DJI Osmo Action 6 review: the new best action camera?

Here it is at last – the DJI Osmo Action 6! The latest action camera in DJI’s increasingly popular line, the Osmo Action 6 enters at an interesting time in the market. On the one hand, the action camera space is more crowded than ever, with increasing competition from the likes of Insta360, as well as cheaper models at the low end from manufacturers like Akaso.

However, this year there has been no new main-line camera from the biggest player in the space: GoPro. While we have seen the 360-degree Max 2 and the ultra-lightweight GoPro Lit Hero, the flagship camera in the series remains last year’s Hero 13 Black. So, there’s a distinct opportunity for the DJI Osmo Action 6 to become the new action camera to beat.

As you can tell from the hands-on photos, the Osmo Action 6 is not any kind of reinvention of the action camera form (and those who remember the Action 2 will likely be glad of that). Externally it’s much the same as the Osmo Action 5 Pro, which was externally much the same as the Osmo Action 4 – but inside, there are some intriguing upgrades, including a few action camera firsts. I took it for a spin on a trip to New York to find out how it performs.

DJI Osmo Action 6 review: At a glance

Sensor	1/1.1-inch CMOS
Lens aperture	f/2.0-f/4.0
Field of view	155°
Waterproof depth	20m (without case)
Screens	2.5-inch rear screen, 400×712 resolution; 1.46-inch front screen, 342×342 resolution
Stills resolution (max.)	38MP
Video resolution (max.)	4K 120p
Battery	1950 mAh (est. 4 hours shooting time at 1080p)
Internal storage	50GB
Weight	149g
Dimensions	72.8 x 47.2 x 33.1mm
Price	£329 Standard Combo, £415 Adventure Combo

DJI Osmo Action 6 review: Price & Availability

The DJI Osmo Action 6 is priced for the UK, Europe and Australia, starting at £329 GBP, €379 EUR and AU$669. It is currently not available in the US due to ongoing trade issues between the US and China; a DJI spokesman told us: ‘The DJI Osmo Action 6 will not be officially available in the US market through official websites following the global launch on 18th November. DJI remains committed to the U.S. market and is optimizing our strategy to best serve our customers amidst evolving local conditions.’

DJI Osmo Action 6 review: Features

The main upgrades to the Osmo Action 6 are internal. First, the sensor. The Osmo Action 6 features a 1/1.1-inch sensor in square format, similar to the almost-square sensor featured in the latest GoPro Hero cameras. This is a larger sensor than the 1/1.7-inch version in the Osmo Action 5 Pro. As well as providing superior image quality and low-light performance, the square format also enables flexible cropping of footage into different aspect ratios – great for producing content for different platforms. Though if you do prefer to shoot vertically, you can simply turn the camera on its side and the whole interface reorients with you, which is delightfully smooth and never gets old for me.

The other new key feature is that the lens features an f/2.0-4.0 variable aperture, which is a first among action cameras and allows the DJI Osmo Action 6 to better adjust to different shooting conditions, especially low light. This powers the newly christened ‘SuperNight’ mode, which optimises settings to attempt to overcome what is typically an action camera’s greatest Achilles’ heel, and produce decent-looking footage at night.

In another GoPro-like move, the Osmo Action 6 has a number of additional lens accessories that can be clipped on to alter the field of view and functionality, such as a Macro Lens and an FOV (field of view) Boost lens. These weren’t available for me to test, but they sound interesting and I’m looking forward to trying them out.

Stills are captured at up to 38MP, while video shooters have their choice of resolutions up to 4K and frame rates up to 120p. There are also a number of FOV options – as well as Wide, Ultra Wide and Standard, there’s a new Natural Wide mode that’s designed to give you a broad field of view while minimising distortion. A few new ‘Film Tone’ modes give the option to add a few vintage-style looks to your footage, and a ‘lossless’ 2x digital zoom mode allows you to get a bit closer to your subjects.

Internal storage is back, upped to 50GB. I think this is a brilliant feature that every new camera should come with – even if you forget or lose your micro SD card, you’ll always be able to capture at least something. The battery has been upped to 1950 mAh, which is about on par with the GoPro Hero 13 Black, and you can also get the Osmo Action 6 with a handy three-slot charging case and two extra batteries, which should give you more than enough juice for a hard day’s shoot. I kept the case charged, and battery life was simply never an issue for me.

Elsewhere you’ve got plenty of features inherited from the Osmo Action 5 Pro, such as subject tracking that works for footage up to 2.7K in resolution, and does an admirably sticky job of finding human subjects in the frame – great for vlogging. The Rocksteady and Rocksteady+ stabilisation modes are also present and correct.

The Osmo Action 6 is waterproof down to 20m, which can be extended with a case. Its dual screens make it easy to use for self-recording, and both of them are lovely and bright.

DJI Osmo Action 6 review: Performance

Below are some sample stills taken with the DJI Osmo Action 6. All are as-shot JPEGs, entirely unedited, except for the one where I cropped out my hand that I had embarrassingly allowed to creep into the frame, something that is surprisingly easy to do on the wider FOV settings.

Photography on the DJI Osmo Action series saw a big improvement with the Osmo Action 5 Pro, which upgraded the old 12MP sensor to a 40MP chip. The Osmo Action 6 doesn’t see any resolution increase – in fact, at 38MP, it’s a slight decrease. Happily, images still look punchy and vivid straight out of camera, and those who are so inclined can capture raw files in addition to JPEGs. I was impressed with the camera’s ability to capture subtle differences in lighting tone as the sun went down.

Be warned that the bright screens are quite flattering to your images, the way small bright screens often are – a couple of times I thought I’d captured some lovely images of flowers, but viewing them on a proper monitor revealed that I’d been a little too close for the Osmo Action 6’s focusing capabilities. The experience did at least function as a compelling advert for the additional macro lens.

Video-wise, I played around with the various resolution, frame rate and aspect ratio settings, and the Osmo Action 6 consistently delivered good-looking and smooth footage. Below you can see a few clips taken at various settings across New York’s High Line, and on a ferry journey to Staten Island and back.

One thing you may notice in the 4K 50p clip is that the electronic lights in the ferry interior caused some nasty flicker, which certainly wasn’t present in real life. A different choice of frame rate might have helped, though I did also notice similar effects occurring elsewhere at 30p, so perhaps not. Additional sample videos can be found here: FullHD 30p, and 2.7K 100p.

In both stills and video, I appreciated having the digital zoom mode to get a little closer to certain subjects, or just flatten out the perspective. It’s not a big jump, and doesn’t transform the Osmo Action 6 into some kind of close-up monster, but it’s handy. Even if I did find myself wishing I were able to toggle it on and off while recording video, which you can’t do.

I also tried out the SuperNight mode, and I can honestly say I’m impressed. I took the Osmo Action 6 out to capture the night-time lights and vibes of Times Square, and the resulting footage looks pretty darn good, with crisp colours and a decent amount of detail in Full HD (I could have punched it up to 4K had I wanted to and I honestly don’t recall why I didn’t. Blame the beers).

The Film Tone modes are a nice addition, though are fairly basic and are a long way from proper LUTs or from Fuji’s Film Simulation modes. I also think it’s a bit of a missed opportunity that they’re only available for video – I actually think stills shooters might well get more use out of them.

It probably sounds like I’m nit-picking, and I am. The DJI Osmo Action 6 is an enjoyable action camera to use, one that novices can easily capture good-looking footage with, but at the same time provides enough depth for serious shooters to fine-tune their videos.

DJI Osmo Action 6 review: Verdict

The new action camera to beat? It just might be. The DJI Osmo Action 6 makes further refinements to a winning formula, and the end result is an attractive action camera that offers a winning balance between depth and ease of use. I think it’s definitely got much more to offer videographers than photographers, but this is generally the case across the action camera sector.

There’s still no 5.7K, but we’re still nowhere near the era where 4K isn’t good enough for the vast majority of projects, and the huge range of options you have for your 4K footage goes a long way to compensate.

If you need a great video camera that can handle a beating, a soaking and a hosing, you’ve no shortage of options. But the Osmo Action 6 is certainly a promising candidate for your attention in an increasingly crowded market.

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