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DJI
DJI Osmo Action 4
Best for low light
The Osmo Action 4 boasts one of the largest sensors that you’ll find on an Action camera today, and that makes it excellent for low-light recording. It also offers greatly increased waterproofing.
Pros
- Much better low light performance
- Front touchscreen
- Quick release magnetic mounting
- Waterproof up to 18m
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GoPro
GoPro Hero 11 Black
Best for resolution
The Hero 11 Black offers higher resolutions and frame rates, which makes it one of the best action cameras in daylight. However, when the sun goes down, it can’t quite match the Action 4’s performance.
Pros
- Up to 5.3K 50fps video
- 8:7 sensor allows for cropping in post
- Better horizon lock capabilities
- GPS data without accessories
Cons
- Significantly worse in low light
The GoPro Hero 11 Black has been the most popular action camera on the market since its launch last year, but now, a new challenger has appeared, the DJI Osmo Action 4.
DJI’s latest camera packs a massive sensor, but does that equate to a massively improved image? We were keen to find out, and so we’ve been testing the two cameras side-by-side to see where they excel.
Specs, price and availability
The GoPro Hero 11 Black launched on September 14 2022, with an MSRP of $499.99, or $399.98 with a GoPro subscription. However, it has been reduced in the time since. The Hero 11 Black now retails for $399 with no subscription required.
The DJI Osmo Action 4 launched on August 2 2023 with an MSRP of $399 – the exact same price as the Hero 11 Black. This is a significant bump in pricing compared to the Osmo Action 3, which launched at $329 in September 2022.
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DJI Osmo Action 4 GoPro Hero 11 Black Sensor Size 1/1.3-inch 1/1.9 inch 8:7 Video Resolution 4K 120fps 5.3K 60fps Photo Resolution Approx. 10MP 27MP Battery 1770 mAh Extreme battery 1720 mAh Enduro Size 70x44x33 mm 71x55x34 mm Weight 145g 154g Water Resistance Waterproof up to 18m Waterproof up to 10m Lens Replaceable hydrophobic lens protector Replaceable hydrophobic lens protector
Design
Both cameras have the typical action camera form factor, and they’re very similar in size and weight. The DJI Osmo Action 4 is slightly lighter, and slightly smaller, too, but in use, you’re unlikely to feel much of a difference – unless you’re attaching it to a drone.
Both models have a rugged design that’s built to withstand knocks and bumps, and both have replaceable lens covers that can be swapped out if they get scratched. The GoPro has a rubberised feel to its housing, whereas the Action 4 is hard plastic. We’re not sure if this makes much of a difference to the durability, though, as the glass screens are most prone to damage – as evidenced by our Hero 11, which had an unfortunate encounter with a rock a few months back.
They’re both waterproof without the need for additional housings, however, the Action 4 can withstand dives of up to 18 metres, almost doubling the 10-metre rating of the Hero 11 Black.
The Hero 11 has fold-out mounting tabs on its base, and these allow it to connect to a huge variety of accessories and mounts from GoPro and third-party manufacturers. The Osmo Action 4 has a quick-release magnetic latching mount system, and once connected to its baseplate it can also connect to these same accessories. Both mounting options are good, but we prefer DJI’s solution as it’s quicker to switch between mounts once you invest in a couple of baseplates.
There are large touchscreen displays on the rear of both cameras, and smaller front-facing screens, too. The Action 4’s front screen is also a touchscreen, so you can use it to adjust settings, whereas the GoPro’s front screen is for viewing only. It might seem superfluous to have a touchscreen on both sides, but in practice, it comes in handy more often than you’d expect. It’s great when your camera is mounted in an awkward spot.
Video and photo capture
The Hero 11 Black wins when it comes to resolutions and frame rates, allowing you to shoot at up to 5.3K 60fps and up to 240fps in 2.7K. Comparatively, the Osmo Action 4 tops out at 4K 120fps, and you’ll need to drop down to 1080p for 240fps recording.
However, the Osmo Action 4 has a much larger sensor, and this means that it excels in dimly lit situations. When it comes to shooting at night, there’s no contest, it outpaces the Hero 11 Black in all regards.
Both cameras can capture 10-bit colour and both offer flat profiles for colour grading in post. They both offer extremely wide FOV options, but they’re achieved in slightly different ways. The Osmo Action 4 has a wider lens, so its ultra-wide FOV has more linear distortion, the Hero 11 Black’s HyperView uses software magic to squish the 8:7 sensor into a 16:9 frame, which results in more unusual distortion. Both look good, in our opinion, and are similarly wide, so it’s purely down to personal preference.
The same is true for the image captured in daylight, both of these cameras offer excellent image fidelity, but they just look slightly different. The Hero 11 has more saturated colours as standard, whereas the DJI has a more natural look with slightly higher contrast. Both look good and which one you prefer is simply a matter of taste.
The Hero 11 Black has a unique feature that allows you to record in an almost-square 8:7 ratio, which can then be cropped into both vertical and horizontal clips for social media. The Osmo Action 4 doesn’t offer anything similar, but it can record and be mounted vertically using its included mounting frame.
Stabilisation, features and battery
Both cameras offer excellent in-camera stabilisation, and both allow you to add additional stabilisation in post using software such as Gyroflow. This feature was previously missing in the Osmo Action 3, so it’s excellent to see it included with the Action 4.
As for which stabilisation system is better, it’s hard to say, both DJI’s RockSteady and GoPro’s HyperSmooth do an incredible job of smoothing out camera shakes. We think the DJI camera does a slightly better job of stabilising footage in low light, possibly owing to its larger sensor, but both are comparable in the daytime.
The GoPro has the edge with horizon levelling, offering 360-degree horizon-lock at up to 5.3K 30fps. Meanwhile, the Osmo Action 4 can only lock the horizon at up to 2.7K 60fps, or 45 degrees of horizon-balancing at 4K 60fps and below.
Both cameras have removable batteries, and both charge via USB-C. There’s not a huge difference in actual runtime, but the DJI battery has a slightly higher capacity than the Hero 11 pack. If you’re shooting in extreme weather conditions, it’s worth noting that the DJI battery is rated to withstand temperatures up to minus 20 Celsius, whereas the GoPro battery is only rated for minus 10.
The cameras both offer a similar set of features, including timelapse and hyperlapse modes, as well as the ability to live stream, use the camera as a webcam and pair with a companion app. However, each camera excels in different areas.
The GoPro app locks some features behind a paywall, which can be frustrating, but the most commonly used features are available for free. We’re particularly fond of the light-painting mode, which allows you to easily create animated timelapses of people drawing in the air with sparklers or glow sticks, there’s no such mode available on the Action 4.
GoPro also gives you the ability to apply overlays of the camera’s GPS data, so you can embed things like your speed and altitude into your videos. The Action 4 allows you to do this, too, but it only works if you have the GPS Bluetooth remote accessory, which costs an additional $79.
DJI has a feature called InvisStick, which masks out your selfie stick in videos, giving an effect that’s akin to videos from a 360 camera. It’s not quite seamless, and you’ll definitely see some blurring and artefacts, but it’s a neat trick that’s not offered by GoPro.
Conclusion
The GoPro Hero 11 Black and DJI Osmo Action 4 are two of the best action cameras on the market today, and they’re both worth considering if you’re looking for a rugged small form factor camera.
The right camera for you all depends on how and what you like to shoot. When it comes to pure image quality, we prefer the GoPro’s colour rendition and high-resolution capture, at least in the daytime.
GoPro
GoPro Hero 11 Black
When it gets dark, the DJI Osmo Action 4 is the clear winner. It’s so much more capable of capturing details in dimly lit scenarios, and that’s all thanks to its larger sensor.
DJI
DJI Osmo Action 4
If you mainly shoot indoors or after dark, then the Action 4 is the camera for you. But, if you mainly shoot in the daylight, the GoPro offers better slow motion and more flexible shooting with its unique 8:7 sensor.