DJI Osmo Pocket 3 is on a great deal. It has a three-axis gimbal, a large sensor, and a touch OLED display

As soon as DJI sent the Osmo Pocket 4 to stores this April, it was clear that the three would drop in price. For many, it is thus becoming an increasingly interesting choice. The DJI Osmo Pocket 3 with code ALZADNY15 now costs 7,217 CZK instead of the previous 8,490 CZK, making it almost half the price it was when it first entered the market. Back then, it cost 13,990 CZK.

Quick summary:
✅ Makes sense if you shoot vlogs, travel, or children and want smooth video from a camera that fits in your pocket.
⚠️ Consider that it has no built-in memory or water resistance, and may overheat during longer 4K recording.
💡 For 7,217 CZK, you can get it 3,273 CZK cheaper than last Black Friday, when it cost 10,490 CZK.

It’s three thousand cheaper than last Black Friday

The three entered the market in 2023 for 13,990 CZK. Last Black Friday, we wrote about a deal for 10,490 CZK, in August after the successor arrived, it already cost 8,490 CZK, and Alza still lists the same pre-sale price now. With code ALZADNY15, it is now another 1,273 CZK lower, at 7,217 CZK.

The new Osmo Pocket 4 launched in the Czech Republic at 12,990 CZK for the basic package. It has the same size sensor, but a newer one, with a dynamic range of up to 14 EV. It also adds 107 GB of built-in memory, 37 Mpx photos, and a brighter display with 1,000 nits instead of 700. These are noticeable improvements, but compared to the four, with the three, you save almost six thousand.

Gimbal instead of cropping and a display that turns on the camera

The image is handled by a 1-inch CMOS sensor, and the shot stability by a three-axis mechanical gimbal. It physically compensates for movement, so unlike software stabilization, it doesn’t have to crop the image.

Control is managed by a rotatable 2-inch touch OLED display. By rotating the display, you turn on the camera, and the same movement switches between landscape and portrait shots, making it suitable for classic videos and vertical clips for social media. The ActiveTrack 6.0 feature can track faces and keep you in frame, even if no one is behind the camera.

Normally, the camera records 4K at 60 frames per second; 4K at 120 frames is only possible in slow-motion mode. The manufacturer states that one continuous recording in this mode will last approximately 18 minutes at most in Europe. For color grading, there’s a 10-bit D-Log M profile and HDR video in HLG. Alza lists a four-times optical zoom in the specifications, but it is a digital zoom, as also stated in the product description.

Sound is recorded by three built-in microphones, and you can connect up to two DJI Mic 2 transmitters directly to the camera. The 1,300 mAh battery, according to the manufacturer, lasts up to 116 minutes of 4K/60 recording, and with a 65W charger, which must be purchased separately, it charges to 80% in 16 minutes. Owners also appreciate that you can power the camera from a power bank even while recording.

Owners praise the image, some deal with heat and display hinge

On Alza, the camera has a rating of 4.7 out of 5 from 123 customers, 92% of customers recommend it, and over 2,000 units have been sold. Alza describes the complaint rate of 2.66% as low. Owners most often praise the stabilization, image quality, fast face tracking, and significantly better low-light shots than those provided by the previous Pocket 2.

However, most attention was gathered by an owner’s review, whose camera overheated during longer 4K recording, even in a room with 20 to 23 °C. According to him, it lasted about 13 minutes recording in 4K/60 with the D-Log M profile. He himself admits that it might be a problem with a specific unit, but another customer also mentions shutdowns due to temperature. Anyone planning long continuous shots in summer should take this into account.

Two customers report problems with the rotatable display: for one, it stopped holding in a horizontal position after a few months, for the other, the swivel lasted exactly one year. Some people are also bothered by the fact that you have to activate the camera via the DJI Mimo app with a DJI account and internet connection for the first use. Other criticisms are directed at weaker photos at 9.4 Mpx resolution and the gimbal, which does not rotate a full 360 degrees.

Who the three won’t be enough for

Anyone who wants to take a lot of photos with the camera will be happier with the 37 Mpx of the four. For rain, water, or cycling, opt for a durable action camera; the Pocket 3 has no water protection, and some owners describe it as rather fragile. Don’t expect built-in memory, so factor in a fast microSD card to the price. And beware, this offer applies to the camera itself, not the Creator Combo kit with a microphone and battery handle.

Verdict: At the current price, the camera makes sense

If I were buying my first pocket camera for travel and vlogging now, for 7,217 CZK with code ALZADNY15, I would go for the three and put some of the saved money into a decent memory card. The mechanical gimbal and large sensor are still the main reasons to get such a camera instead of shooting on a mobile phone. However, anyone who also wants quality photos, built-in memory, or better low-light image quality should pay extra for the Pocket 4.

Would you take the three for seven thousand, or pay extra for the four with built-in memory?