DJI OM 5
The DJI OM 5 follows on from the five-star OM 4 with a slick new design and a built-in extension rod, giving the well-respected smartphone gimbal line full-blown selfie stick functionality. And that’s all despite the fact it’s smaller and lighter than any of its predecessors – surely there's a catch? Indeed, it’s got a smaller battery, no power bank functionality and it’s a tad fiddlier. Still, it extends, which will be a crucial feature for many.
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The first eye-catching aspect of the OM 5 is its look and feel. If the Osmo Mobile 3 and DJI OM 4 look like angry Autobots, the DJI OM 5 looks like it was heavily inspired by a pair of Bang & Olufsen headphones. Available in Sunset White and Athens Grey, even the colors look more luxurious than last year’s industrial grey options.
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Like the OM 4, DJI’s latest iteration sports a magnetic clamp that lives on your smartphone, then latches onto the OM 5 for dear life when set near it thanks to a powerful magnet. If you’re big on vlogging, you can also pick up a new Fill Light Phone Clamp ($59/£42/AU$79), which sports two LED strip lights for some front camera video flattery. Versatile, even on larger phones like the iPhone 12 Pro Max and Motorola Edge 20 Pro, the clamp fits comfortably, even if you’ve got a case on your phone. Unfold the OM5, and DJI brings back its 3-axis stabilization from previous generation gimbals. You can use the OM 5 out of the box with your phone’s native camera app. However, once you download the DJI mimo app, you’ll be treated to a new Shot Guides feature, which walks you through capturing stylized clips. This isn’t too mind-blowing in practice for seasoned gimbal users, but is fun for newbies. That said, there’s also a new improved Active Track 4.0 which works great and is clearly an improvement over past generations, and some new panorama photo enhancements.DJI’s also brought back all the things that made last year’s OM 4 pop, including gesture Control, DynamicZoom (think the 'dolly zoom' vertigo effect in Jaws), Timelapse, Motionlapse, Hyperlapse, Spin Shot Gimbal Movement and Story Mode Templates.
Costing $159/ £139 / AU$239, the DJI OM 5 ships with a magnetic clamp, tripod, power cable, wrist strap and storage pouch. You’ll have to buy the Fill Light Phone Clamp separately for $59 / £42/ AU$79 if you want to get your flattering selfie game on with your OM 5.
All things said and done, it’s a great addition to the line, but it's not necessarily the best choice for everyone. The DJI OM 4 will remain on sale, but won't be manufactured anymore, so could be worth picking up if you don't need the extending arm. But the OM 5 sits alongside it for anyone who needs a turbo-charged, gimbal-stabilized selfie stick – and in that role, it's the best option around.
DJI OM 5 price and availability
- Available for $159/£139/AU$239
- Retail pack includes mini tripod, pouch and wrist strap
- Fill Light Phone Clamp sold separately
The DJI OM 5 is available from today for the same price the OM 4 was on launch, $159/ £139/ AU$239. Unlike past versions of DJI’s smartphone gimbal, the OM 5 ships with a mini tripod, pouch and wrist strap as standard, which helps justify the price that bit more. While you get a metal clamp in the box, if you’re a vlogger or someone who needs your selfie lighting to be on point, you can also pick up a Fill Light Phone Clamp for $59/ £42/ AU$79. While it’s much heftier than the magnetic clamp, it adds a powerful light that operates at three strengths, and at three temperatures.
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Performance
- A good gimbal and a great selfie stick
- Intuitive, familiar controls
- Up to 6.4-hour battery life
You could certainly argue that the OM 4 is a better gimbal than the OM 5. While it doesn’t have the mega fancy extending arm, what it does do is operate as a more versatile gimbal when it isn’t extended.
What do we mean? The DJI OM 5 is made to be used both when it’s in selfie-stick mode and traditional gimbal mode. It therefore needs to be able to rotate differently to a gimbal that is always held at hand level. For traditionalists who don’t see themselves living their best selfie stick life, there’s very little reason to go for the OM 5 over the 4 if pure performance is what you’re after. The gimbal undeniably does a great job of keeping footage nice and steady. Like the OM 4, it’s a three-axis system, so will pan, roll and tilt to compensate for hand movement. While the pan and tilt range are similar across last year’s DJI gimbal, this year’s, it’s the roll that’s different, with the DJI OM 4 rolling through -127.05-degrees to 208.95-degrees, and the OM 5 rolling through -136.7-degrees to 198-degrees. While both offer the same amount of movement, the OM 4 benefits from greater upward facing range, while the OM 5 benefits from greater downward facing range.In other words, if you really want to get the most from the OM 5, firing up active tracking and using it as a makeshift camera person while it’s on a tripod, you can’t shy away from extending the arm, which might not always feel natural to do. If you don’t, you will be facing inferior useful reach when compared to the OM 4.
Speaking of rotation, when you’re using the joystick and are rotating your mounted smartphone, there’s a noticeable judder, especially if you have a slightly larger device. We also found the out of the box rotation to be pretty quick for our tastes. Slowing it in the DJI Mimo app both chilled out the erratic spins, and got rid of the judder.
As for the gimbal’s battery life, the OM 5 is powered by a 1,000mAh cell, which is significantly smaller than that of the OM 4, which was 2,460mAh. It therefore lasts around half the time. That's sad, but with around six hours of life from a single charge, we’re not too upset. Six hours of use time is plenty for a gimbal, and the fact it isn’t a portable power bank will mean that battery isn’t going to be shared with other devices.
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