DJI Osmo Pocket 4P Hands-on Review: Pros, Cons, and Differences from the Pocket 4

Before the release, I was looking for a reason to buy the DJI Osmo Pocket 4P.

The Pocket 4 is already highly refined as a camera for travel vlogging.
The Pocket 3 is also still perfectly capable.
Even with a higher-end model added to the lineup,
having higher performance alone is not enough of a reason to upgrade.

Will DJI show me an answer that makes me think, 'I want this'?

I actually purchased the Pocket 4P and tried shooting travel, street walks, cooking, night views,
and even fireworks.
I switched between wide-angle and medium-telephoto lenses,
and I also encountered some stuttering in the zoom and focus hunting a few times.

What I realized from that is,
the value of the Pocket 4P is not simply about higher image quality.

It's not because you can take larger shots of distant objects, but because you can create a flow of footage with a single device that couldn't be created with just a wide-angle lens.

This was the reason I found for buying the Pocket 4P.

However, those who don't find that change appealing
don't need to force themselves to choose the 4P.

*In this article, the DJI Osmo Pocket 4P is abbreviated as 'Pocket 4P' and the DJI Osmo Pocket 4 as 'Pocket 4'.

Conclusion: The Pocket 4P is a high-end model for those who want to use medium-telephoto

Here is the conclusion first.

The easiest reason to choose the Pocket 4P is the 60mm equivalent medium-telephoto camera.

Shoot wide landscapes and selfies with the 20mm equivalent wide-angle lens. Capture distant people, food, parts of buildings, or children at sports days with the medium-telephoto lens. By switching between these two, you reduce the monotony of your footage even when filming the same trip.

On the other hand, if you mainly do walk-and-talks or selfies and rarely use medium-telephoto,
the Pocket 4 is sufficient. If you already own a Pocket 3
and are satisfied with the field of view, there is no need to rush to upgrade.

To summarize how to choose in short, it is as follows.

Pocket 4P is recommended for

• Those who want to shoot both landscapes and people while traveling

• Those who want to shoot subjects they cannot get close to, such as sports days, stages, or buildings

• Those who want to show food or people from a different distance than wide-angle

• Those who want to compose their shots by switching between wide-angle and medium-telephoto while filming

The Pocket 4 is enough

• Buying a gimbal camera for the first time

• Focusing on selfies, family shots, and street photography

• Prioritizing lightness, price, and ease of use

• Cannot imagine a scenario where you would need telephoto shots

The 4P is not a complete upgrade over the Pocket 4, but rather a model that expands your shooting options. Its necessity changes significantly depending on whether you use the medium telephoto lens.

The necessity changes significantly depending on whether you use the medium telephoto lens.

What kind of camera is the Osmo Pocket 4P?

The Pocket 4P is a compact dual-camera gimbal camera equipped with a 20mm equivalent wide-angle camera and a 60mm equivalent medium telephoto camera.

The wide-angle side features a 1-inch CMOS sensor,
while the medium telephoto side features a 1/1.28-inch CMOS sensor.
Video supports up to 4K/60fps for standard shooting,
and up to 4K/240fps for slow motion on the wide-angle side.

The main specifications relevant to your purchase decision are as follows.

Wide-angle camera
20mm equivalent, f/2.0, 1-inch CMOS

Medium telephoto camera
60mm equivalent, f/1.8, 1/1.28-inch CMOS

Video
Up to 4K/60fps for standard shooting

Image stabilization
3-axis mechanical gimbal

Internal storage
103GB

microSD card
Supports up to 1TB

Weight
Approx. 230g

Color
Normal, D-Log, D-Log2

Fast charging
Official measurements: 80% in 18 minutes, 100% in 32 minutes

The most notable feature among the numbers is, of course, the dual camera.

The 103GB of internal storage serves as insurance if you forget your microSD card. The fast charging was also helpful during travel when I wanted to quickly top up the battery while on the move.
However, these are just conveniences that support the shooting process.

What really changes the footage you can capture is the ability to switch between 20mm and 60mm.

Pro 1: Easy to add variety to Vlogs with wide-angle and medium-telephoto

The first thing I found fun about using the 4P was
being able to change how I shoot even in the same location.

With the wide-angle, you can show the atmosphere of the entire location.
In a bamboo forest, you can include both the path and the bamboo, and in a hot spring town, you can capture the buildings and the street widely.

Switching to medium-telephoto allows you to isolate only what catches your eye.

• Distant signs

• Building decorations

• People at a distance

• Details of a dish

• Subjects like fireworks or sports events

Show the situation with wide-angle, and draw the viewer's gaze to what caught your interest with medium-telephoto.
Just having these two options gives your cuts distinct roles when editing.

Medium-telephoto is not just a feature for shooting distant objects larger.
It is a lens for removing unnecessary elements from the frame and deciding what you want to show.

The more your travel Vlogs tend to be just wide-angle walking shots,
the easier it is to feel the difference with the 4P.

Pro 2: Can shoot people and food from a natural distance

If you try to shoot people or food large with a wide-angle camera, you have to get quite close.

Getting close adds impact.
However, people's faces or the shape of the food might look distorted by the wide-angle, or the person being filmed might become self-conscious of the camera.

With a 60mm equivalent medium-telephoto, you can compose the frame from a slightly further distance.

I found the medium telephoto lens useful when shooting food in a dimly lit restaurant.
This is because it made it easier to compose the shot around the food without including too much of the table surroundings.

When shooting people, you don't have to bring the camera right up to them.
If you want to capture natural expressions during a trip or someone walking a little distance away,
this distance is easy to work with.

However, the focus position is more noticeable with the medium telephoto lens than with the wide-angle lens.
When shooting food or close-ups of your hands, it is safer to tap the screen before recording
to confirm that the focus is on the intended spot.

Pro 3: Easy to handle everything from night views to fireworks with one device

In night-time hot spring towns or summer festivals, the roles of the wide-angle and medium telephoto lenses are distinct.

The wide-angle lens is great for capturing the entire location, including lanterns, food stalls, and the flow of people.
The medium telephoto lens can be used to crop in on distant lanterns, people, or fireworks in the sky.

I actually shot fireworks with the Pocket 4P.
Fireworks that look small with just the wide-angle lens
become much more prominent in the frame when you switch to the medium telephoto lens.

After the firmware update,
you can now switch between the 1x wide-angle and 3x medium telephoto lenses even in Low-Light Video mode.
While it does not support digital zoom,
there are more opportunities to combine low-light shooting with the medium telephoto lens at summer festivals or night scenes.

However, Low-Light Video is not always the right choice for every night scene.
Depending on the light intensity, subject movement,
and editing method, standard video may sometimes be easier to handle.
Rather than automatically switching just because it is night,
it is best to take a short test shot before you start recording.

Pro 4: 103GB internal storage and fast charging are effective for travel

Aside from image quality, the internal storage and charging speed were helpful during use.

The Pocket 4P has 103GB of internal storage.
Since you can shoot even if you forget your microSD card,
I was able to keep shooting on a day I actually went out without a card.

Of course, you need a microSD card to save long 4K videos.
It is better to think of the internal storage as a backup to save your shoot from forgotten items or lack of capacity,
rather than as your primary storage.

As for the battery, I felt the charge drained quickly when shooting 4K video repeatedly.
Operating it all day without the battery handle was difficult,
so I ended up charging it while on the move to use it again.

On the other hand, charging is quite fast.
Because you can recover the charge during short trips or breaks,
it feels more like a camera you use while quickly topping it up,
rather than one with a large battery meant to last a long time.

If you have long shooting times,
it is safer to have the Osmo Pocket 4 Battery Handle ready.
DJI officially states that it is fully compatible with the Pocket 4P.

Pro 5: Room for growth from Normal to D-Log M

You don't need to use difficult color settings from the start with the Pocket 4P.

With Normal color,
you get footage that is easy to use without needing major color correction after shooting.
If you are new to gimbal cameras,
it is better to start with Normal to get used to composition and shooting techniques to avoid mistakes.

If you want to try your hand at editing, you can use standard D-Log.
You can start by applying official LUTs in software like DaVinci Resolve
to adjust brightness and color.

D-Log2 is an option for when you want to create more professional-looking colors on the wide-angle side.
However, it is not the same as standard D-Log, and there are conditions for zoom and shooting functions.

For travel vlogs where you frequently switch between wide-angle and medium-telephoto,
there are times when it is easier to edit if you stick to either Normal or standard D-Log.

Ease of use for beginners and color editing for when you get more experienced.
The fact that both are available makes this a camera worth evaluating for long-term use.

Cons 1 | Switching from 1x to 3x is not perfectly seamless

What bothered me most about the Pocket 4P is the moment it switches from wide-angle to medium-telephoto.

When you zoom from 1x to around 3x, the camera being used physically changes. Because of this, the field of view, color, and focus appearance shift instantly,
which can make the footage look jerky.

Zooming slowly does not mean everything will connect smoothly.

I found it easier to use by not relying on the zoom as a visual effect.

1. Shoot one cut at wide-angle

2. Stop recording

3. Switch to medium-telephoto

4. Shoot as a different composition

If you join the two cuts in editing, the unnaturalness of the lens switch is not visible.

Rather than a camera that zooms smoothly within a single shot, the Pocket 4P is easier to handle if you think of it as a camera that uses wide-angle and medium-telephoto as two separate lenses.

Cons 2 | Focus confirmation is necessary for medium-telephoto

With wide-angle, there are times when it is hard to notice if the focus is slightly off.
With medium-telephoto, because the background is more compressed,
mistakes become more obvious if the focus is not on the subject you want to show.

Be especially careful when shooting the following:

・Getting close to food or small items ・Showing a product held in your hand ・Shooting a subject in the distance through people ・Tracking a person in a dark place

If the standard continuous focus struggles, tap the screen to specify the subject. If you want to show items in your hand, Product Showcase mode is also an option.

Because it is a high-performance camera, it won't always be perfectly in focus automatically.
When using the medium telephoto lens, you need to get into the habit of checking the screen for a few seconds before recording.

Cons 3 | Larger than the Pocket 4, requiring more care when carrying

The body weight is about 230g. It is small enough for handheld shooting, but
if you think of it as an extension of the Pocket 3 or Pocket 4, you will notice the size of the camera head.

I was worried about putting it directly into my bag.
This is because the package I purchased
did not include a protective case that could secure the gimbal for transport.

I currently use a hard case that can secure the gimbal.
On days when I carry a full set of accessories,
I found that organizing everything in a PGYTECH OneGo Pocket Sling Bag was easier to manage.

Once you add the battery handle, tripod, microphone, and ND filters, the gear becomes bulkier than the name "Pocket" suggests.

The more you try to utilize the full performance of the 4P, the more you trade off portability.
If your top priority is how often you take it out, the Pocket 4 might be a better fit for you.

Cons 4 | Unreliable without the battery handle

The official maximum battery life
is measured under conditions of 1080p/24fps with the screen and Wi-Fi turned off.
In actual travel, you are using 4K recording, screen monitoring, lens switching,
and ActiveTrack, so it is safer not to expect the same duration.

I felt the battery drained faster than expected while shooting in 4K.
For travel vlogs consisting of short clips, you can manage by charging on the go, but
it remains a concern for events or stationary shooting.

Attaching the Osmo Pocket 4 Battery Handle makes the unit longer
and heavier. Even so, for fireworks, sports days, or long trips,
it is more important not to have downtime where you cannot shoot.

Use just the main unit on days when you want lightness. Use the battery handle on days when you shoot for long periods.
This distinction was practical for me.

Differences from the Pocket 4 | Decide based on whether you need "medium telephoto" rather than image quality

Even with the release of the Pocket 4P, the value of the Pocket 4 does not diminish.

The Pocket 4 is equipped with a 1-inch CMOS sensor and supports 4K video, D-Log, a 3-axis gimbal,
internal storage, and fast charging.
For travel vlogs, selfies, family photos, and street photography, one unit can cover a wide range of needs.

It is confusing to look at the differences with the 4P solely in terms of high-end versus low-end.

Pocket 4

• I want to minimize mistakes by focusing on wide-angle shots

• I want to use it as my first gimbal camera

• You want to prioritize the device's portability and price.

• You want to make post-shooting editing as simple as possible.

Pocket 4P

• You want to use both wide-angle and medium-telephoto in one device.

• You want to capture people, food, sports days, and architecture.

• You want to think about the role of each shot while filming.

• You want to dive into color grading, including D-Log2.

If asked whether I would unconditionally recommend the 4P to someone buying a gimbal camera for the first time, my answer is "no."

The criteria for when you are unsure is simple.

Can you immediately think of three things you want to shoot at 60mm equivalent?

If you can, there is a reason to choose the 4P. If you cannot,
the Pocket 4 will likely be easier to handle.

▶DJI Osmo Pocket 4

Should Pocket 3 users upgrade?

Pocket 3 users also do not need to rush to upgrade
if they are satisfied with the telephoto capabilities.

The Pocket 3 is equipped with a 1-inch sensor, 3-axis gimbal, D-Log M,
and ActiveTrack. As a tool for shooting travel and daily vlogs,
it remains a highly refined camera.

What clearly increases when switching to the 4P is the option to shoot with medium-telephoto.

You couldn't capture distant people. Your child looked small in photos at sports day.
Every time you shot food, the wide-angle perspective bothered you.
If you have had experiences like these, upgrading will increase the types of footage you can capture.

Conversely, if your focus is on walking shots, selfies, and shooting with close proximity to family,
it is more natural to continue using the Pocket 3.

The release of a new product
does not mean your current camera has stopped working.

For those torn between this and the Insta360 Luna Ultra

Both the Pocket 4P and the Insta360 Luna Ultra
are gimbal cameras equipped with wide-angle and medium-telephoto lenses.
However, when I actually walked around with both devices, there were differences in the post-shooting workflow.

The Luna Ultra is a camera that makes it easy to send footage to the Insta360 app,
and proceed from AI editing to social media posting.
In this walking footage comparison, the Luna Ultra also appeared to have less vertical shake.

The Pocket 4P is well-suited for a workflow where you switch between wide-angle and medium-telephoto during shooting,
and finish the footage on a computer using D-Log or D-Log2.

If you want to finish quickly on your smartphone, go with the Luna Ultra.
If you want to compose your shots while filming and finish them on a computer, choose the Pocket 4P.

It is difficult to decide between these two based solely on image quality.
I have summarized detailed real-world comparisons of walking footage, night scenes, and food photography in a separate article.

Check the price and availability of the Pocket 4P

The Pocket 4P comes with different accessories depending on whether you choose the standard package or the Vlog Combo.

If you already own a DJI Mic or battery handle,
it is more cost-effective to add only what you need to the standard package.
If you are buying a full set for the first time, compare the contents of the Vlog Combo with the individual prices.

▶ DJI Osmo Pocket 4P

▶ DJI Osmo Pocket 4P Vlog Combo

Prices and shipping dates may change immediately after release or during periods of low stock.
Please check the seller, price, and delivery time before purchasing.

So, which one should you buy?

If you are buying a gimbal camera for the first time,
and want to start filming travel or family moments with minimal mistakes,
the Pocket 4 is an easy model to choose.

If you are already using a Pocket 3 and are not having any trouble with just the wide-angle lens,
you can continue using it as is.

On the other hand, if you want to capture not just wide landscapes, but also distant people, food, signs, fireworks,
and even sports days all with one device, there is a reason to choose the Pocket 4P.

Before the release, I was looking for a reason to buy the Pocket 4P.

The answer I found after using it was not the number '3x'.
Showing the location with a wide angle, and picking out what left an impression with a medium telephoto.
It is the ability to do both without taking another camera out of your bag.

If that is how you want to shoot,
the Pocket 4P is a meaningful high-end model, even if it is expensive.

Read more (Recommended articles)

DJI Osmo Pocket 4P User Guide | Settings to do first after buying, microSD cards, and shooting checks [For Beginners]
You can check the settings you need to complete before your first shoot after purchasing the Pocket 4P.

[Hands-on Comparison] Insta360 Luna Ultra vs DJI Osmo Pocket 4P | Verifying differences in walking footage, night scenes, and food
I took both cameras to Shuzenji and compared walking shake, night colors, and how food looks in real-world shooting.

9 Recommended Accessories to Get for Your DJI Osmo Pocket 4P

I have compiled a list of items that became necessary during actual use, such as cases, microSD cards, and battery handles.

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