DJI first hit the action camera market back in May 2019 with the DJI Osmo Action, which quickly established itself as a serious GoPro alternative and one of the best action cameras around. If you were a fan of that innovative tough cam, the rumor mill has some potentially good news – a spiritual successor is now seemingly on the way.
Since the launch of the original Osmo Action, we've seen the arrival of the DJI Action 2, which landed in November 2021. That camera dropped the Osmo name and gained a modular cuboid design, which let you design a setup to suit your needs.
But it seems that DJI is now returning to a more typical action cam design for the Osmo Action 3, which we've now seen in its first leaked images. So what improvements will DJI's new action camera bring, and could it be a serious rival for the rumored GoPro Hero 11 Black?
We were fans of the original Osmo Action's impressive electronic stabilization (even if it did result in cropped image), along with its crisp, vibrant 4K video, and user-friendly interface. It was also the first major action camera to deliver a front-facing screen for vloggers, a feature that GoPro later adopted on the GoPro Hero 9 Black.
All of these things make it a fine GoPro alternative in 2019. But action cam tech has improved a lot in the past few years, so we're looking forward to seeing what the rumored DJI Osmo Action 3 is going to bring. Here are all the latest rumors, plus our wishlist of the features we'd like to see the action camera deliver.
DJI Action 3 release date and price
According to the pretty reliable @DealsDrone (opens in new tab), the DJI Osmo Action 3 is expected to launch in “mid-September”.
If true, that's likely to be pretty close to the arrival of the rumored GoPro Hero 11 Black, with GoPro's flagships typically arriving around that time of year.
DJI Action 3 will be released in mid-September, and its appearance is almost same as Osmo Action pic.twitter.com/piOJMcg4dFAugust 20, 2022
So far, there haven't been any leaks revealing the DJI Osmo Action's price. We can make some informed guesses based on its predecessor's price tag, though.
Back in 2019, the original Osmo Action came with an RRP of $379 / £329 / AU$499, though that was soon reduced to only $329 / £279. Our guess is that DJI will again try to undercut its nearest GoPro rival, which could soon be the Hero 11 Black if GoPro follows its usual launch schedule.
The current Hero 10 Black is available to buy for $399 / £379 / AU$599.95 with a GoPro Subscription, so we'd anticipate the Osmo Action 3's price will fall somewhere in between that figure and its original price tag. Unless it delivers a huge upgrade, like a 1-inch sensor…
DJI Action 3 rumors and what we want to see
The first rumors we saw about a DJI Osmo Action 3 arrived in later August from regular DJI leakers @DealsDrone (above) and @OsitaLV (below).
They suggested that the new action camera would have a similar design to the original DJI Osmo Action, rather than the modular setup of the more recent DJI Action 2. And more recent leaks seem to confirm that this will be the case.
On September 5 we saw what looks like the first leaked image of the DJI Osmo Action 3, from @DealsDrone (below).
While a little blurry, it shows an action camera that looks very similar DJI's first Osmo Action, albeit with a darker color scheme and new front badge. This image doesn't reveal a huge amount, other than the fact that Osmo Action 3 will likely retain a front-facing screen and a similar lens to its 2019 predecessor.
It's likely that further leaks will reveal more about its specs, but in the meantime we've put together a little wishlist of the upgrades we'd like see from the DJI Osmo Action 3 in 2022.
DJI Osmo Action 3: what we'd like to see
1. A higher-resolution sensor
4K resolution is by no means small-fry, even by today's standards. In fact, most YouTube videos are still watched in 480p on mobile devices. So why do we want more resolution? Well, simply so the Osmo Action 3 can match the detail and versatility of its rivals.
The GoPro Hero 10 Black can record in 5.3K at 60fps, while the Insta360 One RS's ‘Twin Edition' can shoot either 5.7K ‘flat' video or in 360 degrees. If the DJI Action 3 could record in 5K or higher, it'd put it on an even playing field with the competition.
We'd say it's even possible that DJI could give its new action cam a 1-inch sensor with 5.4K video recording, as that'd match the DJI Air 2S drone. But right now, that's just wishful thinking, rather being based on any leaks or rumors.
2. A microSD card slot
For a rather strange reason DJI failed to install an SD card slot built inside the main camera unit of the recent DJI Action 2. Instead, it arrived with 32GB of internal memory, which was only expandable if you bought the separate battery module to gain an SD card slot.
We'd love to see the return of a built-in microSD card slot on the Osmo Action 3. And given it's expected to have the same design as the original Osmo Action (which did have a microSD slot), this seems pretty likely.
Not that we'd be averse to internal storage for those occasions when we've lost, forgotten or filled up our microSD card. The combo of 32GB of internal storage plus a card slot would be ideal.
3. A bigger battery
Battery life hasn't been a strong point for DJI's action cams. The Action 2 can record for up to an hour on medium-quality camera settings, or half that if you're looking to shoot at the highest 4K resolution. And it was always wise to pack a power bank or a spare battery when taking out the original DJI Osmo Action on a day trip.
We'd love to see DJI pack a bigger battery into the Osmo Action 3, even if that means slightly bulkier design. While we do like the modular design of the Action 2, the body of DJI's original action cam should create enough space for an all-day battery.
4. A built-in mount
One of the big drawbacks of the original Osmo Action was that you needed to add a separate housing in order to mount it to anything. This was also the case back on the GoPro Hero 7 Black, but since then GoPros have come with built-in mounting fingers – and we'd like to see the same on the Osmo Action 3.
The big question is whether or not DJI will continue with the magnetic mounting system we saw on the DJI Action 2. Assuming this is strong enough to handle the larger Osmo Action 3, this seems likely given it was such a prominent feature of DJI's last action camera.
This would be a good thing, as we found it refreshingly easy to clamp the Action 2 on and off its mounts. But we'll have to wait for the full launch to find out if the Osmo Action 3 will indeed take this route.
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