A couple of months ago, we reviewed the DJI action 2, we were impressed with the video quality other than the shortcomings of overheating issues and short recording time

In DJI Osmo Action 3, it now merged the two seperated components – the front and back into a singular module. It also has a removable battery pack.

In the Action 2, there was on board memory, but on the Osmo Action 3, you will need to seperately purchase a UHS-I Speed Grade 3 or V30 class microSD card if you intend to record in 4K.

Similar to the previous generation, it can record up to 4K/120fps & Super-Wide FOV. It supports the HorizonSteady, HorizonBalance modes.

Now the differences and improvements. The DJI OSMO Action 3 is now 16m Waterproof compared to 10m of the DJI action 2. There is also a Quick-Release Vertical Mount and Dual Touch screen.

It now has 3 microphones instead of just 1 on the Action 2 power Combo, It has a larger LCD touch screen compared to a smaller OLED on the former.

As for the camera, the sensor remains at 1/1.7″ CMOS , 12 MP and FOV of 155 Degrees, aperture of f/2.8, it has a better ISO range for photos and video of up to 12800, DJI action2 was up to 6400. The shooting modes for photos and video remains unchanged. You can shoot up to 4K at 120 fps.

Stabilisation is the same except that it now comes with Rocksteady 3.0. Horizon Balancing and HorzonSteady are the same as the previous generation.

The operating time is now rated at 160 minutes recording in 1080p/30fps with EIS disabled and screen off. This is almost doubled of what you can achieve on the DJI action 2 at 70 minutes. This is due to the larger battery. In fact the DJi action 2 dual screen combo is rated 160 minutes too.

Charging time is improved to 49 minutes as compared to the previous generation requiring 37 minutes for camera unit or 90 minutes for both camera unit and power module.

[nextpage title=”The package”]

[nextpage title=”Specifications”]

Specs

General

• Dimensions (L×W×H)
• 70.5×44.2×32.8 mm

• Weight
• 145 g

• Waterproof
• 16 m ^[1] without Waterproof Case, 60 m with Waterproof Case

• Number of Microphones
• 3

• Touchscreens
• Front Screen: 1.4-inch 326 ppi 320×320
  Rear Screen: 2.25-inch 326 ppi 360×640
  Front/Rear Screen Brightness: 750±50 cd/m²

• Supported SD Cards
• microSD (up to 256 GB)

• Recommended microSD Cards
• Recommended models:
  SanDisk Extreme 32GB V30 A2 UHS-I Speed Grade 3
  SanDisk Extreme Pro 32GB V30 A2 UHS-I Speed Grade 3
  Kingston Canvas Go!Plus 64GB UHS-I Speed Grade 3
  Kingston Canvas Go!Plus 128GB UHS-I Speed Grade 3
  Kingston Canvas React Plus 64GB UHS-II Speed Grade 3
  Kingston Canvas React Plus 128GB UHS-II Speed Grade 3
  Kingston Canvas React Plus 256GB UHS-II Speed Grade 3
  Samsung Pro Plus 256GB V30 A2 UHS-I Speed Grade 3

Camera

• Sensor
• 1/1.7-inch CMOS

• Lens
• FOV: 155°
  Aperture: f/2.8
  Focus Range: 0.3 m to ∞

• ISO Range
• Photo: 100-12800
  Video: 100-12800

• Electronic Shutter Speed
• Photo: 1/8000-30 s
  Video: 1/8000 s to the limit of frames per second

• Max Photo Resolution
• 4000×3000

• Zoom
• Digital Zoom
  Photo: 4x
  Video: 2x (> 60fps), 3x (≤ 60fps, HorizonSteady On), 4x (≤ 60fps, HorizonSteady Off)
  Slow Motion/Timelapse: Not available

• Still Photography Modes
• Single: 12 MP
  Countdown: Off/0.5/1/2/3/5/10 s

• Standard Recording
• 4K (4:3): 4096×3072@24/25/30/48/50/60fps
  4K (16:9): 3840×2160@100/120fps
  4K (16:9): 3840×2160@24/25/30/48/50/60fps
  2.7K (4:3): 2688×2016@24/25/30/48/50/60fps
  2.7K (16:9): 2688×1512@100/120fps
  2.7K (16:9): 2688×1512@24/25/30/48/50/60fps
  1080p (16:9): 1920×1080@100/120/200/240fps
  1080p (16:9): 1920×1080@24/25/30/48/50/60fps

• Slow Motion
• 4K: 4x (120fps)
  2.7K: 4x (120fps)
  1080p: 8x (240fps), 4x (120fps)

• Hyperlapse
• 4K/2.7K/1080p: Auto/×2/×5/×10/×15/×30

• Timelapse
• 4K/2.7K/1080p@30fps
  Intervals: 0.5/1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/10/13/15/20/25/30/40 s
  Duration: 5/10/20/30 mins, 1/2/3/5 hours, ∞

• Stabilization
• EIS ^[2]:
  RockSteady 3.0
  HorizonBalancing
  HorizonSteady

• Max Video Bitrate
• 130 Mbps

• Supported File System
• exFAT

• Photo Format
• JPEG/RAW

• Video Format
• MP4 (H.264/HEVC)

• Built-in Storage Capacity
• The camera does not have built-in storage, but storage capacity can be expanded by inserting a microSD card.

• Audio Output
• 48 kHz; AAC

Battery

• Type
• LiPo 1S

• Capacity
• 1770 mAh

• Energy
• 6.8 Wh

• Voltage
• 3.85 V

• Operating Temperature
• -20° to 45° C (-4° to 113° F)

• Charging Temperature
• 5° to 40° C (41° to 104° F)

• Operating Time
• 160 mins ^[3]

Connection

• Wi-Fi Operating Frequency
• 2.400-2.4835 GHz
  5.150-5.250 GHz
  5.725-5.850 GHz

• Wi-Fi Protocol
• 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac

• Wi-Fi Transmission Power (EIRP)
• 2.4 GHz: < 16 dBm (FCC/CE/SRRC/MIC)
  5.1 GHz: < 14 dBm (FCC/CE/SRRC/MIC)
  5.8 GHz: < 14 dBm (FCC/CE/SRRC)

• Bluetooth Operating Frequency
• 2.400-2.4835 GHz

• Bluetooth Transmission Power (EIRP)
• < 4 dBm

• Bluetooth Protocol
• BLE 5.0

[nextpage title=”Video Review of DJI OMSO action 3″]

[nextpage title=”Conclusion”]

The DJI Osmo Action 3 is an upgrade of the Action 2. Doing away with modular components, this single unit now uses removable rechargable battery. With 3 rechargable batteries in the package, you can record more content without battery running flat.

I like the Quick-Release Vertical Mount as it allows you to record in vertical mode suitable for instagram or tiktok. The bundled 1.5m rod is useful for Vlogging.

The camera is now upgraded with a higher ISO at 12800. This will be able to handle night videos better than the Action 2.

We shot many videos in the day and night. For the day videos, distance objects might be a bit over exposed. As for night videos, I am pretty impressed with the videos shot in 4K/50fps in default mode. Night vides are a bit noisier but generally acceptable as the video was taken in a dim light environment.

As an action camera, the camera is equipped with EIS modes – Rock Steady, Horizon Balancing and Horzon Steady inherited from the previous Action2, we did a comparison of the various modes before in this video. The videos recorded using Horizon Balancing mode is super steady (as seen in the footage in the video).

As for the recording time, it is rateto last up to 160 minutes at 1080p/30fps with EIS disabled. With our recording of 4K/50 fps, we didn’t experience any overheating issue. When we record in 4K 120fps 4X Slow motion, the overheating message pop out at 15th minutes. Battery was depleted by 40% (from 100%). Seriously, I doubt i will record 15 minutes of slow motion footage.

Personally, I feel that the DJI OSMO Action 3 has fixed most of the issues with the Action 2. If you are upgrading from another action camera, this is a good alternative.

Pros

External battery

16m Waterproof

Higher ISO

Cons

No internal memory, need to purchase a UHS-I Speed Grade 3 or V30 class microSD

Pricing

DJI Osmo Action 3 Adventure Combo – 4K Action Camera, 4K/120fps, Super-Wide FOV, HorizonSteady, Cold Resistant & Long-Lasting, Vertical Mount, 16m Waterproof, Vlog, Extension Rod is now priced at USD 439 at Amazon US (affiliate link)

You will need to purchase a compatible microSD card for storage. We used the SanDisk 128GB Extreme microSDXC UHS-I Memory Card with Adapter – Up to 160MB/s, C10, U3, V30, 4K, A2, Micro SD – SDSQXA1-128G-GN6MA at USD 20.99 on Amazon (affiliate link)