DJI's Osmo Mobile swaps dedicated camera for iPhone to capture gimbal-stabilized shots

Just days after announcing the Osmo+, DJI on Thursday launched yet another handheld stabilizer, the Osmo Mobile, substituting a dedicated camera with a user's own smartphone.

The Mobile pairs via Bluetooth, and holds phones in a grip, which should work with any recent iOS or Android device with a width between 2.31 and 3.34 inches. In terms of iPhones, this ranges from the iPhone 5 through to the iPhone 6s Plus. Once locked in the gimbal offers the same stabilization found in other Osmo models and the company's aerial drones.

While shooting is partly dependent on the DJI Go app, the handle does offer controls for shooting, changing modes, and flipping between front and rear cameras. Advanced settings like ISO and shutter speed can be accessed via the iPhone's touchscreen.

The Mobile can be set to operate in four different orientations, including Standard, Portrait, Flashlight, and Underslung.

The app enables most of the same shooting functions as other Osmos, including ActiveTrack, motion timelapses, live streaming, and panoramas.

The Osmo Mobile's three-axis stabilization is claimed to increase precision down to 0.03 degrees of accuracy. Together with DJI SmoothTrack on its iOS app, users should be able to capture smooth shots directly on their iPhone.

Key features of the Osmo Mobile, according to DJI, include:

Three-axis stabilization
Intelligent SmoothTrack
User-friendly DJI GO App with powerful functions (including ActiveTrack, Motion Time lapse, Live Stream, Panorama, Long Exposure, Camera Settings)
Trigger control (double-tap for re-center, triple-tap to change between front and rear-end camera, long press for locking gimbal direction)
Different operation modes (Standard, Portrait, Flashlight and Underslung)
Bluetooth connection
3.5-millimeter Charging/Upgrade Port 
Compatible with DJI Osmo accessories

"DJI continues to revolutionize the way we capture and share memories," said Frank Wang, DJI CEO and founder. "The Osmo Mobile combines the best of DJI's beloved Osmo smart stabilization technology with the robust DJI GO app. This is a breakthrough, allowing smartphone users unprecedented control of and creative possibilities for their devices."

The Osmo Mobile is shipping today at a price of $299.

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14 Comments

roake 820 comments · 10 Years

About 8 years ago

Kinda awesome!

rob53 3307 comments · 13 Years

The "Academy Award winning Steadicam stabilizing technology" Smoothee mount is $150 but doesn't include the remote capabilities. This is a time-tested product line used by professional videographers every day. It uses a lower counterweight to assist in the stabilization. I don't see how the Osmo could compare. They must be doing a lot of gyro realignment within that small mount.

http://tiffen.com/steadicamsmoothee/

I also wish accessories like this didn't cost so much when they don't need to. Say it works with an iPhone and it immediately costs 10x what it should. The Grip&Shoot, http://gripandshoot.com/buynow.html, is the same kind of Bluetooth remote phone holder, just with the stabilization, and it only costs $100.

cpsro 3236 comments · 14 Years

Much safer when your Note explodes.

8K Next 1 comment · 8 Years

Kinda useless, compared to a cheaper Z1-Smooth or similar:

1) gimbal is permanently attached, no way to swap it for X5 (or X3) when you have time to prepare and get a better quality shot. It would give you more options and save weight and space in your gear bag.
2) recording only through dedicated app, which takes time to start up and connect. Photos app opens up momentarily and is not cluttered with gimbal controls. I can get Filmic and get even better quality recording without the need to pair and connect to a simple (but not worse or less stabilizing) gimbal.

They should have given an option for X3/X5 owners to add just M1 gimbal to their existing setup, and let us use the iPhone recording features with and without their app. That would be awesome.

dementuschikan 67 comments · 10 Years

rob53 said:

The "Academy Award winning Steadicam stabilizing technology" Smoothee mount is $150 but doesn't include the remote capabilities. This is a time-tested product line used by professional videographers every day. It uses a lower counterweight to assist in the stabilization. I don't see how the Osmo could compare. They must be doing a lot of gyro realignment within that small mount.

http://tiffen.com/steadicamsmoothee/

I also wish accessories like this didn't cost so much when they don't need to. Say it works with an iPhone and it immediately costs 10x what it should. The Grip&Shoot, http://gripandshoot.com/buynow.html, is the same kind of Bluetooth remote phone holder, just with the stabilization, and it only costs $100.

I checked the GripAndShoot, and it doesn't appear to actually be steadying tech? It appears to be a pistol grip that should make it more comfortable to hold the camera and reduce shaking, but it isn't actually gimble/weight-balance technology. It does have some other cool features, like being able to break out to a tripod and remote control configuration.

The SteadiCam Smoothee is entirely different tech than the Osmo. People will have to judge for themselves if the way it handles balancing or the way Osmo and similar devices do it is better and worth the price differences. (And that's before mentioning features like active tracking and motion timelapse.)

Check out iPhoneDo on Youtube (http://bit.ly/2bFsg4O). He just put up a review of the Osmo Mobile today, and there is an older video where he compares the Steadicam Smoothee vs Feiyu G4 Pro.