DJI Osmo Action 3 guide

The DJI Osmo Action 3 betters budget options from GoPro when it comes to frame rates, and its stereo mic and front-facing touch LCD are good news for vloggers.

Review: DJI Osmo Action 3

The company reinvents its action camera for the third time, creating a compelling, cheaper alternative to the GoPro.

EVERY ITERATION OF DJI’s action camera gets better, from the original with its color front screen, to the second version with its clever modular and magnetic design, to the latest, which is in many ways a synthesis of the best parts of the first two. Design-wise and functionally, there's much to like here.

If the new Osmo Action 3 were going up against the GoPro Hero10 it would be very competitive. Unfortunately, the GoPro Hero11 is already on the scene and the Osmo struggles to compete with video and image quality. That said, if you don’t need vertical video, 5.3K-resolution footage, or the 27-megapixel stills of the Hero11, the Osmo Action 3 is more affordable and still is a very good action camera.

DJI is back with its third-generation Osmo 3 action cam ($329). The new camera returns to the form factor of the original edition, an indication that the experimental magnetic, modular Action 2 wasn't as much of a hit as DJI hoped. The Osmo 3 looks a bit more familiar—the camera is basically a GoPro Hero clone, with a few interesting differences, including a front touch screen and a quick-detach mounting system. For the price, it's a compelling alternative to the GoPro Hero9 Black (now on sale for around $300), especially if you care more about high frame rates than pixel count.

DJI Osmo Action 3 review: Let's try that again

BY

LUKE BAKER

UPDATED APR 13, 2023

On paper, the Osmo Action 3 seems like it could prove to be a real rival to GoPro's market dominance, so we set out to see how it shapes up.

DJI's latest action camera marks a return to its original GoPro-inspired form factor, and its original naming, too.

While 2021's Action 2 impressed us with its modularity and unique design, the unusual camera brought with it some serious compromises. There were just too many workarounds required for the camera's tiny chassis, and overheating issues were fairly common.

With the Osmo Action 3, DJI seems to have learned from its mistakes and has returned to a safer design that should be far more user-friendly and robust.

On paper, it seems like it could prove to be a real rival to GoPro's market dominance, so let's find out how it shapes up.

DJI Osmo Action 3

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The Osmo Action 3 marks DJI's return to the GoPro-style form factor, and with it comes massive improvements in usability and versatility.