With a fluctuating economy and the world in such a tumultuous state lately, I don't feel comfortable calling any tech gadget an absolute "must-have," but the DJI Osmo Pocket 3 is an almost must-have for any solo content creator (an increasingly growing category that includes conventional YouTubers and vertical video-driven influencers) who usually doesn't have a second person helping with camera work.

I fit into the YouTuber category, and DJI's small gimbal camera has made my work significantly easier the past two weeks. I didn't always feel this way; the first two Osmo Pockets were disappointments in my book, products that felt more like a niche toy than a real professional tool. But the Pocket 3 is good enough to be a professional tool that fits into the workflow of a modern-day content creator, especially in today's increasingly selfie-centric trend of vertical videos.

And just like the best Android camera phones of the past year, the big improvement comes via a 1-inch camera sensor.

About this review: DJI provided me with an Osmo Pocket 3 Creator Combo for testing; DJI did not have input in this article.

DJI Osmo Pocket 3: Pricing and availability

The DJI Osmo Pocket 3 is available for purchase now worldwide where DJI Products are sold. In the U.S., the Pocket 3 is available on retailers such as Amazon and Best Buy. The DJI Osmo Pocket 3 starts at $519 for the device, a charging cable, protective cover, wrist strap, and a "Handle" accessory with a 1/4-inch mount at bottom. There is a more expensive $660 "Creator Combo" that includes all the aforementioned plus a "Battery Handle" that adds additional battery life, a DJI wireless mic with a "dead cat" windscreen, and a carrying pouch.

Hardware and design

All about that 1-inch sensor

The DJI Osmo Pocket 3 continues the design language established by the first Pocket, so it's essentially a short (roughly 5.6-inch) plastic stick with a camera mounted on a three-axis gimbal at the top end and a screen in the middle. Weighing 6.3 ounces (179g) and measuring about an inch in width and depth, it's ultra-compact and can be gripped securely by even child-sized hands.

When the device is not in operation, the camera tucks inward and the gimbal turns sideways (like in the photo above) but the camera head isn't locked in place. If you move the device around in this state, the camera head can flop around, with the lens flipping back out (shown below).

This is not ideal, of course, but DJI includes a plastic protective cover that, when snapped onto the Pocket 3, does keep the gimbal head from moving. Basically, you should always snap the protective cover anytime you're not using the camera.

Turning on the Pocket 3 is easy: Simply give the 2-inch OLED screen in the middle of the body a push from the bottom-right side. It's a swivel screen, so the push will turn the display "sideways" into widescreen mode, which is the default form factor. As soon as the screen gets into this position, the device boots up and is ready to film almost immediately. The time it takes to go from completely off to turned on and ready to film is about a second, which is very impressive, and faster than any other pocket cameras I've tested.

This 2-inch OLED screen is a big bump up from previous generations, and it also gets very bright at 700 nits, which means you'll be able to see this screen even under direct sunlight. "Being able to see the screen" sounds like it should be a given, but the camera industry notoriously ships products with terribly dim screens. There are $3,500 Canon and Sony cameras with screens that are basically unusable under the sun.

The Pocket 3 screen supports taps and swipes for navigating the pretty straightforward camera UI. I'll talk about that in a bit. Let's move to the star of the show: the 1-inch camera.

The first two DJI Osmo Pockets were products I was initially excited for pre-launch, but once I got my hands on the cameras I was immediately let down by image quality, mainly due to the tiny image sensors (1/2.3-inch in the first Pocket; 1/1.7-inch in the Pocket 2). The Pocket 3 makes a big leap in improving optics, sporting a 1-inch type image sensor that's larger than in even the best iPhones or Google Pixels.

The camera is mounted on a three-axis gimbal, which softens movements in the X-, Y-, and Z-axis. There's a joystick and record button near the bottom. The joystick mostly controls the camera head movement, but I very rarely used it because the Pocket 3 is so smart at automatically tracking my face or body.

The Pocket 3 makes a big leap in improving optics.

Charging is done via USB-C, and the internal battery of the Pocket 3 can record for a bit over two hours. But this really depends on if you have enough storage. The camera does not come with internal storage, so you must purchase a MicroSD card separately. Camera files can be moved to a phone or computer via wireless transfer or by physically inserting the MicroSD card into the phone/camera (via a dongle).

Even with the base $519 package, DJI includes a small "Handle" accessory that snaps onto the bottom of the Pocket 3. This handle does two things: add a bit more length to the camera for even easier grip, and the bottom of the handle has a 1/4-inch mount, so it can be screwed onto a tripod or selfie stick.

I do not understand why DJI made this handle a separate piece when it provides such basic functionality. Most people who buy this camera would use a 1/4-inch mount, and it's not like the Pocket 3 by itself is too long. Instead of making this handle a separate piece (that's included with the package anyway), why not just make the Pocket 3 a bit longer and include the 1/4-inch mount?

Software

Easy to use, with or without the app

As long as you have a memory card in the device and there's enough battery, the DJI Pocket 3 can operate on its own without needing to ever connect to an app. The touchscreen is responsive, with swaps and taps registering without noticeable lag. For me, who mostly just used the Pocket 3 to shoot walk-and-talk type vlog videos, I didn't really need to use DJI's companion app, named Mimo.

But there are some who would find Mimo useful. The app turns the phone screen into a larger camera viewfinder for the Pocket 3, and allows the user to control the camera directly on the phone, changing everything from shooting modes to controlling gimbal head movement. This is useful for people who need to prop the Pocket 3 somewhere and control the camera from across the room. The app also allows moving camera files to the phone wirelessly.

The app is mostly fine, but there are occasional bugs in which I have rotated the phone, and the app UI rotates accordingly, but the viewfinder does not follow.

Using the Pocket 3 is easy. As mentioned, the touchscreen is responsive, and the camera boots up fast. I also like that if I want to shoot vertical videos, I don't have to physically turn the camera sideways. Instead I just flip the swivel screen back to vertical orientation, from here, the Pocket 3 will film videos with a vertical crop. Do note, however, this is cropping into the 1-inch sensor, so the maximum resolution drops to 3K (instead of 4K). I don't think this is a big deal, as most vertical videos are meant for Instagram or TikTok, and those apps max out at 1080p videos anyway.

Performance

Tremendous video quality that's a complete gamechanger for vloggers

The DJI Osmo Pocket 3's video quality is a significant step up from the first two Pockets, and is in fact the best video quality I've seen from a device this size. The gimbal stabilizes footage so walk-and-talk footage are free of jitters, and the 1-inch CMOS sensor pulls in a lot of light and detail. The camera's focal length is wide at 15mm, but if there's an object or subject closer to the camera than the background, there's noticeable natural bokeh.

The DJI Pocket 3's video quality is the best video quality I've seen from a device this small.

It's not just hardware upgrades, though. DJI's image processing software has clearly improved too, as the Pocket 3 does a good job of producing HDR videos and images like smartphones. As recently as the DJI Pocket 2 from 2021, videos and images suffered from exposure problems and soft details. Below is a screengrab from footage captured with the Pocket 2.

The sky is blown out, details on my face are soft, there's little to no depth in the video. This looks like footage snapped with a $150 phone or a laptop webcam. Now look at screengrabs from DJI Pocket 3 videos below.

The Pocket 3's videos are much shaper in detail, with noticeable depth, and HDR in high contrast scenes is much better. Keep in mind, the above were screengrabs from video clips. If I actually use the Pocket 3 to snap still photos, they appear even higher quality because the camera is pouring all of its resources into producing one still image.

The Pocket 3 can record videos at up to 4K/120, but for the bulk of my testing I kept it at 4K/30. Video quality is good enough that I can blend Pocket 3 footage with clips shot on my $3,200 "real" camera setup (a Sony ZV-E1 with a 10-20mm lens) and they don't look out of place. In fact, in side-by-side testing, the Pocket 3 has better HDR and stabilization (though the Sony camera footage is still higher quality in terms of sharpness and bokeh).

In walk and talk footage, the Pocket 3 can pan and tilt smoothly, and the software can also automatically track subjects, so I can ensure I am always in frame. The Pocket 3's trio of built-in mics does a good job of capturing audio on the device, but the Creator Combo package includes a wireless mic that boosts audio quality significantly.

The Pocket 3's small size and ease of use has dramatically shortened the time I need to film my videos. In the past, I'd have to pull out my Sony camera, mount it on a tripod, attach a microphone, a process which takes 30-60 seconds. Even though my Sony ZV-E1 is among one of the lighter cameras, it's still too heavy for extended vlog use. It's also just large enough that I have to be more selective with where I place the camera. The DJI Pocket 3 being so much smaller lets me put it onto just about any flat surface.

There's also another benefit to the small size: I don't get hassled when filming with the Pocket 3 like I would with a dedicated camera. Many places of business usually tell me I cannot walk around with a "real" camera on a tripod. But the DJI Pocket 3 gets almost no such scrutiny.

All of these factors add up to make the Pocket 3 a very desirable camera of choice for solo content creators who don't have a helping hand — whether it be someone holding the camera, or act as a lookout for filming in public places.

Should you get the DJI Osmo Pocket 3?

You should get the DJI Osmo Pocket 3 if:

• You are a solo content creator/influencer who films on the go often
• You want a portable and easy-to-use camera for documenting life
• You film lots of walk-and-talk-type vlog videos

You should not get the DJI Osmo Pocket 3 if:

• You are perfectly happy with the size/weight of your current filming gear and filming process
• You film mostly stationary videos inside a controlled environment
• You have the DJI Pocket 1 or 2, and you are fine with the image quality

The DJI Osmo Pocket 3 is in my opinion a game-changer. A device that makes quality solo content creation much easier than before. For my particular line of work — I film videos at tech events, and of mobile products that I use out in the real world — the Pocket 3 saves me time and reduces the weight I need to carry.

For average consumers who are not in the content creation industry (or just people with no interest in cameras in general), they could very well scoff at the idea of paying $519 or $660 for a tiny plastic vlog camera. But I know for myself and among my YouTuber peers, this product is basically a must-own, and must-carry anytime we step outside the house to film.