DJI Osmo Pocket 4P (Pro) Creator Combo Black

A few years ago, I was the man with a full-frame camera, multiple lenses, drones, tripods, and quite a bit of back pain during our travels. I also noticed that since the birth of my daughter, photography has become more of an afterthought. Capturing moving images and memories (for her, but also for us) suddenly became so much more important.

That Pocket 2, and then the Pocket 3, were real ‘gamechangers’. Taking stable footage suddenly became very simple, and before I knew it, the whole family was waiting for their grandchild’s next feature film. And then the 4 and the 4P came out recently. So, which one do you choose?

For me, the extra lens was the deciding factor. Not just because of the quality, but mainly because of the ability to switch between wide shots showing the general area, a building, or the surroundings, and close-ups and detail shots with the zoom lens—all without any loss of quality. Wow! Finish with a few drone shots, choose some nice music, add a few effects and a color grade, and you have a truly top-notch film. There are a few extra bells and whistles here and there, but mostly a lot of familiar elements from previous Pocket versions, allowing you to get back to work quickly. And just a quick note: with the DJI Mimo app, you don't have to choose those music tracks and color grades yourself at all if you want to create nice footage quickly. It does that for you!

Finally, I admit: this is not a full-frame camera for photography. But for 99% of the population, this is really more than sufficient, even for photos. And with enough creativity, you can get better images out of it than 99% of the people who actually own a full-frame camera. And don't forget, the 4 is also very decent, but of course, you can't buy that extra physical lens separately! Just a quick, small downside (but that actually applies to the 4 as well) is that it doesn't come with a physical hard case, like the Pocket 3. That really is a missed opportunity for DJI.

I bought this camera to make videos on vacation. I'm glad I bought it two weeks before departure, because it really took me a few days to figure out the menus, find and adjust the settings, and get used to how it works.

Once I managed that, it really is a top-notch camera. It starts up quickly and shoots beautiful, colorful footage (I wouldn't even recommend D-log for everyday home use; the image quality is already top-notch by default).

I'm happy with my purchase. The only point for improvement I can suggest right now is ease of use; it would help if an instruction manual were included so that I didn't have to look at everything on the small screen. A tip for other users is the DJI website, which features many helpful videos (and where a manual can also be downloaded). Additionally, you can connect the camera to a phone/tablet, which makes the screen much larger :)