DJI Osmo Nano Review: The 4K60 Micro Action Camera We’ve Been Waiting For?

Just when you thought DJI was done releasing game-changing cameras, they drop another one. I’m not sure a week goes by when the brand doesn’t announce a new product, from their DJI Osmo 360 that I reviewed a few weeks ago, to their controversial DJI Mic 3s that are without a 3.5 mm input.

Today, DJI announced the release of the DJI Osmo Nano, a competitor to the Insta360 GO 3S, and a do-it-all action camera with a very compact form factor. This isn’t a sponsored review, but I’ve been using it for the last few weeks, using it as a primary and secondary camera to the DJI Action 5 Pro that I’ve used for all of our in-car video since it was released. If you want to see how the DJI Action 5 Pro performs, check out the Tesla FSD video I filmed for our YouTube channel.

By the numbers, the DJI Osmo Nano is an impressive device, weighing just 52 grams and measuring 57 x 29 x 28 mm. Still, it packs a 143° ultra-wide 1/1.3-inch sensor, which is the same size as the sensor in the Action 5 Pro. This sensor is suitable for 13.5 stops of dynamic range (with SuperNight mode noise reduction) and can record 4K/60fps and 4K/120fps slow motion, which the Insta360 GO 3S cannot.

Price & Availability

The DJI Osmo Nano is priced from AUD$529 for the Standard Combo (64GB) and AUD$589 for the Osmo Nano Standard Combo (128GB). You could easily add storage with the microSD slot, but having additional internal storage is guaranteed to make your life easier when shooting video content, so I highly recommend choosing the larger of the two options. It also offers faster transfer speeds, 600 MB/s with the 128GB version (400 MB/s for the 64GB).

Here’s how these combos break down, with a list of exactly what you get for your money:

• Osmo Nano Standard Combo (64GB) – $529 AUD
  • Osmo Nano Camera (64GB)
  • Multifunctional Vision Dock
  • Magnetic Hat Clip
  • Magnetic Lanyard
  • Protective Case
  • USB-C to USB-C PD Cable (USB 3.1)
  • Dual-Direction Magnetic Ball-Joint Adapter Mount
• Osmo Nano Standard Combo (128GB) – $589 AUD
  • Osmo Nano Camera (128GB)
  • Multifunctional Vision Dock
  • Magnetic Hat Clip
  • Magnetic Lanyard
  • Protective Case
  • USB-C to USB-C PD Cable (USB 3.1)
  • Dual-Direction Magnetic Ball-Joint Adapter Mount

Here’s how that pricing compares to the Insta360 GO 3S and Insta360 Ultra:

• Insta360 GO ULTRA Standard Bundle – AUD$759
• Insta360 GO 3S Standard Bundle – AUD$609.99

We’ll also note that a range of accessories (sold separately) have been released alongside the camera, many of which let you use it to its full potential.

Here’s a list of accessories that are available for the DJI Osmo Nano:

• Osmo Magnetic Headband
• Osmo Dual-Direction Quick-Release Foldable Adapter Mount
• Osmo Nano ND Filter Set
• Osmo Nano Glass Lens Cover
• Osmo Nano Dual-Direction Magnetic Ball-Joint Adapter Mount

Finally, the DJI Care Refresh is a comprehensive protection plan that covers accidental damage, water exposure, and collisions. We always recommend taking the brand up on their one-year plan, especially for action cameras you will mount to motorbikes, etc. One year gets you up to two replacements, while a two-year plan will get you up to four.

Shooting Modes & Features

The main benefit of the DJI Osmo Nano is its ability to shoot anywhere, but I’ll touch more on that in a minute. First, I’ll quickly talk about the different shooting modes that the camera comes with, so you can familiarise yourself with them before we explore the design, wearability, and performance of the camera.

Here’s the list of shooting modes for the DJI Osmo Nano:

• Horizontal & Vertical Shooting: Capable of switching for social content
• Auto Recording: Pre-set intervals and durations for hands-free filming
• Gesture Control: Nod or tap to start recording in auto mode
• Pre-Rec Mode: Captures footage just before the record button is pressed

With social media content creation as crucial as long-form feature video, it’s important to note that the Nano can shoot Horizontal (16:9, 4:3) and Vertical videos (9:16, 3:4). Still, it can’t do it natively through the screen like you can on something like a GoPro Hero 13 Black. Still, unlike the DJI Pocket 3, the vertical video isn’t cropped down to 3K because you don’t rotate the lens.

Design & Wearability

The DJI Osmo Nano’s main advantage over every other action camera (besides the Insta360 GO 3S) is its lightweight and ultra-compact size.

It weighs just 52 grams and measures a mere 57mm × 29mm × 28mm, making it as compact as the Insta360 GO 3S but more capable because of its 4K60 and 4K120 slow-motion capability. I’ll talk more about the camera’s video quality in a moment, but first, we need to discuss the extensive mounting options.

First, the camera’s dual-sided magnetic design allows you to mount it on hats, helmets, lanyards, or even pet collars. That’s great if you’re filming POVs, like I did in the video examples below, and it’s true when they say that the shots you can get are only limited by your imagination. The more you use the camera, the more you figure out what shots you can get.

Second, when you don’t want to strap the camera to your dog, you don’t have to. You can mount it like any other DJI camera, using the little feet that clamp themselves into the mount. I tested it, and yes, it’s the same as every other DJI camera mounting system, so you don’t have to buy new mounts if you already have some.

Here’s the kicker: Because the Multifunctional Vision Dock’s OLED HD touchscreen can be detached from the camera module, you can mount the camera in hard-to-reach places and control all of your shots through the screen (which acts as a monitor) anywhere. That’s been one of the biggest game-changers for me when videoing cars, as I no longer have to get out of the driver’s seat every five seconds to check and make sure the shot I’m getting from outside the car is right. Yes, you’ve been able to control action cameras from mobile phones for years, but this is just easier.

Dock & Battery Performance

The DJI Osmo Nano’s battery is small, but they won’t tell us how small.

Still, it can record up to a claimed 200 minutes at 1080p/24fps or 60 minutes at 4K/30fps in Endurance mode. That’s significantly more than the 38 minutes at 1080p/30fps that Insta360 claims for its GO 3S, or 140 mins at 1080p/30fps with the Action Pod connected.

When it comes time to charge the DJI Osmo Nano, it can accomplish 80% in 20 minutes.

I exclusively film 4K/30fps video, and the camera regularly records 45-60 minutes in most environments. It will be interesting to see how it performs as the weather gets hotter, as thermals can sometimes be an issue with smaller action cameras that record at such a high resolution. If you’re reading this sometime down the track and I haven’t updated this section, it’s done well.

The Multifunctional Vision Dock acts as the camera’s hub, with a single USB-C port, a single microSD card slot, a remote trigger, a display screen, a charging station, and a file transfer hub through that USB-C port, which offers 600 MB/s with the 128GB version (400 MB/s for 64GB). This transfer speed is only achieved with a PD cable (USB 3.1) and through the on-board storage.

Finally, the camera module is waterproof to 10 metres, while the Multifunctional Vision Dock offers IPX4 for splashes.

Image Quality and Audio Performance

Often, image quality is the trade-off when it comes to smaller action cameras on the market, but DJI has claimed to have solved this with Osmo Nano.

The 1/1.3-inch sensor has 13.5 stops of dynamic range with 4K60fps capability (this is not supported when filming in 4:3 aspect ratio), and can even stretch that to 4K120fps slow motion. More importantly, it can do all of this (well, most of it) with 10-bit colour or D-Log M colour switched on, offering 72% more colour space than 8-bit standard video.

You’ll find these specs in the Insta360 GO Ultra, but the DJI Osmo Nano has the compact size of the GO 3S, and it’s significantly cheaper.

The short test video I posted above shows that a high-quality video is produced even in poor lighting conditions, even with an ND8 filter attached. I’ll have to do further testing to see how well it competes with the DJI Action 5 Pro, but first impressions are that it’s pretty darn good.

You will notice some noise in the video I posted, but again, it’s in low-light conditions with an ND8 attached. I didn’t have a chance to test the new SuperNight mode, which enhances quality with noise reduction algorithms. However, I’ll note that SuperNight mode only supports 8-bit colour depth, frame rates up to 30fps, and doesn’t support the 4:3 aspect ratio.

The sound quality produced from the dual stereo microphones is quite good, but we’d pair up a set of microphones using the OsmoAudio Direct Microphone Connection if we were shooting for YouTube.

Verdict

The DJI Osmo Nano is an excellent option if you’re looking for a compact action camera.

I still have more testing to do now that SuperNight mode has been added, but you won’t find a competitor that offers the same level of image quality or compact size for this price tag. The question is whether or not you need a camera this small, as the DJI Action 5 Pro is also an excellent value-for-money option.

NOTE: The author of this article, Ben McKimm, was provided a DJI Osmo Nano for the purposes of this review. All reviews remain independent and objective. DJI was not shown this review before publishing, and we received no money for posting the review. In fact, we’ve never done business with DJI. For more information on how we test products, view our editorial guidelines here.