DJI Osmo Pocket 4 was already a ridiculously capable camera for something you can slip into a pocket. Now, DJI has quietly handed owners another reason to leave their bigger camera at home.
A new firmware update for the Osmo Pocket 4 adds a dedicated HDR 10-bit color mode, HDR Enhancement for photos, D-Log 10-bit recording in slow motion, and more flexible gimbal control — all without requiring any new hardware.
And there’s an important distinction here: HDR itself isn’t suddenly coming to the Pocket 4. DJI launched the camera with an all-new 1-inch stacked CMOS sensor capable of capturing up to 14 stops of dynamic range, along with a 10-bit D-Log color profile for preserving more information for post-production. The new firmware, v01.03.14.04, specifically adds a new HDR 10-bit color mode for recording 10-bit high-dynamic-range video.
In other words, DJI is giving Pocket 4 shooters another way to take advantage of all that dynamic range.
Related: Everything DJI wants new Pocket 4 owners to know
The new mode should be especially useful for scenes with tricky lighting — think bright skies over darker streets, sunsets, windows inside dim rooms, or travel footage where you don’t exactly have time to set up lights. DJI notes that the resulting footage should be viewed on an HDR-compatible display for the best experience.
Photos get some love too. The same firmware introduces HDR Enhancement in Photo mode, again with DJI recommending an HDR-capable display for proper playback.
Then there’s a potentially bigger deal for creators who love slow motion. Pocket 4 can shoot slow-motion video at up to 4K/240fps, one of its major upgrades over the Pocket 3. Until now, however, DJI’s 10-bit D-Log profile was limited to normal Video mode. Firmware v01.03.14.04 adds D-Log 10-bit specifically to slow motion, giving creators much more flexibility to color-grade those dramatic 240fps clips and potentially match them more easily with their regular D-Log footage.
DJI has squeezed in another quality-of-life improvement: the Pocket 4’s joystick can now command 45-degree diagonal gimbal movement. Instead of being limited to straightforward horizontal or vertical moves, users can combine the two for more natural diagonal camera movements.
It adds to a camera that was already unusually stacked for its size.
Beyond that 1-inch sensor and 4K/240fps slow motion, Pocket 4 offers three-axis mechanical stabilization, a 2-inch OLED touchscreen, intelligent autofocus and ActiveTrack that can follow subjects at up to 4x zoom. There’s also 107GB of built-in storage, two physical buttons below the display, and up to 240 minutes of operating time.
The September update also includes image-quality and interaction optimizations in certain scenarios, along with fixes for known issues.
Accessory owners should pay attention during installation. DJI says the battery handle and fill light update alongside the camera and shouldn’t be disconnected until the process finishes. The Osmo FrameTap remote gets firmware v01.02.08.02 separately through DJI Mimo, while compatible DJI Mic transmitters should also be running DJI’s specified firmware versions.
Taken individually, none of these additions reinvent Pocket 4. Together, though, they’re exactly the kind of free upgrades you want to see on a camera that’s only been on the market for a few months.
More: DJI Mimo app gets new tricks for photos, videos, and sharing
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