support for DJI’s Mic 2. If you think you could benefit from the extra sharpness, a GoPro or Insta360 is a better choice. However, if low-light performance is key, jump straight to DJI’s Action 5 Pro.
