These days, my iPhone is the easiest camera for me to carry around. And the video quality keeps getting better and better. But what if I get a call? Or need to look something up while filming? The phone is great for quick captures, but it isn’t practical as my only video camera.

I have several cameras I use for video, and they all have their own pros and cons depending on the situation…

• iPhone 17 Pro Max: Quick captures when I don’t have anything else with me
• Osmo Pocket 3: General use, subject tracking, vlogging (if I ever decided to start doing that)
• Osmo Action 4: Anything that requires a weather-proof slightly tough placement
• Insta360: Specialty shots, creative perspectives
• Sony A7R3: Mostly tripod shots—talking heads, wildlife, etc.

The Osmo Pocket has become my every-day walking around video camera for any planned shooting. I’ve had it for a little over a year now, so I figured I’d share my thoughts on it.

Osmo Pocket 3

I have the original Osmo Pocket. It was a great little camera, but I didn’t find myself using it much. The Pocket 2 wasn’t enough to get me to upgrade, but when the Pocket 3 came out, there were enough upgraded features that I bit the bullet and bought one.

Side note: After a few months, the first Pocket 3 I bought started having battery issues. DJI replaced the entire camera without any hassle at all. It’s the kind of customer service I’ve come to expect from DJI, but it’s always nice to see a company be consistent with standing behind their products.

Package

I snagged the Creator Combo that came with a tripod handle, extended battery, mini tripod, case, filter, and a DJI Mic 2. I don’t find myself using the extended battery much, but the tripod handle and mini tripod get used all the time. The DJI Mic 2 is perfect for effortlessly capturing audio on the rare occasion I need to. I picked it up for $670, and it looks like the price has gone up by about $10 since then.

Even at $680, I think the Creator Combo is worth the price.

Features

If you’re here, you probably already know the specs, so I’ll just summarize the features that ended up being important to me:

1. Larger rotatable screen
2. Easy to switch between horizontal and vertical video
3. Simple microphone connection with great quality
4. 4k 120fps
5. Active Track with dynamic framing
6. Square footage
7. D-LOG M
8. DJI app on iPhone/iPad makes it easy to transfer videos if I don’t have my laptop
9. Magnetic lens attachments

You can find more detailed specs on DJI’s website.

Larger Screen

The original Osmo Pocket was great if you connected your phone to the camera via the adapter. Big phone screen, all the options were easy to tap on, it was a pretty solid experience. But the built-in screen was tiny. So if you were in a hurry and didn’t want to fiddle with the phone adapter, you were limited to that little screen.

The Pocket 3’s screen is perfect. Just big enough to see what you’re doing and navigate the touch menus. And rotating the screen lets you easily switch between horizontal and vertical video.

I will say that between the gimbal and the screen, this isn’t a rugged camera. I wouldn’t use it for anything particularly active. That’s what the DJI Action is for. I’ve ran over that thing in my truck and it still works great.

Microphone

The wireless DJI Mic that came in the creator combo works flawlessly. It clips on to the Pocket case well enough, and it’s always there in a pinch. And the range on it is impressive (see the sample footage below.)

4k 120fps

Seems to be a standard these days if a camera is going to be worth anything–the slow motion footage is buttery smooth. I don’t use it often, but when I do, I’m impressed with the results.

Active Track with Dynamic Framing

In the gimbal menu, there are a few options to choose from. Face Tracking is fine, Spin Shot is interesting, but Dynamic Framing is perfect when you don’t want your subject smack dab in the center of the frame. Select the gimbal mode, use the joystick to pick a box on the screen where you want your subject to be, then click the joystick. The gimbal will move to keep your subject where you want it.

Square Footage

I really thought I’d use this more, but I find myself forgetting the feature exists. It’s not true OpenGate recording, but at 3072×3072 pixels, it makes cropping for vertical or horizontal video pretty simple. It’s handy if you’re someone who films for both YouTube and Instagram Reels.

D-LOG M

To be fair, I’m not even close to being an expert at color grading. Sometimes I just see something in my head and want to replicate it in the final video. I make my best attempt–sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. But shooting in LOG-M generally makes it a little easier to get close to what I imagined when shooting.

DJI App

I’ve never had an issue with the DJI apps. They connect to the camera every time, and transferring footage is quick and painless. Super useful for people who thrive on a mobile first or mobile only editing workflow. I edit in Final Cut for the iPad sometimes, and getting footage from the camera to the iPad is simple. Using a USB-C cable works, too if you want to skip the iOS photos app and import directly into Final Cut.

Magnetic Lens Attachments

There are quite a few different magnetic attachments you can get for this camera. I use the ND filters now and then, and I really like the look of the diffusion filter, too. I bought a cheap anamorphic attachment that I think I used once. Cool effect but if you want it, pay for a good one.

Real Life

I’ve found that stabilization while walking isn’t quite as good as the iPhone’s. The iPhone 17 Pro Max also has a better zoom range. But–for tracking subjects, or quick shots that require a microphone, or when you really need to keep your phone available for other things, the Pocket 3 is a great choice. I still use it almost daily. The quick and easy transfer to the iPhone or the iPad means I can edit on the go in Final Cut or Premier. Between the iPhone, Pocket 3, and Action 4, I’m pretty much covered for whatever comes up.

Example footage

A picture is worth a thousand words, right? I ran around capturing some sample footage. It isn’t epic, but should give you an idea of real-world results without fancy lighting or editing. I did forget to take the diffusion filter off for most of these shots. I like the way it looks, but wish I had removed it for the sample footage.