Most of the population uses their smartphone for video recording, and smartphones are also the preferred second shooting tool for many social media influencers. Meanwhile, recent flagship models, including the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra and the Apple iPhone 14 Pro, allow for shoots with decent built-in video stabilization, but most devices do not.
This is why gimbals, in general, and the DJI Osmo Mobile 6 are so handy and valuable. They allow you to record videos with a smartphone with incredibly stable motion. If you just want less shake when filming your children playing at the park or need the absolute smoothest movement possible when doing high-speed tricks on a bike or board, the Osmo Mobile 6 has a handy zoom wheel, an extendable bracket, and very good
software tools that make it an indispensable device to have. Our Editors’ Choice for gimbals for everyday use, especially for iPhones, is a solid choice.
Functional Upgrades
It is said that DJI Osmo Mobile 6 has some minor improvements in design from its predecessor, the DJI Osmo Mobile 5. The first, perhaps the most noticeable, is the colour; the new model is dark grey, whereas the previous generation is off-white.
The latest addition to the Osmo Mobile 5 is a small digital readout that instantly informs you which mode you are in. DJI also changed the zoom slider to a zoom/focus wheel. It is much more user-friendly than the slider and slightly more sensitive than needed.
DJ also fine-tuned the joystick, making it easier to go through and get accurate on any particular movement.
For sure, DJI retained the record button, the mode button, and the rear-mounted trigger borrowed from the Osmo Mobile 5. Everything required to control the gimbal using one hand is within arm’s length. Like the Osmo Mobile 5, this new version can be easily folded to immerse itself in an included pouch or any other bag. In fact, it is not a very big gimbal as far as I am concerned.
Fully deployed, it weighs 10.87 by 4.39 by 3.9 inches of dimensionality, and, at the time of this writing, it was available for roughly $80 to $90. When folded, it is 7.44 by 3.32 by 1.73 inches in dimension and ready to be looked at. The battery weighs 10.9 ounces; the magnetic phone clip is a further 1.09 ounces. Last year’s model weighed 10.20 ounces, so the Osmo Mobile 6 is slightly heavier than its predecessor.
The Osmo Mobile 6 includes a handlebar for the extension that is 8.46 inches long. It is mainly designed to allow you to get away from the camera a bit when making self-generated video, but using it can give you a bit extra height when making your shots.
The tripod legs screwed onto the gimbal and packed inside the box allows you to set the gimbal down with your phone. This is handy if you’re a blogger or content creator who frequently shoots videos alone.
Also, the gimbal has a powerful magnetic clamp that attaches nicely to any phone. If you own an iPhone with MagSafe attached to a gimbal, you can position things so that the DJI Mimo video app starts launching via Bluetooth every time you connect the clamped phone.
Android users, to their misfortune, don’t have this particular option. But DJI also sells the DJI OM Fill Light Phone Clamp at $59, with a short throw fill light helpful in darker scenes. Next on the list is the DJI Mic for $329, which allows your broadcast to receive better wireless audio.
An internal battery for recharging is incorporated into the chassis. Charging is via USB-C; a cable is included, but no power adapter. In the box, you get a cable that you plug into a USB-C port; you need your own charging brick. Under ideal conditions, the Osmo Mobile 6 can stabilize a smartphone for over 6 hours and 24 minutes, says DJI.
We managed to get a little less than 5 hours and 30 minutes. DJI does not explain how long it takes to recharge the gimbal battery, but charging the Osmo Mobile 5 took several hours.
Mode-field Recording
The Osmo Mobile 6 has a few recording modes that will assist you in getting your perfect shot. The default mode is Follow mode, by which the camera provides standard stabilization. But the one on the right is the one that you will use most of the time.) There is a tilt-locked mode to help the camera maintain its horizon
irrespective of the gimbal’s movements. FPV mode gives follow for all three axes without regard to the subject’s movements and Spin shot to assist in rotating the camera left or right for circular motion. The new status indicator will show you what mode it’s in before starting to record, so it won’t happen that you’re recording your shot in the wrong mode.
Let me explain: When creating the content, the best position could be portrait or landscape, depending on the content. One call of the swap button will switch the phone between the two instantly. Also, the gimbal will stay perfectly level during its flipping, so the orientation can be changed without readjusting the gimbal. Now, you can quickly and easily change between recording shorts from TikToks, YouTube shorts, and regular videos.
As for stabilization, it is really good, and in practical use, the Osmo Mobile 6 is fantastic. It was very easy to get amazing, Steadicam-like shots. The three-axis stabilization helps to make even more or less rough movements nearly shake-free, even during vigorous spinning about three axes.
However, The wheel on the gimbal’s side is helpful because it can either zoom or manually focus near and far. The focus mode, for instance, uncovers some creative options by pulling the focal point from the subject to the back and vice versa. Such viewpoints may be otherwise quite challenging to photograph using smartphones.
The DJI Mimo App
The Mimo app synergises well with the capable hardware to help drive results to the next stage. The enhancements help support the whole package and are ActiveTrack 5.0 Follow mode, Quick launch for certain iPhone devices, tutorials, shot guides and many others.
Another feature of the Mimo app and the Osmo Mobile 6 at that is ActiveTrack 5.0. With it, you can point your subject in the viewfinder, and the gimbal will follow that subject until the extremity of its rotary range. Even though the subject may turn from left to right very fast or step backwards, the app and the gimbal will follow the subject while maintaining them in the frame and in focus. The subject does not have to be a person; we had no problems tracking our dog as it moved across the space.
DJI Mimo app tracking a dog
Swiping motions that you enable using the application interface make it easy to record yourself. For example, one can set the phone to start recording when one draws a particular gesture or start recording and following the movements. This feature proved effective during our experimentation, as in a YouTube video with closed captions.
Shot Guides is another feature inherited from Osmo Mobile 5: it helps you create various types of shots using the gimbal. It is not just the tutorial; they explain how to stage it and position the camera for the desired shot. This complements the initial tutorials, which give fundamental instructions on using the gimbal (which is fairly simple).
For example, the fully featured DJI Mimo app is available to iPhones in the iTunes App Store but not to Android devices in the Google Play Store. However, Android users must download this file to access the software through the DJI’s site.
This means the app has not passed Google’s approval; side loading is an insecure installation method on Android devices. Furthermore, most of the features highlighted above are not present for Android handsets, and you should brace yourself for some low-frills video-resolution downgrade for Android.
Final, Steadying Thoughts
Any consumer or creator who wants to enhance their smartphone videography should use a gimbal. Compared to the Osmo Mobile 5, the DJI Osmo Mobile 6 improvements are the button layouts and the zoom slider, a new display and more powerful capabilities with the DJI Mimo app – if on an iPhone.
Other gimbals are the Zhiyun Smooth-5, 249 euros ($149.99), though we haven’t reviewed it and the similarly reduced DJI Osmo Mobile 5, 129 euros ($129.99). Products in the below $100 segment often do not come with software support and may be basic two-axis stabilization, and above $300 usually cater to professional videographers. We recommend the DJI Osmo Mobile 6 for regular-purpose gimbals.
