{"id":6136,"date":"2022-01-24T22:00:06","date_gmt":"2022-01-24T22:00:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2022\/01\/24\/dji-action-2-review-from-hell-and-back\/"},"modified":"2022-01-24T22:00:06","modified_gmt":"2022-01-24T22:00:06","slug":"dji-action-2-review-from-hell-and-back","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2022\/01\/24\/dji-action-2-review-from-hell-and-back\/","title":{"rendered":"DJI Action 2 Review: From hell and back"},"content":{"rendered":"

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I\u2019ve been using the DJI Action 2 pretty consistently over the last few months. After relying on it for video shoots, doing numerous tests and considering purchasing one myself, I now have a clear picture of where it sits in the action camera market.<\/p>\n

For better or worse, it\u2019s at the top.<\/p>\n

The Action 2 is the successor to the DJI Osmo Action<\/a>, but built in a less traditional action camera design. This time, DJI went with a tiny cube aesthetic. This pared-down design is more than a reduced form factor. It includes a new magnetic attachment system that makes the Action 2 quick to mount and compatible with several great accessories.<\/p>\n

These accessories open up the Action 2 to be more useful in the world of vlogging, and a more capable action device. Of course, as all flagship modern cameras should, the action camera also shoots 4k footage in 120fps slow-mo.<\/p>\n

Keep reading to learn how this little camera became a part of my workflow and how I\u2019ve found it useful over the last few months.<\/p>\n

Pocketable luxury action camera<\/h2>\n

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Beyond being a high-end camera that can shoot 4K footage, the main draw of the Action 2 is its minuscule footprint.<\/p>\n

The camera is 39mm x 39mm x 22mm cube that\u2019s waterproof up to 10 metres and weighs 56g. I found I was able to record a handful of shots over a day of shooting using this as my side camera, probably around 40-minutes of stop and go filming at 4k. It\u2019s a very satisfying package to have this much camera power in the literal palm of your hand.<\/p>\n

The central camera cube also features 22GB of usable internal storage, so you don\u2019t need to use an SD card for more casual shooting.<\/p>\n

The small size makes the Action 2 easy to tuck just about anywhere. The magnets on the bottom can even stick to metal things like your fridge or a fence post. I never found the perfect angle to take advantage of this feature, but I\u2019m sure someday it will come in handy.<\/p>\n

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These magnets also allow the Action 2 to connect to a handful of bespoke accessories. Chief among these are the battery and selfie screen modules.<\/p>\n

The selfie screen turns the Action 2 into a vlogging camera by allowing you to see yourself and adds a four-microphone array that captures much clearer audio. This is cool, but the 155-degree field-of-view does make this a pretty wide angle for vlogging. Still, it\u2019s very usable and the audio is greatly improved with it on. The front screen battery extends the camera\u2019s life to a maximum of 160 minutes at 1080p 30fps, according to DJI.<\/p>\n

The other magnetic module is a simple battery pack that gives you a maximum of 180 minutes of recording at 180p\/30fps.<\/p>\n

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Both modules include USB-C ports and MicroSD card slots. DJI only sells the camera in bundles with the front screen or the battery. Since the front screen piece is more practical, I think that\u2019s what most people should go for, unless you want to save roughly an extra $150 CAD. The front screen also puts the Action 2 on par with the GoPro Hero 10<\/a> in terms of features.<\/p>\n

To be clear, you can use the primary camera component on its own, and it will last for about an hour and film on the internal storage. But to charge the camera and to use SD cards, you need the attachments. This means anything longer than 40-minutes of shooting requires the camera and an accessory.<\/p>\n

The other catch with these modules is if you plan to use them underwater for more than an hour, you\u2019ll need to buy an extra waterproof case<\/a> that costs $55 USD (roughly $70 CAD).<\/p>\n

You can buy the Power Module<\/a> on its own for $60 USD (roughly, $75 CAD), and the Front Touchscreen Module<\/a> is $160 USD (roughly, $200 CAD).<\/p>\n

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That\u2019s not all these magnets can do either. There are numerous magnetic mounting accessories from DJI that allow you to get cool shots with the Action 2 and use it with various traditional camera accessories. I used the magnetic lanyard, the magnetic ball joint adapter and the magnetic adapter for traditional action cam mounts. There\u2019s also a magnetic headband if you want to wear it that way.<\/p>\n

These accessories allow you to move the DJI Action 2 between mounting points quickly in theory, but I found that since I only had one of each type of mounting point adapter, I often had to shift those along with the camera.<\/p>\n

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If I was investing in the DJI Action 2 ecosystem, perhaps it would be worth buying a few extra magnetic adapters to have set up on things you use often, but given the already high price of the camera bundles, I\u2019d rather just move the mounts over the old fashion way instead of shelling out more cash for extra proprietary DJI adapters that cost $20 USD \u2013 $35 USD a pop ($25 \u2013 $43 CAD)<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve also found that having more adapters causes more hassle and offers more opportunity for the small mounting hardware to get lost between setups.<\/p>\n

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This is a big issue with all this tiny gear. Over the course of my review, I often misplaced the Action 2\u2019s various accessories since there is so much to keep track of. I carry around all the Action 2 gear in a little tote since it\u2019s easier that way. Sure it can be pocketable, but with all the extra gear, it can become a lot to handle. I\u2019ll also mention that this small size made the device\u2019s lens easy to touch accidentally, so I found myself wiping away my fingerprints often.<\/p>\n

The final cool camera feature allows the DJI Action 2 to be used as a webcam with a computer. M1-equipped Macs<\/a> don\u2019t appear to work in my testing, but the experience with Windows was plug and play. Make sure you keep the camera set to 720p or 1080p recording, or it will likely overheat during your video call<\/p>\n

The app<\/h2>\n

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A big feature of action cameras is their companion apps. And frankly, coming from the brutal companion app that passes with the Fujifilm camera system, the DJI Mimo app<\/a> works surprisingly well. It\u2019s a great external display for the camera, allowing you to frame your shots using a much larger screen than the tiny one on the camera. And the connection between the app and the camera is stable as long as you don\u2019t go too far from the device.<\/p>\n

This means you can stick the camera on the outside of the car you\u2019re trying to film in the pouring rain and control the settings from inside the car. While controlling the photo\/video modes through the camera\u2019s small touch screen is doable, it\u2019s a lot easier through the Mimo app. Also, connecting to the camera once you\u2019ve set it up is seamless and takes less than a minute.<\/p>\n

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I\u2019ll mention here that these modes include \u2018Time-lapse,\u2019 \u2018Video Mode,\u2019 \u2018Photo Mode,\u2019 \u2018Quick Clips\u2019 and \u2018Slow Motion.\u2019 The only mode here that needs an explanation is Quick Clips, which takes videos in pre-set 10, 15 or 30-second chunks for social media.<\/p>\n

There are also basic video editing tools and an AI editor that automatically arranges your clips and adds music. This feature is okay, but most people will likely use a third-party app that\u2019s more capable.<\/p>\n

Of course, the thing I use the app for the most is accessing my footage and downloading it straight onto my phone.<\/p>\n

The camera experience<\/h2>\n

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My two main video cameras are usually my Fujifilm X-T3 and whatever smartphone is in my pocket. Lately, it\u2019s been an iPhone 13 Pro<\/a>. The Action 2 leaned more toward iPhone level quality, which in 2022 isn\u2019t a bad thing, but its footage isn\u2019t what I\u2019d call cinematic due to its 155-degree field of view.<\/p>\n

It looks great when you\u2019re using it mounted to a car or when you\u2019re doing something more active, but I found that in most instances, the resulting footage is pretty warped, forcing me to crop it. That said, the wide-angle worked splendidly when I attached it above the front tire on the Hyundai Ioniq 5 electric vehicle<\/a> (EV).<\/p>\n

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I don\u2019t have many complaints about the DJI Action 2\u2019s colour reproduction either, even if I did find the standard profile a bit vibrant for my taste. There\u2019s a desaturated profile that\u2019s a lot easier to match with other camera footage and I found myself using that the most.<\/p>\n

My main complaint regarding the camera from a video perspective is I wish it offered more dynamic range. I often found myself out with it during the day and while it exposed me fine, it made the sky a sometimes weird shade of aqua\/teal as it tried to tame the bright blowouts.<\/p>\n