DJI challenging GoPro?

[sanveer]

I read this less than a week back on another site too (cannot recall which one). Apparently DJI is releasing an action camera  which may be great news. The action cam market has almost become boring with smartphones doing way better than most action camera, with 960fps, super low light photo and video, water resistance, great dynamic range and many other other tricks. 

Hopefully DJI has some great tricks up its sleeve, and one may be tempted to carry an action camera, that offers just that extra bit, instead of a smartphone. 

We should know by the 15th of this Month.

 

https://www.dji.com/mobile/trailer?clickaid=Ngzgwxs8wc6N-NYf85DguFiaPE4ntMBS&clickpid=722074&clicksid=245506a9b55c7da03df676cd72bb0f2f&from=dap_unique&pm=custom&site=brandsite

 

[Cinegain]

Could also be something along the lines of this: http://www.youcanrobot.com/

[kye]

My wife and I talked about buying a Sony X3000 last night, and I said to wait for next weeks paycheck because there's no hurry.

While I doubt it, I really hope it's an RX0 style Sony X3000 & GoPro Hero 7 killer!  DJI are perfectly positioned to make an action camera.  I would have bought an Osmo pocket if it had a wider lens and waterproof housing.

But like @Cinegain says, it's probably a submarine.

[sanveer]

1 hour ago, Cinegain said:

Could also be something along the lines of this: http://www.youcanrobot.com/

Some interesting comments on the photorumors site about this (https://photorumors.com/2019/05/08/new-dji-teaser-new-action-camera-or-underwater-drone/)

I think it could be an action camera cause an underwater drone may have a much smaller market. An action cam with the Mavic 2 Pro capabilities, could be a guaranteed runaway success, especially if the price point is right. 

[Cinegain]

Isn't the actioncam market kinda deemed dead? GoPro struggles. We have seen YI ( https://www.yitechnology.com ) ditching action cams in favor of security cams it seems.

Just checked up on SJCAM, they used to do stuff in that field. They seem still at it.

• https://www.facebook.com/sjcamofficial | https://sjcam.com/product/sj9/
• $219 $209 bucks on pre-order (went live just this week apparently), incl. Live streaming & wireless charging (that's kinda neat I guess)

So yeah, same marketing strategy, so who knows I guess. We'll wait 'n see.

[SR]

GoPro's been a dead horse for a while now, with one bad move after another. Don't think DJI can challenge a company that is barely afloat.  

[kye]

5 hours ago, sanveer said:

Some interesting comments on the photorumors site about this (https://photorumors.com/2019/05/08/new-dji-teaser-new-action-camera-or-underwater-drone/)

I think it could be an action camera cause an underwater drone may have a much smaller market. An action cam with the Mavic 2 Pro capabilities, could be a guaranteed runaway success, especially if the price point is right. 

Yeah, interesting stuff.

I'm really hoping that they've waited and taken a real look at how people use these cameras IRL rather than how we want to use them (like in the ads).  

In a sense, if they'd have developed a product strategy and split up all the common uses for a very compact camera between the Osmo Pocket and an action camera then that would be very encouraging.  

I think GoPro kind of started with the idea of taking selfies while surfing and then in the digital phase of their company looked to the best smartphone tech to package up and sell at a premium.  They were kind of driven by what the tech could do, rather than what people wanted.

If DJI started with what people wanted, which I think is primarily around "tiny cameras that go everywhere" then that fits drones, a non-waterproof camera-gimbal combo for hand-holding in non-extreme situations, and an action camera that would be for extreme situations of high G-forces and water/dust etc.  If they make a wide-angle action camera then their setup would be complete then you could take an Osmo Pocket, a Spark/Mavic, and their action cam and have all the travel/home/holiday film-making you want.

To that end, my guess is:

• Wide-angle
• Go-Pro like size and mount options
• EIS not OIS

What will be interesting is if they go for a larger sensor like the RX0 to improve low-light, and what connectivity they provide.  I agree with @SR that the innovation has been lacking for a while in action camera space so if DJI have really gone back to customer usage and re-thought the entire thing, then maybe we'll see something innovative.  

After that there's still in their lineup for a 360 camera  

[Anaconda_]

2 hours ago, SR said:

Don't think DJI can challenge a company that is barely afloat.

GoPros, and probably other action cams, sink by design. When you're diving 40m underwater, the last thing you want is your camera to float to the top.

But seriously. I really like using my Osmo Pocket for family stuff, but there's no way I'd buy another camera in the consumer class from DJI. In my experience with them, it's all about a money grab. Their USBc-3.5mm input is like €40, and they've disabled all third party ones, that cost like €3.

Then there's the whole watermarking your own footage with their logo if you use the 'Story Mode' or whatever that's called. - anyway, that's off topic. It'll be interesting to see what they have.

[Cinegain]

22 minutes ago, Anaconda_ said:

[..] But seriously. I really like using my Osmo Pocket for family stuff, but there's no way I'd buy another camera in the consumer class from DJI. In my experience with them, it's all about a money grab. Their USBc-3.5mm input is like €40, and they've disabled all third party ones, that cost like €3.

[..]

Just got mine in yesterday, DJI original one from https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/ibMzAog ('cause I as well didn't feel like paying premium for this Apple-esque donglegate money grab). Was $19.08 back when I ordered. Great store for Osmo Pocket accessories in general.

[graphicnatured]

3 hours ago, SR said:

GoPro's been a dead horse for a while now, with one bad move after another. Don't think DJI can challenge a company that is barely afloat.  

That's old news. They've been making a rebound. Who knows what the future holds, but the Hero7 Black is awesome and considering history, a new cam could be unveiled in a few months.

[JurijTurnsek]

DJI never had to worry about water resistance and heat dissipation, so entering the action can market would not be a simple R&D project. It does not make much sense, because they cannot use the same cameras one their drones and the action cam market is already very saturated. It does not make sense economically for them and they are not drowning in cash after their supply chain affair.

[Adam Kuźniar]

It's pretty much confirmed that it's an action cam. There were even pictures leaked

Honestly all I want is a 1inch stabilized sensor. Please!

[sanveer]

1 hour ago, Adam Kuźniar said:

It's pretty much confirmed that it's an action cam. There were even pictures leaked

Honestly all I want is a 1inch stabilized sensor. Please!

I saw these pics. They seemed very boxy early concept notes. Maybe they've built them around these, refining the design substantially. 

[hoodlum]

A 1/2.3" sensor 

https://photorumors.com/2019/05/09/dji-osmo-action-camera-leaked-pictures-and-specifications-12mp-1-2-3″-sensor-4k60p-video/

 

[sanveer]

2 hours ago, hoodlum said:

A 1/2.3" sensor 

https://photorumors.com/2019/05/09/dji-osmo-action-camera-leaked-pictures-and-specifications-12mp-1-2-3″-sensor-4k60p-video/

 

Am a little disappointed. 

 

1/2.3′′ 12MP Sony IMX377 Sensor 

FOV: 145° f2.8

I hope the HDR is superb, and it has a good log profile. The 8x slow motion seems like 240fps. 

I am very curious to know what extra is DJI bringing to the table. 

[webrunner5]

If true, sort of sounds like suicide unless they have some groundbreaking tech no one has even thought of. It just seems to be a...GoPro knockoff. We already have all kinds of those now.

[graphicnatured]

1 hour ago, webrunner5 said:

If true, sort of sounds like suicide unless they have some groundbreaking tech no one has even thought of. It just seems to be a...GoPro knockoff. We already have all kinds of those now.

Agreed. They shouldn't even bother with these specs.

[wolf33d]

Looks like a GoPro copy, and the 7 has insane stabilization. I have it and it really works. Really happy with the footage I get. On my previous GoPros I was always disappointed with how the image looked on my computer VS gopro promotional videos. Not anymore. I think the IS accounts for 90% of that and the IQ is also better. 

Let’s see what DJI brings, raw maybe? But useless for me on an action cam.

i don’t get why they wouldn’t put a 1” sensor. The P4 and Mavic Pro have very small cameras yet 1” sensors.

[MeanRevert]

A ton of different GoPro competitors but when you stack them side-by-side, the Hero 7 Black has better image quality than all of them. 

[kye]

18 hours ago, Anaconda_ said:

GoPros, and probably other action cams, sink by design. When you're diving 40m underwater, the last thing you want is your camera to float to the top.

But seriously. I really like using my Osmo Pocket for family stuff, but there's no way I'd buy another camera in the consumer class from DJI. In my experience with them, it's all about a money grab. Their USBc-3.5mm input is like €40, and they've disabled all third party ones, that cost like €3.

Then there's the whole watermarking your own footage with their logo if you use the 'Story Mode' or whatever that's called. - anyway, that's off topic. It'll be interesting to see what they have.

That's all quite disappointing really.  

14 hours ago, Adam Kuźniar said:

It's pretty much confirmed that it's an action cam. There were even pictures leaked

Honestly all I want is a 1inch stabilized sensor. Please!

Apparently not..  I agree with many others here that if the hardware is similar to the GoPro and taking into account GoPro seeming to do pretty well on the software side, there doesn't seem to be much chance this offers much that GoPro doesn't.

2 hours ago, wolf33d said:

Looks like a GoPro copy, and the 7 has insane stabilization. I have it and it really works. Really happy with the footage I get. On my previous GoPros I was always disappointed with how the image looked on my computer VS gopro promotional videos. Not anymore. I think the IS accounts for 90% of that and the IQ is also better. 

Let’s see what DJI brings, raw maybe? But useless for me on an action cam.

i don’t get why they wouldn’t put a 1” sensor. The P4 and Mavic Pro have very small cameras yet 1” sensors.

Interesting to hear that you're happy with the images - I know things have changed a lot since my Hero 3 Black but looking at the footage from that thing is beyond disappointing.  I tried recording myself and a colour chart under controlled lighting high DR scene and cycling through all the main resolutions and combinations of Protune and different WB settings.  Then I took them into Resolve and tried colour matching the Protune files to the normal mode and I struggled to get results as nice as the normal mode, and also couldn't see any improved DR either.  Needless to say that none of that footage matched anything like the glorious ads they make.

RAW or high bitrate files would be something interesting, one of the cool features of the X3000 is the 100Mbps codec, which combined with the OIS and less clipped DR (see iPhonedo GoPro review videos) makes for significantly cleaner images, especially in low-light.  If the DJI action camera had RAW or a nice codec then I'd be quite torn between it and the X3000, but so far there's nothing interesting about it.

Does anyone know if the Ambarella H2 image processor is particularly powerful?  If it is then maybe there's advanced software stuff going on....  @androidlad ?