DJI Supercharges the Osmo

DJI is making some major changes to its Osmo stabilizer/camera system, delivering a combination of better cameras and longer battery life that should make the system even more valuable to filmmakers.

First, the cameras. DJI announced at the NAB show that it will soon ship a $99 adapter that will enable the stabilizer to work with the Micro Four Thirds-based X5 and X5R cameras for higher quality stills and video. They’ll also sell Osmos preconfigured with those cameras, calling them the Osmo Pro and Osmo RAW, respectively.

The Osmo RAW uses the X5R record to 4K video with up to 12.8 stops of dynamic range with an ISO range of 100-25,600. It saves RAW footage (CinemaDNG) to 512GB worth of SSD memory. It supports a flat D-LOG color profile to deliver footage ideal for post process color grading. It has an MFT lens mount.

Owners of the original Osmo with the Zenmuse X3 camera will also get a new stabilizer accessory to correct for movement along the Z-axis. The stabilizer sits between the camera and Osmo handle to stabilize the vertical axis. The Z-Axis accessory features a shock absorber, a tilt angle adjust button and a knob to control the spring tension needed on the fourth axis.

The Z-Axis stabilizer will retail for $129.

Finally, battery life will get a major boost. When we tested the Osmo, it clocked in at about an hour of battery life–not great. A new high capacity battery will bump up that time to 96 minutes of 4K recording  when shooting with the X3 camera. If you’re using the heavier X5 camera, you’ll get 78 minutes of recording while the heavier-still X5R will roll for 37 minutes on the high capacity battery.

The new high capacity battery can be charged using the standard Osmo charger.

If you need still more recording time, there’s a new intelligent battery system that fits into the Osmo handle and connects with either a dedicated DJI power charger or a DJI Intelligent Battery (the same ones used in the company’s drones). Once connected to this external power source, an Osmo with an X3 camera can record for 14 hours, with an X5 for up to 11.7 hours or under 6 hours with the X5R.