Key Features
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Review Price:
£509
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Native 8K/60fps video
The first 360 camera to shoot at this resolution and frame rate, edging past the Insta360 X6’s 8K/50fps maximum
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User-replaceable lenses
Scratched or cracked lenses can now be swapped at home using a £35 kit
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SuperNight 2.0
DJI’s improved low-light mode runs at up to 60fps, with cleaner results than the original Osmo 360 managed
Introduction
It’s a rare thing for a manufacturer to nail a second attempt at a product so well – and to do it so quickly. DJI launched the original Osmo 360 – the company’s first 360 camera – barely a year ago, and I liked it a great deal – but it had a couple of nagging weaknesses.
The lenses couldn’t be cheaply replaced if damaged, and while it was waterproof to 10m, DJI straight-up stated it wasn’t designed to film anything underwater – two issues that rivals GoPro and Insta360 don’t have in their latest competing models, the Max 2 and X6. The Osmo 360 II addresses both of those complaints directly, and throws in a class-leading video spec for good measure.
I’ve spent the past week and a bit with the Osmo 360 II Adventure Combo, shooting in a variety of ways and during both day and night. So, has DJI managed to remedy the old model’s flaws without adversely affecting anything else in the process?
Design and Build Quality
- 61 x 36.3 x 81mm and 183g – just like the original Osmo 360
- IP68 rated and waterproof to 10m
- User-replaceable lenses priced at £35 per kit
Line up the Osmo 360 II next to its predecessor and you’ll have to squint to see the difference. The two cameras have the same dimensions, same weight, same screen, same mounting options and, yes, the same button layout. DJI has clearly decided the shape wasn’t the problem here, and it’s hard to argue – it remains a neat, pocketable and lightweight camera that doesn’t scream for attention.
What has changed may not be obvious, but it’s well worth a mention. The lenses now have a tougher coating and, crucially, can be replaced by the user if they get scratched or smashed. A replacement kit costs just £35.
On the original Osmo 360, a cracked lens meant sending the whole unit off for repair or replacement – or even buying a new camera. It’s the kind of upgrade you won’t notice until you actually need it, by which time you’ll be extremely glad it’s there.
The other key design change is DJI’s confidence in the Osmo 360 II’s underwater capability – but I’m not sure this is down to better waterproofing.
Without an additional case, the Osmo 360 II is still good for underwater use to 10m (some way short of the Insta360 X6’s case-less 20m), but DJI is now actively encouraging divers to use it, rather than hedging its bets as before – I think this is more down to better imaging software that isn’t flummoxed by the way light works underwater. I haven’t yet had the opportunity to test the Osmo 360 II at serious depth, sadly.
Performance
- 2150mAh battery, up from 1950mAh on the original Osmo 360
- DJI claims 100 minutes of 8K/30fps recording per charge
- Around 20 minutes of continuous 8K/60fps before it shuts down to cool
The battery capacity has grown slightly, from 1950mAh to 2150mAh, but real-world stamina feels much the same as on the original Osmo 360. DJI says you can expect 100 minutes of 8K/30fps recording on a full charge, and my own tests line up with that figure almost exactly.
Interestingly, the batteries are interchangeable across both Osmo 360 generations and DJI’s recent Osmo Action cameras too, which is a handy bit of ecosystem magic if you already own one of those.
Push the Osmo 360 II to its performance limits, though, and it has a tendency to get toasty. Shooting at 8K/60fps eventually triggers an overheating warning, and in my indoor test (at room temperature, with no fan or breeze to help it beat the heat) it shut itself down to cool off after around 20 minutes of constant recording.
That’s not a dealbreaker for most real-world shooting, where you’re unlikely to record continuously for that long, but it’s worth knowing about if you’re planning long, static 8K/60fps takes.
Audio is well covered too. DJI’s Mic range connects directly for 24-bit audio via the OsmoAudio ecosystem, and the four built-in microphones do a perfectly respectable job on their own if you can’t be bothered with an external mic.
On the software side, I put both DJI Mimo (mobile) and DJI Studio (desktop) apps through their paces. I’d describe both as dependable rather than exciting – Mimo’s AI-assisted auto-editing gives poor results, but manually cutting, reframing and tweaking footage works fine, while DJI Studio lacks any AI smarts but makes up for it with excellent subject tracking and that headline-grabbing 64x slow motion mode, which is achieved through frame interpolation. In general, the software is solid enough to get the job done.
Image Quality
- Native 8K/60fps 360 video – ahead of the Insta360 X6’s 8K/50fps
- 14.5 stops of dynamic range, up from 13.5 on the original Osmo 360
- 4K/240fps slow motion and 16K/30fps timelapse, both up from the original
Image quality is where the Osmo 360 II really earns its keep. It’s the first 360 camera on the market that shoots native 8K video at 60fps – even the excellent Insta360 X6 tops out at 8K/50fps.
DJI has also bumped dynamic range up to 14.5 stops from 13.5, doubled slow-motion frame rate to 4K/240fps (from 4K/100fps), and pushed timelapse resolution to 16K/30fps from 8K/30fps on the original. Photos now get HDR processing at the same 120MP resolution as before, too, although stills have never been the main draw on a camera like this.
SuperNight, DJI’s dedicated low-light mode, gets a meaningful 2.0 upgrade as well. I wasn’t blown away by it on the original Osmo 360 – it was capable by 360 camera standards, but nothing special overall – whereas SuperNight 2.0 produces noticeably cleaner, sharper results, and can now shoot at up to 60fps rather than being capped at 30fps.
The one catch is that you can’t shoot in D-Log M with SuperNight 2.0, so you’re stuck with DJI’s standard colour profile, though the newly available Adaptive Tone mode helps claw back some of that flexibility.
As for the sensor itself, on paper it appears to be virtually identical to the one in the original Osmo 360, so I’d chalk most of these image quality gains up to processing rather than new hardware. That said, the software and hardware fundamentals – stabilisation, stitching, invisible selfie-stick removal, flare handling – were already excellent, and they remain so here.
Daylight footage is noticeably sharper and punchier than anything shot after dark, which is true of every 360 camera I’ve used, but with care you can get genuinely impressive night footage out of this thing. Whether it’s actually a better camera than the Insta360 X6 is a closer call – but on the evidence I’ve seen so far, there’s very little in it.
Should you buy it?
You want a versatile small 360 camera and don’t want to pay Insta360 X6 money
Class-leading 8K/60fps video, tougher lenses and real underwater confidence make this an easy recommendation at £509 – over £100 cheaper than the X6.
You’re on a tight budget or don’t need cutting-edge specs
If you’re looking to save a few pounds, the GoPro Max 2 – now as little as £269.99 – covers the 360 basics for a lot less outlay. It’s no good at night, though.
Final Thoughts
I’m impressed that DJI has managed to address every major complaint I had about the original Osmo 360 in just 13 months.
User-replaceable lenses and underwater confidence are the kind of unglamorous upgrades that matter far more day-to-day than a headline spec bump, but DJI has delivered these alongside a faster frame rate at 8K than offered by its chief rivals.
At £509, it’s £100 more than its predecessor, and it can get a little warm under sustained heavy use. But set against the pricier Insta360 X6 and the more basic GoPro Max 2, the Osmo 360 II lands in a real sweet spot: it’s not the cheapest 360 camera you can buy, nor the most rugged, but at the time of writing now it might be the most complete.
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FAQs
Not really. The Osmo 360 II doesn’t appear to reinvent DJI’s first 360 camera, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing if the original model already nailed the basics.
Probably not unless there are specific new features you really need; the Osmo 360 II is more like a refinement than a must-have replacement.
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Author: Sam Kieldsen
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