Which is the best choice, Dji Osmo mobile 4 or Osmo mobile 3?

The Dji Osmo Mobile 4 is the latest mobile gimbal in the DJI mobile gimbal series. At first glance of the new OM4, you'd think that it's just the Osmo mobile 3 that's been in the sun for too long and faded?.It's not surprising to feel that way, as the OM4 is actually almost identical in shape to the OM3 , except that the Dji OM4 uses a much lighter grey color. But when you look closer, there are more differences between the two. In this article we'll compare the two and see what the differences really are.

1.Magnetic Design

The OM4 has two ways of holding the phone, one is a magnetic phone clamp and the other is a magnetic ring holder that can be permanently attached to the back of the phone.

The magnetic phone clamp is similar to the one on the  Osmo mobile 3, but with a quick release design that allows the clamp to be removed and attached to the magnetic ring on the gimbal arm by the magnetic ring on the back of the clamp, and the phone clamp of OM4 is thinner and more finely made than the OM3. We tested the  Osmo mobile 3 and 4 with the iPhone 12 pro 6.1" and the results were that both had no problems shooting in general sports scenarios and the phone would not come off the clamp. However, there is still a risk of the OM4 slipping off when the movement is too intense.

The magnetic ring holder is a round magnet with an adhesive backing that can be permanently sticked on the back of the phone. This allows the phone to be attached directly to the magnet on the DJI OM4. The magnetic ring holder is single-use, meaning that it has to be sticked to the phone for a long period of time and once it is removed it is not reusable. In short, for glass backed or plastic backed phones this method will not work and the only way to fix it is with a magnetic phone clamp.

2.More powerful motor 

In addition to its appearance, The  Osmo Mobile 4 has an upgraded motor to support larger mobile and a greater range of motion compared to the Osmo mobile 3. This means that when controlling the OM4 with a joystick, the range of movement of the robotic arm from left to right and up and down can be increased by 10%. When we use the Smart Follow mode, this is where the OM4's motor comes to the fore if the subject being followed moves over a larger range.

The upgraded motor not only means a wider range of gimbal movement, but also generates less heat, especially when stabilizing phones weighing over 200g. After 30 minutes of use, the Osmo mobile 3 will start to warm up, while the OM4 stays cooler.

3.Appearance and Design

The design of the head body is identical to OM3, with the same folding design and the same 1/4 mm screw holes at the bottom to allow for the assembly of a tripod. The battery has the same capacity as the OM3, which is 2,450 mAh. The official battery life is 15 hours in the normal shooting use.

The front of the OM4 offers a function button combined with a power button with an 'M' on it. A shoot button with a red dot and a joystick, which functions like Osmo mobile 3, allows you to switch between horizontal and vertical shooting by pressing the M button twice. The joystick is also recessed to suit the curvature of the thumb. If you are an old Osmo Mobile user, you don't have to worry about getting used to it again.

There is a zoom button on the side of the camera, which allows you to remotely control the digital zoom on your phone, but only if you connect to the app.

What is more interesting is the buttons on the front of the handheld head, which are designed like a trigger, so that the app can be linked to some of the functions, such as one press for aiming and smart follow, two presses to turn the phone back to the right (this is very useful when smart follow is disabled), and three presses to switch between front and rear shots.

4.Intelligent Features

• Dynamic zoom

If you're a fan of Hitchcock zoom, the OM4's dynamic zoom function is easy to implement with the mobile DJI MIMO app. For the Osmo mobile 3, the Hitchcock zoom is also possible with the latest app update. So, there is no big difference between the two in this respect.

• Active Track 3.0 & Gesture Control

The value of DJI OSMO is in the intelligent following. As the name implies, the camera automatically follows the object to be photographed. One of the features of the OM4 is that it adds gesture control to this. Basically, you can wave your hand at the lens to remotely control the phone to take a picture, and the lens will also lock on to the person to take the picture.

• Time-lapse photography

It is not a new feature and is available on the updated Osmo mobile 3. However, it is a useful feature that allows you to take time-lapse photos with smooth movements, which is an additional option compared to fixed time-lapse photography, but in practice, it is recommended to set up a tripod to take fixed shots and not to walk and shoot while holding.

• Story Mode

Compared to GoPro's Quick, DJI Osmo mobile’s story mode has an extra dolly effect, so basically you just have to follow the steps and you can make the video feel good.

If you're out all day and don't have time to make a good shot, this mode really saves you a lot of work and you can post a slightly more complete video on Facebook or Instagram.

5.recommendation  4.5

Both of DJI's gimbals are very powerful phone gimbals and have no problem with video stabilization for normal phones. As the OM4 has an upgraded motor, it generates less heat for larger and heavier phones, so it is recommended for users with larger and heavier phones. OM4's new phone clamp does bring a lot of convenience to users, but it's not a major feature or gameplay improvement. If you have already got Osmo mobile 3 and are using it with no problems, then you probably won't want to upgrade. For the average user, if you have a small budget, I recommend getting the OM3 and if you have the budget, then definitely go for the OM4.