I Flew to Canada to Test the Banned DJI Osmo Pocket 4P (And It Was Worth It)

The Osmo Pocket 4P is DJI's newest handheld vlogging camera , a significant upgrade over the popular  Osmo Pocket 3 . I picked up the Pocket 3 for myself last year, and I've been using it constantly ever since.

Unlike the Pocket 3, you won't find the Pocket 4P ($859 CAD, about $610 USD)—or the standard Pocket 4 ($477 CAD, about $340 USD), launched earlier this year—in stores near you anytime soon. All new DJI products (not just its drones ) are illegal to sell in the United States , so when the company recently invited me, and a small group of other journalists, to Toronto to test the Pocket 4P, I jumped at the opportunity.

Design: Double the Lenses, Double the Controls

The Pocket 4P doesn't look much different from the Pocket 3, except for the very obvious addition of a second lens. It has the same candy-bar-shaped body with a gimbal on top, a feature the Pocket series popularized. The body of the camera holds a 2-inch touch screen that flips horizontally to turn the device on and can be flipped back to vertical to either turn it off or switch to portrait orientation recording. A joystick and record button sit just below the screen, just like on the Pocket 3, and they're joined by two more buttons: a zoom toggle and a custom shortcut button. These are hidden behind the touch screen when it's in portrait mode, so they're unfortunately inaccessible if you're shooting vertical video, but they're handy to have on hand when shooting in landscape.

Then there are the actual camera modules, mounted on a tiny gimbal on the top of the device. One is the main wide-angle lens, equivalent to 20mm f/2.0. The other is a 60mm-equivalent f/1.8 medium-telephoto lens, which gives the DJI Osmo Pocket series its first optical zoom function. That's a 3x zoom, which can combine with digital zoom for up to 12x close-ups while still capturing photos at up to 7,680 by 4,320 pixels or recording video at up to 4K60. Optical zoom is almost always better than digital zoom (which is essentially just cropping a higher-resolution image), so the 3x lens is very welcome. The zoom here is the biggest upgrade for the Pocket 4P, though it's matched by the US-available Insta 360 Luna Ultra ($769.99), which has similarly specced lenses.

The two lenses capture photos and videos at the same resolution and frame rate, but their sensors aren't equal. The wide-angle lens has a Type 1 (often referred to as 1-inch) Lofic CMOS sensor, while the medium-telephoto lens has a smaller Type 1/1.28 CMOS. A larger sensor means more surface area to capture light, making it better at recording in dim environments. The main sensor also has a higher sensitivity limit of up to ISO 25600 for standard and slow-motion recording and ISO 51200 for low-light video compared with the zoom's ISO 12800 and 25600 maximums, respectively. If you're recording at that level of sensitivity, you can expect tons of noise, fuzz, and grain, even with a full-frame camera like my Sony a7 IV (which features a sensor that's more than seven times larger than the one in the Pocket 4P).

D-Log 2: The Secret Sensor Tech You Probably Won't Use

Most people probably won't notice much difference in image quality between the two lenses unless you're specifically trying to shoot in low light. Professional videographers looking for the most flexibility in grading their footage after recording it will find the zoom lens slightly more stifling than the main lens, though, because it can't use the other new trick on the Pocket 4P: D-Log 2.

D-Log 2 is a 10-bit color profile and the upgraded version of the D-Log profile on earlier DJI cameras. Video recorded in D-Log 2 will look very dull and subdued out of the box, but that's because it's specifically intended for editing and grading by providing plenty of space to precisely adjust color and contrast.

According to DJI, D-Log 2 footage can capture 17 stops of dynamic range, allowing editors to pull out shadow and highlight details that wouldn't be possible with other footage. The camera can manage this because its main lens uses a new type of image sensor technology called Lofic.

Essentially, the Lofic sensor deposits light that would normally be bright enough to clip into pure white into an overflow bucket, so the chip can pull detail from the brightest parts of the frame while still gathering enough light to capture detail in dark shadows. Cameras without Lofic—including the Insta360 Luna Ultra, the older Pocket 3, and the standard Pocket 4—can't manage this and are limited to about 14 stops in their respective Log formats.

The Lofic tech is only included in the Pocket 4P's main 20mm camera. Because of this, the 3x lens is limited to the 14-stop D-Log profile. That's still plenty of headroom for most scenes, but it does create a restriction. When recording in D-Log2 with the main lens, you can't seamlessly zoom into the 3x lens, unlike the Insta360 Luna Ultra, which uses the same Log profile for both lenses. Of course, the Pocket 4P lets you zoom without breaking into a new clip when using its standard color profile.

Accessories: Why the Vlog Combo Is a Must-Have Upgrade

I didn't test the Pocket 4P on its lonesome. DJI loaned me the Osmo Pocket 4P Vlog Combo for the day, a bundle that tacks on a $110 premium in Canada ($969 CAD, about $690 USD), and frankly, it's a steal. The Vlog Combo comes with a new DJI Mic Mini 2 wireless mic, a clip-on fill light, a mini tripod, and a carrying bag. It doesn't include an extended battery handle like the  Pocket 3 Creator Combo , but it does have something even better: the Osmo FrameTap.

The Osmo FrameTap is a tiny remote for the Pocket 4P. It isn't much bigger than a car key fob and holds a color touch screen, a joystick, and a recording button. In other words, it gives you all of the control you get on the Pocket 4P itself, or via the DJI Mimo app (for Android and iOS) on your phone, in a tiny, responsive package. The FrameTap was first released for the Osmo Mobile 8P smartphone gimbal (alas, also not sold in the US), and it's incredibly handy. I loved being able to set up shots without fumbling with my phone or dealing with any lag or pairing hiccups. Between it and the wireless mic, the extra hundred-ish bucks for the Vlog Combo is more than justified.

By comparison, the Insta360 Luna Ultra comes with its own remote, offering the same benefits, though it isn't a separate accessory. Instead, the entire control panel of that camera pops off, enabling wireless control. That remote is built into the Luna Ultra's design, and you don't need to buy the pricier $970 Creator Bundle to use it. At $760, the camera alone is already more expensive than the Pocket 4P Vlog Combo.

Video: Gimbal Smoothness Meets Next-Gen Tracking

Shooting with the Pocket 4P is a lot like shooting with my go-to Pocket 3. Turning it on springs the gimbal into action, so it's ready to capture stabilized video of whatever it's pointed at. The gimbal follows the handle, so you can turn the device to point at anything, and the camera will smoothly move to face it. There are a few different options for how fast the gimbal moves, and for locking the roll and tilt axes (so the picture stays level even if the handle isn't). You can also control the camera manually with the joystick, and immediately flip to a selfie shot with a tap of the screen.

Gimbal-assisted video stabilization in a handheld package is already incredibly useful (and a big reason why the Osmo Pocket line has become a staple of content creators), but adding object tracking makes the experience even better. DJI's version of this feature is called ActiveTrack, and it can lock onto faces, pets, vehicles, or any object with a clear outline it can identify, and move the camera to keep the target in the frame. The Pocket 4P has ActiveTrack 8.0, which adds multi-person tracking and can track objects even at 12x zoom. I wasn't able to test the multi-person tracking, but face tracking with me and object tracking with birds I spotted outside, and fish at Ripley's Aquarium worked very well. My Pocket 3 also has ActiveTrack, though it felt a bit more responsive and consistent on the Pocket 4P.

Testing the Pocket 4P: Unlocking 3x Zoom on the Streets of Toronto

I spent a nice, full day roaming around Toronto with the Pocket 4P. I took in the sights, including the CN Tower, the harbor, the old Distillery District, and pretty much all over downtown.

Photo and video captured with the Pocket 4P look great. Shots taken outdoors in sunny Toronto were bright, clear, and vibrant. The petals of flowers and the brickwork on buildings in the old distillery district are full of crisp detail, and the footage is consistently smooth thanks to the gimbal stabilization. Brightly lit interior shots I took at A & C Games (one of the best retro game shops I've found in Toronto) looked just as good, keeping the art and text of the store's many retro game boxes accurate and easy to read. The indoor shots I took at Ripley's Aquarium were much dimmer and less consistent, but they still showed plenty of detail and vivid color, with the camera having little issue keeping up with the mix of dark hallways and awkwardly lit exhibits full of colorful fish. None of it stands out as especially better than what my Pocket 3 can shoot, at least for the wide shots, but that's hardly a complaint. The Pocket 3 already performs very well in most situations.

The zoom is what really makes the Pocket 4P so much more flexible than the Pocket 3. The Pocket 4P's 3x optical zoom offers greater reach than the Pocket 3's 2x digital-only zoom. Moreover, it manages to preserve detail even when pushing it to 12x with 9x digital zoom. The sensor comes into play there too; both the main and telephoto sensors capture 37MP photos, and since 4K video is only 8MP, there's room to crop without losing detail.

Zooming in on the CN Tower from about 500 feet away, I could count the individual panes of glass of the observation deck and see the striated texture of the tower's concrete structure. The zoom also worked great in the aquarium, letting me push in close to see individual fish even as entire classrooms' worth of children were crowded around a tank.

Audio sounded very good on the Pocket 4P, even just using its built-in microphone. Educational lectures at the aquarium and the sounds of traffic on the street both came through clearly, not remotely muffled. It picks up all the surrounding noise, so you won't get the crispest audio, but it's usable. If you want better-sounding dialog in your video, the Vlog Combo version of the Pocket 4P is vital, thanks to its DJI Mic Mini 2. It's a tiny wireless lav mic that will pick up your voice (or anyone it's clipped to) with much less background noise.

The color and detail look great, even when shooting mostly in default modes without using D-Log or D-Log 2. Video grading is absent among my many skills, and I lack the tools to even start getting anything out of either of those color profiles. Again, it really isn't a factor for most content creation unless you're working on a serious cinema project; the automatically balanced footage that comes out of the Pocket 4P when not using the D-Log profiles is more than enough for most videos this kind of camera is used for.

Shooting Modes: Unbelievable Slow-Mo (With One Weird Downside)

The Pocket 4P's slow-motion capabilities are improved over the Pocket 3. It can capture at up to 4K240 instead of 4K120 (though the mid-tele lens is limited to 4K200). I recorded some slow-motion video of traffic and fish, and it was just as detailed and sharp as normal video. The doubled frame rate means you can stretch video twice as much as before, for even slower action. Slow-mo video is encoded at 30fps, so you don't have to mess with editing software to get the effect, and it's recorded without audio.

In comparison, the Luna Ultra lags behind the Pocket 4P, only offering 4K120. However, the Luna records 4K120 with audio, so you can use it at either standard or slow playback in a project. The Ultra also records at 8K30, which is overkill in most instances but can come in handy if you want to pull out both a vertical and widescreen frame from the same clip; that's a big positive for content creators who post to multiple platforms.

DJI includes a standard selection of advanced shooting modes on the Pocket 4P, such as a dedicated low-light mode and a SpinShot mode that automatically rotates the camera 90 or 180 degrees as you shoot. If you have plenty of time and a safe spot to set up the camera, you can also shoot time-lapse videos in three varieties: standard time-lapse with the camera staying still, motion-lapse that slowly pans the camera while it shoots, and hyper-lapse that can capture movement while traveling in a vehicle. Since my time with the Pocket 4P was limited, I didn't set up any time-lapse shots, but they aren't likely to be much different from those you can take with the Pocket 3.

My Verdict: America Is Missing Out on a Winner

The DJI Osmo Pocket 4P is a fantastic upgrade over the Pocket 3, thanks especially to its zoom lens. The extra reach is a real game-changer on this type of camera, and that alone makes it worthwhile. Adding smarter tracking, even slower slow motion, and a new color profile that can capture 17 EV of dynamic range further sweetens the deal. Thanks to the FrameTap remote, the Vlog Combo is even more appealing than the already great Pocket 3 Creator Combo.

It's just a shame that you can't actually buy the Pocket 4P here, which I still don't really understand. It, and all new DJI products, are still effectively banned in the US as part of a confusingly broad ban on  drones  that also covers non-drone cameras like the Pocket 4P. On top of that, DJI products released before the company was added to the FCC's Covered List in late 2025 are still allowed to be sold stateside, so you can still buy a Pocket 3 if you want. The whole situation is confounding, and we're missing out on an excellent camera that creators in Canada, Europe, and the United Kingdom can readily buy.

As mentioned, there is an FCC-approved alternative available here that offers at least most of what the Pocket 4P does. The Insta360 Luna Ultra has the same form factor, resolution, and 20mm/60mm-equivalent dual-lens setup as the Pocket 4P, and even its own removable remote, earning our Editors' Choice award for the category. Its slow-motion video isn't as slow at 4K120, but it can capture 8K30, a trick the Pocket 4P lacks. It's even more expensive in USD, though, at $769 for the camera alone and $970 when bundled with a wireless mic.

Editors' Note: Per our editorial policy , I did not accept a travel stipend from DJI for this trip. PCMag paid for my airfare and hotel.

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