Category Archives: DJI

We probably can’t trust X5 bloggers about the DJI Osmo 360 or Go Pro Max 2, can we?

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I first took “one shot” 360 photos in 2005 using a weird “half-mirror on a stick” thing called SurroundPhoto. It created images like this one, which were processed into 360 panorama QuickTime VR files:

360 Disneyland in 2005.

I later backed a kickstarter for a 3-lens device that was specifically designed for taking 360 photos (the failed 360cam). I’ve also owned a Kodak SP360, as well as several RICOH Theta cameras. The Thetas became my go-to camera due to their ease-of-use and form factor. My first Insta360 was the ONE X2, and that device is what switched me from RICOH to Insta360 cameras.

All this to say … I’ve been following and playing with this stuff for twenty years (and even longer if you consider the way we used to make 360 panoramas by taking a bunch of photos and stitching them together later with software). Here’s a 2002 example of photos I took specifically to make a 360 panorama out of using special software.

But I digress… since my 360 world has been Insta360 for several years (I’ve had the ONE X2, X3, X4 and now X5), YouTube has learned to show me lots of Insta360 YouTubers. Meanwhile, other camera manufacturers such as GoPro and DJI have their own set of YouTubers that I am completely unfamiliar with. I assume they are also “sponsored” and generally say good things about the gear they “review” just like the Insta360 reviewers do. My current pet peeve is the YouTubers who have hardware sponsors that provide them gear, then they lie to use and say they are unsponsored (this is illegal in the U.S.A. thanks to Federal Trade Commission rules that require disclosures).

But I digress…

Familiarity

Since I do not know the DJI YouTubers, I have no idea if I can trust what they tell me about the new DJI Osmo 360. Instead, many of us have been waiting to see what our Insta360 YouTubers say about it. After all, we are familiar with them and “trust” them because of it.

But can we?

If you are getting special perks from a company, such as free hardware, gift packages, and even being paid to make special tutorials from time to time, would you risk all of all that to tell us that a competing product is better? I cannot see why Insta360 would keep supporting content creators that promote another company’s product as being better.

With that said, I have found the Insta360 YouTubers take on the DJI Osmo 360 to be very interesting. I have also been watching the (unknown to me) DJI YouTubers discuss it, though since this is a new category for DJI, those videos have to explain the basics of what makes 360 video so cool to their audience that is likely unfamiliar. This makes the DJI videos a bit less useful for those of us that have been doing this stuff for years.

My ask of you…

Please leave a comment and share links to the “best’ DJI Osmo 360 review videos you have found. This can be dedicated videos, or comparison videos. I will share them here in a future post (or update this one).

BONUS: With the upcoming release of the GoPro Max 2 360 camera, I’d like to know similar GoPro channels that I should check out.

Thankes!

Osmo 360 versus Insta360 X5 in low light

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Here are some comparison videos I recorded last weekend at Silver Dollar City theme park. I mounted both cameras side-by-side and rode their water-based dark ride, The Flooded Mine. Both cameras were recording in 360 video using the low light mode. I then reframed each to a 4K forward view to make this split screen.

There are two segments to this video. One shows them top/bottom, then the video is repeated side-by-side so you can see more of the horizontal and vertical image.

Next is a test of the single lens mode. The X5 was recording in 4K, and the Osmo 360 has some higher 5K-6K resolution mode. For the comparison video, 4K was used so the Osmo is scaled down to fit. This is a walk through Grandfather’s Mansion:

And a week before this, I visited Lost Island Themepark in Waterloo, Iowa. I was recording the indoor queue to their dark ride, Volcano. I was not intentionally doing a comparison of the two cameras, but I did record it twice, each time using a different camera. I put a short clip together showing this:

More to come… Let me know what comparisons you are interested in seeing.

Insta360 X5 vs DJI Osmo 360

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On Friday I received my DJI OSMO 360 camera from B&H Photo here in the U.S.A. I took it out on a test ride with my Insta360 X5 next to it to try to capture some comparison video. Unfortunately, the quality coming out of the Osmo 360 was inferior, and I learned it defaulted to “Standard” bitrate but had a setting for “High.” Since my X5 was set to “High” bitrate, I believe my first comparison would not have been a fair on.

Because of that, I will be re-doing these tests again, soon.

I also took both the X5 and Osmo 360 to Lost Island Themepark in Waterloo, Iowa yesterday. While I did not do any head-to-head comparisons, I did use the Osmo 360 a few times under low light conditions. It is my understanding that it is a better 360 camera for low light.

I will begin sharing these to my Sub-Etha Software YouTube channel, shortly.

DJI Osmo 360 available at B&H Photo in the USA?

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Yesterday, I received a notification from B&H Photo that they had the DJI Osmo 360 camera in stock. Indeed, it seems true, at least at the time of this writing:

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?q=DJI%20Osmo%20360&sts=ma

This is surprising, since DJI‘s own website has yet shown the item as order-able, at least for folks viewing from the USA.

Meanwhile, Amazon has the camera for sale, but it is through a third-party reseller. Even with it “Shipped by Amazon,” buyers should beware. If this item was not going to be sold in the USA, some reseller could have ordered them from another region to resell here in the States (via eBay, Amazon, etc.). Without knowing if warranties would be honored when purchased this way, or if warranty service/support was possible, I was not willing to order from that reseller. (They may be fine and great, though. I am just speculating.)

So, if you are looking for a well-established place to buy a DJI Osmo 360 in the USA, maybe start with B&H Photo. I have used them a number of times over the past decades, and have yet to have a problem.

Good luck!

DJI OSMO 360 launched… but you cannot buy it (in the USA)

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UPDATE: There is now a third party reseller offering the DJI Osmo 360 on Amazon, but shipping doesn’t happen until mid-September. Since this is not Amazon shipping or an official DJI storefront, buyer beware. Check reseller ratings before ordering anything.

UPDATE #2: More “confirmation” as I check out Facebook posts. I keep seeing posts from folks who have had access to pre-release review units saying “not available in the US for the foreseeable future.” That is unfortunate. It looks like the Osmo 360 might be better for low-light 360 and I’d get one just for that.

UPDATE #3: According to this REDDIT post, which includes a chat response from DJI, there is no official sale of the DJI Osmo 360 in the USA at this time. BUYER BEWARE of any third party sellers offering it in the USA.

This morning at 7am central time, DJI officially launched their new DJI OSMO 360 camera. But, like almost everything else on the DJI website, it is unavailable in the U.S.A.

This situation was predicted by many DJI followers, based on how almost nothing they sell is currently available to purchase in the U.S.A. Basically no drones, no cameras, and no microphones are being sold to the U.S.A. currently.

The reasons speculated by video bloggers are varied, and are all based on speculation. The two top speculations I have seen include:

  • No Slave Labor – The situation with the Uyghurs (pronounced “weegers”, which you may have heard of) being used as forced/slave labor. Apparently there is something passed by the previous administration that would prevent those items from being brought into the U.S.A.
  • Tariffs – The situation with tariffs and our current administration. This one does not really ring true, since tariffs would seemingly only make things more expensive. And, plenty of other China-based entities have products available here in the U.S.A. Insta360 products are readily available, and you can still order from Alibaba, Aliexpress and Temu, for example.

Thus, my goal of getting one of these on launch day will be delayed while we figure out if we can get them at all. Instead of a pre-order or long delivery window, they just say “out of stock.” But so does most other things I have spot-checked on the website.

The FOMO is real!

If you get one here in the U.S.A., please leave a comment and tell us where and how you got it. This isn’t even listed on Amazon… yet.

More to come…