New footage from DJI Osmo with 4K large sensor X5 - costs less than GH4 + gimbal!

A few days ago, when DJI announced they were putting the X3, with its fixed lens and 2/3" sensor, on an integrated "selfie gimbal" (the new DJI Osmo), I have to admit I wasn't impressed.

Fixed lens, small sensor cameras don't fit my style of shooting - even if they record at 4K and are waterproof (e.g., GoPro Hero 4 Black) or are mounted on multicopters (e.g., DJI Phantom 3).

I have admired a lot of the work done with these cameras, especially what Philip Bloom has done with GoPro cameras and DJI copters (below), but it has been difficult to justify the money for a dedicated second camera with a fixed lens that was a lot less flexible and capable than the GH4 I already had.




The combination of the DJI Osmo with the 4K, interchangeable lens X5 and its micro 4/3 sensor changes that (h/t to Andrew Reid at EOSHD for his post on this).  If the 1080p YouTube promo video from DJI at the top of this page is any indication, the image quality from the X5 mounted on the Osmo will competitive with high end 4K interchangeable lens cameras mounted on the latest 3-axis gimbals

With a $349.99 gimbal-only Osmo, an integrated $1689 4K X5 and a smartphone, shooters can now produce stabilized 4K, large sensor images like those from a stabilized GH4 (below) for about $60 less than a $1497.99 GH4 combined with a $599 Beholder MS1 (prices as of this post).




No, the Osmo-mounted X5 doesn't have a headphone jack.  Nor does it have an EVF or the ability to mount heavy lenses.  But, in addition to its price advantage, The Osmo/X5 has the advantage of smaller size and close integration with DJI's multicopter ecosystem.

You can take the X5 off the Osmo and put it on your multicopter with a whole lot less trouble and expense than buying a separate aerial gimbal for a GH4 (or any other DSLR or mirrorless camera).

I haven't touched on the potential presented by the X5R interchangeable lens camera with lossless RAW compression.  At $4999 ($7999 mounted on a DJI Inspire 1 Quadcopter), it seems a little overpriced to me (I'd rather have a $4995 URSA Mini 4.6K EF for that much money).

That said, if the price ever comes down, this camera could be very serious competition for the $1295 Blackmagic 4K Micro Studio Camera, which needs a relatively expensive and bulky external recorder for 4K, requires a third party gimbal solution for stable images and is limited to 3840x2160 resolution (compared the X5's 4096x2160).

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