Action 4 tends to have more exposure, with better details in the shadow. Gopro11 tends to have less exposure, with better details in the highlights. When both camera has similar exposure (e.g. 9:00), details in the highlights and shadows are similar, but Gopro 11 is significantly more noisier.
Action4 4K30 rocksteady wide supports Low Light Enhancement.(Not 4K Rocksteady+). Hope Low Light Enhancement would help with your ride in lowlight and have a fair comparison.
Thanks! Great job! Overall the DJI is better, more flexibility and more important, the lens distortion on the DJI is much better. On low light, the DJI also wins but as you said, both are terrible!!! The GoPro has better colors and out-of-the-box dynamic range (perhaps with log mode and software fine tuning, the dji may have the edge, but not on stock footage, at least on this firmware.
DC rainmaker: Agreed to whatever comes after the sensor is important, but don't downplay the importance of a bigger sensor: This means more light (40% more for the dji action 4) and more dynamic range. It's physics and it is a fact! Now of course it is important what type of sensor you use - there are certainly quality differences in the sensors! What comes after the sensor can only work with the data the sensor provides! This is also a fact, so it is a mistake of you to downplay the sensor size! There are two important factors for the data given to the rest of your diagram: The lens and the sensor. The better the lens, the bigger the sensor the better the image quality. Scan a photo with 150dpi or 300 dpi what looks better and what has more information. Agreed: How you process the data that comes from the sensors is of utmost importance as well, but to make more data out of less data (Remember the Mega Pixel (MP)war in the beginning of digital cameras?) does not make an image look better. Cameras with less MP had better image quality than that with more MP..I have a lot of cameras with small sensors medium sensors 1" and 4:3 sensors. and my experience is that the bigger the sensor the better the image quality. I also don't care what brand it is: I love my Gopro hero9 but use it only with sunny or bright days. In the morning and evening or on very cloudy days I use the action 1 or Pocket 2. This is just food for thought, but nevertheless enjoying your videos!
Thanks for the thoughts. I’m less about downplaying sensor size, as rather downplaying the glorification of sensor size meaning a lot. It’s a component, but in an action cam especially (versus still photography), it’s just one component of many that ultimately determine if you have usable footage (brighter or otherwise).
Yeah, I was actually surprised to see that in a few cases - but didn't want to add voiceover. DJI did a better job across the board at exposing very dim scenes (especially those pedaling along the canals where the GoPro was very dark), yet in some of the street type scenes, the DJI over-exposed the neon signs a bit (or, the GoPro properly exposed them). Same goes for that colorful light section towards the end, where the true-to-life exposure was closer to the GoPro than the DJI.
In case of a low light video from a tripod, I'd suggest to deactivate any rocksteady/hypersmooth stabilisation, go manual shutter speed 1/50 or 1/60 and adjust iso to your needs. Don't be afraid to under expose slightly, we don't always need details in the shadows. Also play with Noise reduction / Sharpness settings and adjust to your taste. 1/25 or 1/30 SS can be possible in certain situations, but be careful of flickering and too much motion blur.
Definitely - if you're on a tripod, that also saves both battery and overheating edge cases (if in hot weather). In my case, I couldn't dare try to remember switching it all on/off as I moved around the city. I barely remembered to go linear for the talking section.
Another excellent comparison review, and at this point I think I'll just buy a potato and hold off until these things can actually deliver usable night time footage. When there's available light, it's a toss up--sometimes DJI is better, sometimes GoPro. But when there's very little light, I agree with you that both are unusable.
@@YTYTYTY7 With my limited testing of Action 4 (just 2 days). It's better off with the "rocksteady Plus" turned off and relying just on the rocksteady. Still in fast moving conditions, during low light I don't see a major improvement. I did get one coz I have the action 1 and it never failed me.
At the end of the day advertising hype is one thing, but real life shows us that action cameras of any brand is no good in low light scenarios and still only good for daylight footage. It is what it is
Thanks for your reviews. I would love to see a low light comparison between the Osmo Action 3 and the Osmo Action 4 to see the difference (if any) the new sensor makes.
In bright light conditions all type of cams give an acceptable performance. Thnx for doing a low light comparison. And hey, biking in low light on a bike with no shock absorption is the ultimate test which no cam will perform greatly. You gave me a good direction in what to chose for a new cam for every day vlogging.
Finally the video that matters lol. All other action 4 vs hero 11 video contains a lot of fillers, information that all of us are already aware of. Like good stabilization, good day video etc.
Nicely done…two quotes I loved “I don’t care what you buy…buy a potato for all I care’ and “a bit hit and miss..somethings GP does better, somethings Osmo’. The challenge I think is both are very good…that’s why it’s so tough. 2 good choices.
Thank you for your comparison. In about a month the new GoPro 12 will be released and then it will be interesting to see the differences in video quality. Thank you
Obviously this must be just me, but for whatever reason, on your first side by side from about 1:20 to roughly 2:40 (before marina) the Go pro looked much sharper, more defined. But when you went to the marina, it appeared to be the other way around. Great work, Ray...as always.
How dark was it to the naked eye? I feel the Action4 all it does is it cranks the exposure as high as possible blowing up all the image and making it look brighter. The GoPro on the other hand tries to expose the image true to life, this is most apparent in the last scene where the sneakers and shorts are completely blown out on the A4 and correctly exposed on the GP11.
Great comparison video, thanks so much! One request if I may, can you make a comparison video for low light (dusk) and very low light (night) using different stabilization settings on the Action 4 and even better, compare that to the Action 3?
Starts very impressive from DJI, in that darkness but as soon as the cycling part starts, you can see that GoPro has significantly better HDR capabilities, you can see details in the clouds and the face is lit better on that background
Sharpness in hypersmooth its basically low mainly for sports. He only tested 4k-30fps with hypersmooth and rocksteady not changing camera settings. This 2 cameras are great and with little to no editing you wont know the difference. Imo they dont work at night unless using a gimbal
@@leonarko It depends on what you're using it for and how dark it is. I'm not a content creator, I record for liability reasons from my bike. I don't need to record when it's really dark, but just in darker situations I still want to be able to read license plate numbers. So a brighter sensor allows me to record license plate numbers at the times of the early evening when I'd be riding my bike.
I know these cameras aren't designed for low light but honestly, that city back drop looks gorgeous. Be right back, I need to get out and film something . . . anything.
6:24 I think next time try having different mounts. in fact why not do a best mount option for action cams for night footage. I think a GoPro bra may help or mounting on top of a helmet. I've found the handlebar the absolute worst for shaking. even the rear of the bike top tube is so much better
It would have been useful to know what iso, shutter speed you used for each shot. EIS obviously doesn't work with slow shutter speeds as it can't correct intra-frame blur, so it would be interesting to see both cameras in low light with reasonably fast shutter speeds, and boost the iso as needed. De-noising in post continues to improve an can generate acceptable footage in some scenarios. I don't know of any good way to remove motion blur from slow shutter speeds in post available yet, although I'm sure AI will be able to do this someday.
With my action 3, I never let the shutter go below 1/100. Seems to help in low light. ISO auto up to 3200. Seems like you may get better results with the same settings on the 4.
agree with this.. although i would know some people purchasing these cameras would not know or care about the settings, abit educating that cameras are tools and there are best ways to use them to get its full potential. looking at the samples, i can definitely say that sensor size really has a bit effect on noise. its one thing to note from the previous dji and go pro footages i compared. riding on bumpy roads not taking into consideration shutter speed and iso would always yield a bad quality. you just have to utilize what you can do to get use to your advantage. no fan boy but impressed with dji's larger sensor
@@Dcrainmaker I just received my Action 4 (went with one even after seeing your other video coz the original action worked for me). It is not impressive at low light, but I think, you should turn off rocksteady + and try the rocksteady alone. The plus mode just struggles like crazy.
@@m1kel I have to try custom settings for the osmo action. I did a test with the native settings. I understood that rocksteady + disrupts the image whereas rocksteady outputs a much better footage.
The newer smartphones and also the GoPro seem to be doing those quite expressive HDR looking videos. Everything in the dark is brighter and the sky is showing every single detail of the clouds. I would prefer having an on/off for this type of video because in some cases it just looks extremely artificial. That's the reason I find iPhone videos horrible (not the quality but that extreme HDR Dynamic coloured look). And the GoPro is similar.
Great video, thanks for the time and effort. Watched on big screen in 4K. I couldn’t pick a winner, I guess if you had both you'd be kind of happy until an hour after sunset if you're not moving. That said, both better than my H10 in similar situations
Danke für die Zusammensetzung. Was mir auffällt ist, dass die Gopro das Bild von oben und unten zusammen staucht. Sehr gut zu sehen bei 15:05min. Das wird keiner Frau gefallen, wenn die dicker aussieht als im orginal.
I'm watching this on a small IPS LCD screen, and it seems DJI for the win. I can see lots of details on the dji most of the time, with the GoPro looking soft.
Thanks for the review! For sure they did not pay for it. I won't be buying any of those, my phone does better job in low light situations. Im looking for something small that still can provide decent low light footage.
Another review I saw did get some fairly impressive results turning the stabilisation off at night, which makes sense because EIS requires a high shutter speed to hide it. Much of the blurriness comes from the EIS, and the artefacts from when the shutter drops. Of course that isn't good for action at night, but most wouldn't. You'd need some kind of OIS, and you're not going to get that in an action camera. But it might be useful for more vlogging than action.
9:30 you can read the car's licence plate in the GoPro video, but not on the DJI video. Some thing at 6:28, the text and pictogram on the street sign is more distinguishable on the GoPro than on the DJI. Guess the GoPro wins as a dash cam.
Thanks for comparison. In low light 4K comparison Action 4 seems more better. At day time GP12 5K 30 almost the same as Action 4 4K 30. ( But DJI loosing in details). I would vote for DJI.
Great comparison. it is a bit of a toss up at times, one is better, then the other is. At around 2 min, it seems the GoPro looks more natural. Have you compared the file size? DJI products I have (Action 2 and Mini 2) seem to produce much larger files than GoPro at 4K 60fps I can put close to 4 hours on a 128GB card with the Hero 11. The Action 3 I read somewhere can put 2 hours 30 min on a similar size card at 4K 30fps (which should take less space than 60fps). It is another deciding factor for me. As the quality is so close, having almost twice as big files is a con for me.
Before sunset: GoPro was definitely better, the exposure and white balance were both handled. The best example was the sunset and sunflower farm; where, DJI was underexposed and lacked in contrast, whereas GoPro was exposed correctly, contrast was fine and white balance was good as well. After Sunset: DJI was exposing better for the whole scene; but, the highlights were blown out at the expense of shadow details. Again, it seems that DJI doesn't dial the contrast in at all. GoPro was indeed darker/underexposed but the highlights were tighter as evident both by the bike's headlight and the ceiling lights in the museum tunnel. One thing that stood out for DJI was the cobble section, where the smoothing/stabilization seemed to work better in low light. It was rock steady (no pun intended) as opposed to the camera dropping down flight of stairs of GoPro. Overall, as you mentioned at the end GoPro seems to get the exposure, white balance, colours more accurate and close to life than DJI.
Since you left the cameras at default settings, I watched all of the footage with the mindset of an Instagram poster. Which footage is more satisfying for the watcher? For example, at 11:14, we see more details in dark areas on the DJI image, but can’t read the words on the blown out neon sign on the right side. The GoPro is darker but the lights look nicer.
The DJI obviously performs better in low light situations. But, I did buy my GoPro for shooting videos at night. All in all your comparison video provided great insight. Black Swan Odysseys
hmmm those skys .... and clouds ... where is all the detail gone on the DJI? Huge HDR issues there .... The true advantage of the bigger sensor, I don't know, I don't seem to see it ... hoped it would perform better in the dark Thank you for reviewing and comparing, goed gedaan!
Thank you (bedankt) this is one i look for. I do main lowlight camera and GoPro, i did move the EVcomp up. In 4K i not able to use 30 FPS its 24, 25, 50.
Hi there…. Great video…🙌🙌🙌…Is it easy to transfer 4K files from Action4 to I phone via Bluetooth (Apparently Action 3 was pretty notorious when it came to file transfer via Bluetooth only 1080 was was easy)
A good comparison you have done here but you really need to have w wireless mic set up because it is nearly impossible to make out what you are saying while you are riding around which destroys what could have been a good production
Bigger sensor size = more light = better low light performance. Don't argue with the science bro. No a fan of either cameras, as they are both junk when it comes to low light performance.
It can equal more light, but that doesn't nessessarily mean it'll be rendered that way. And specifically in an action cam, it doesn't mean it'll be what you want. We can look at the Insta360 1" when it launched as a great example of that. The camera was stunning in the dark when on a tripod. But the second you moved? Useless. Also, keep in mind the lens and apeture in front of things is also a huge factor in the amount of light coming in. Don't get me wrong - sensor size matters, but in an action camera where the goal is generally action, the other things are equally if not as important.
This is the only video comparison I've seen that looked close. Every other low light comparison, the osmo totally blew away the hero 11. I cant help but think something deliberate was going on here
I purchased two DJI action four cameras, been messing with him for three days and the quality is absolutely terrible, you put it at 60 frames a second 2.7 K and it looks like 30 frames a second and it’s doing it on both cameras, I’m returning mine.
I dont know. For me, the image quality shifts at almost every scene. Sometime i clearly prefer the GoPro, then the DJI is much better in the next scene. Overall i "feel" a slight advantage for the DJI? So hard to tell.
Nice review, thanks! At 6:00 your telling about hoe bad the quality is on a big screen /laptop. Do you have suggestions for a waterproof (action) camera that can film in a quality that support larger screens ?
Very good action cameras but for good lighting conditions .... crapy for low light both , a very good smartphone is way better ! thanks for your video revealing this truth with no doubt at all
Seems like the customer wins no matter which one is picked. Both are close with some wins on either side here and there. Compared to when I was buying action cams (Hero 4) things have come a long way for image quality .
In my opinion I would still choose the gopro. The only advantage the action 4 has is slightly better audio if there's no wind, and a little better around dusk (however gopro looks more natural) but that's it. I still think the GoPro looks better in all ways. The action 4 is very cold in white balance.
great comparison. althought the night footage could have been wayy better if not captured from a vibrating vehicle... clip the cams to your chest and the footage should be 10x better / more stable.
I included hand-held footage both on the bike and walking around too. Chest mounts help, but almost nobody does night-time action cams on the chest for walking, because it's honestly kinda awkward.
When you are riding the bike, on the Action 4 it seems as if your head is stretched vertically. Is that your impression as well? Thank you for the honest videos!
What I want out of an action camera is to be able to capture car registration plates 24/7, not just in daylight. Seems we are a long way from getting that!
could you do the insta360 1 inch? i own one and i am ready to sell mine and my gopro for the dji action 4 if it is even close. i know the insta360 1 inch does not have the seo value of gopro for your video title.
thank you , conclusion for me as a dji 3 owner is that the fuzziness of stabilazation at night time is not fixed on the 4, the gopro has the same issue , maybe you can turn the shutter speed up and get rid of the fuzz without going too dark but they could make a better algorithm to do this in auto. so for me there is no real upgrade, for night time something lke dji pocket (something with a gimbal for stabilization) will work much better .So lets see the next gopro or pocket.
GoPro Looks a bit more contrasty and in some scenes warmer. I would like see a comparison between the GoPro shot in flat and the Action 4 shot in log with both being color graded.
imho the action 4 blows out the hightlights? I already saw that in your first video. Yes the picture might be brighter, but the highlights are totally lost.
IMHO both look bad, while technically the bigger sensor should make a difference, that difference is not significant enough. However stabilization on Osmo Action 4 is somewhat better in low-light.
Yup, there's definitely a specific tipping point where the low-light stabilization goes from favoring GoPro to favoring DJI. It apperas to be mostly once you add in man-made lights (interestingly, if we look at the documents DJI sent out to sponsored reviewers, they explicitly say to show/test low-light footage in city environments, not other places). That's supported when we look at a lot of reviewer footage, especially cycling and running in forests (in daytime). In that case, the DJI Action 4 stabilization struggles. But, once we get into the city testing like I show here, then the GoPro Hero 11 stabilization struggles.
Dji claimed osmo 3 was a 2.8 arpeture lens that had to be a misprint. It was complete black screen in most cases in low light while the gopro hero 7 black that had the same specs could see a image at iso 800. Even looking at the lens hero 7 had a bigger lens. Iam hesitant to by the osmo 4 after these mistakes in there manual. In mine it says to download dji fly app for there osmo 3 definitely wrong on that lol.
I've seen two videos with people using cameras similar to my use case, and that's cycling on streets in the evening. Yours is one. Both show the Osmo struggle with stabilisation and as a result not have clear ability to read signs and number plates. Gopro definitely still seems better to me. Disclaimer: I'm still using a gopro 7, so I'm not trying to justify money I've already spent or anything. I'm contemplating my next investment. Really appreciate reviews that aren't hyperbolic and fanboy like. Cheers
In certain circumstances the Action 4 was marginally better but this is the Year OLD GP11. With GP12 coming soon the Action 4 is at best a good alternative to Go Pro 11. Both arent great in low light. For action GP is still the king. Hopefully GP12 will be a big improvement
You are just getting the dji settings optimized for low light on auto. Why can’t someone do a night mode with 3200k settings and iso manually on both? Then we get the point. I bet the 12 will be the same at night 😊you are comparing a 1 year old camera to a new camera. Just like iPhone 13 vs Samsung s23
Action 4 tends to have more exposure, with better details in the shadow. Gopro11 tends to have less exposure, with better details in the highlights. When both camera has similar exposure (e.g. 9:00), details in the highlights and shadows are similar, but Gopro 11 is significantly more noisier.
Action4 4K30 rocksteady wide supports Low Light Enhancement.(Not 4K Rocksteady+). Hope Low Light Enhancement would help with your ride in lowlight and have a fair comparison.
Thanks! Great job!
Overall the DJI is better, more flexibility and more important, the lens distortion on the DJI is much better. On low light, the DJI also wins but as you said, both are terrible!!! The GoPro has better colors and out-of-the-box dynamic range (perhaps with log mode and software fine tuning, the dji may have the edge, but not on stock footage, at least on this firmware.
DC rainmaker: Agreed to whatever comes after the sensor is important, but don't downplay the importance of a bigger sensor: This means more light (40% more for the dji action 4) and more dynamic range. It's physics and it is a fact! Now of course it is important what type of sensor you use - there are certainly quality differences in the sensors! What comes after the sensor can only work with the data the sensor provides! This is also a fact, so it is a mistake of you to downplay the sensor size! There are two important factors for the data given to the rest of your diagram: The lens and the sensor. The better the lens, the bigger the sensor the better the image quality. Scan a photo with 150dpi or 300 dpi what looks better and what has more information. Agreed: How you process the data that comes from the sensors is of utmost importance as well, but to make more data out of less data (Remember the Mega Pixel (MP)war in the beginning of digital cameras?) does not make an image look better. Cameras with less MP had better image quality than that with more MP..I have a lot of cameras with small sensors medium sensors 1" and 4:3 sensors. and my experience is that the bigger the sensor the better the image quality. I also don't care what brand it is: I love my Gopro hero9 but use it only with sunny or bright days. In the morning and evening or on very cloudy days I use the action 1 or Pocket 2. This is just food for thought, but nevertheless enjoying your videos!
Thanks for the thoughts. I’m less about downplaying sensor size, as rather downplaying the glorification of sensor size meaning a lot. It’s a component, but in an action cam especially (versus still photography), it’s just one component of many that ultimately determine if you have usable footage (brighter or otherwise).
I watch this on big oled screen and DJI is clearly a winner here
It seems like the action 4 captures more detail
I'm watching this on a small IPS LCD screen, and it seems so too. I can see lots of details on the dji most of the time, with the GoPro looking soft.
6:56 The neon “Restaurant” lettering looks great on the GoPro.
Yeah, I was actually surprised to see that in a few cases - but didn't want to add voiceover. DJI did a better job across the board at exposing very dim scenes (especially those pedaling along the canals where the GoPro was very dark), yet in some of the street type scenes, the DJI over-exposed the neon signs a bit (or, the GoPro properly exposed them). Same goes for that colorful light section towards the end, where the true-to-life exposure was closer to the GoPro than the DJI.
In case of a low light video from a tripod, I'd suggest to deactivate any rocksteady/hypersmooth stabilisation, go manual shutter speed 1/50 or 1/60 and adjust iso to your needs. Don't be afraid to under expose slightly, we don't always need details in the shadows. Also play with Noise reduction / Sharpness settings and adjust to your taste. 1/25 or 1/30 SS can be possible in certain situations, but be careful of flickering and too much motion blur.
Definitely - if you're on a tripod, that also saves both battery and overheating edge cases (if in hot weather). In my case, I couldn't dare try to remember switching it all on/off as I moved around the city. I barely remembered to go linear for the talking section.
Another excellent comparison review, and at this point I think I'll just buy a potato and hold off until these things can actually deliver usable night time footage. When there's available light, it's a toss up--sometimes DJI is better, sometimes GoPro. But when there's very little light, I agree with you that both are unusable.
Thanks!!!
I am still trying to figure out why the Action 4 low light footage looks better in the other RUclipsr's vs. this video.
@@YTYTYTY7 With my limited testing of Action 4 (just 2 days). It's better off with the "rocksteady Plus" turned off and relying just on the rocksteady. Still in fast moving conditions, during low light I don't see a major improvement. I did get one coz I have the action 1 and it never failed me.
At the end of the day advertising hype is one thing, but real life shows us that action cameras of any brand is no good in low light scenarios and still only good for daylight footage. It is what it is
Bit of a bummer as I'm a night time cyclist.
Thanks for your reviews. I would love to see a low light comparison between the Osmo Action 3 and the Osmo Action 4 to see the difference (if any) the new sensor makes.
There’s videos out there
In bright light conditions all type of cams give an acceptable performance. Thnx for doing a low light comparison. And hey, biking in low light on a bike with no shock absorption is the ultimate test which no cam will perform greatly. You gave me a good direction in what to chose for a new cam for every day vlogging.
Which one ?
Finally the video that matters lol. All other action 4 vs hero 11 video contains a lot of fillers, information that all of us are already aware of. Like good stabilization, good day video etc.
Nicely done…two quotes I loved “I don’t care what you buy…buy a potato for all I care’ and “a bit hit and miss..somethings GP does better, somethings Osmo’. The challenge I think is both are very good…that’s why it’s so tough. 2 good choices.
It's amazing how iphone does beat for low light. Blows my mind
As far as the stabilization, I like the subtle shake/bounce on the action 4. Gives the footage a little bit of that old school Blair Witch feel.
😆
Excellent comparison footage. This is something people need to see. Bet you're looking forward to doing it all again in September.....
Thank you for your comparison. In about a month the new GoPro 12 will be released and then it will be interesting to see the differences in video quality. Thank you
If it doesn't overheat 😂😂😂
And the price is so so so more expensive.... Hope not
@@pres002 So far it seems to me that it overheats faster than the DJI Action 4, and even for the price I see no difference.
@@kickasshole So far it seems to me that it overheats faster than the DJI Action 4, and even for the price I see no difference.
To me the Action 4 seems to easily loose detail in the highlights, I would choos3 the Gopro based on the many comparison videos I have watched so far.
Obviously this must be just me, but for whatever reason, on your first side by side from about 1:20 to roughly 2:40 (before marina) the Go pro looked much sharper, more defined. But when you went to the marina, it appeared to be the other way around. Great work, Ray...as always.
noticed as well, quite inconsistent and GoPro 12 is around the corner already.
looks like it correspond also to a change from 4K60 to 4K30... Could be the reason.
I liked dji very much BUT this changes aren’t worth it. Waiting for gopro answer
Thanks for video
Thank you, that was the review for gopro that I was searching for the last couple of weeks.👍👍👍
@4:17 that micor jitter from dji is always a deal breaker
How dark was it to the naked eye? I feel the Action4 all it does is it cranks the exposure as high as possible blowing up all the image and making it look brighter. The GoPro on the other hand tries to expose the image true to life, this is most apparent in the last scene where the sneakers and shorts are completely blown out on the A4 and correctly exposed on the GP11.
Great comparison video, thanks so much! One request if I may, can you make a comparison video for low light (dusk) and very low light (night) using different stabilization settings on the Action 4 and even better, compare that to the Action 3?
Starts very impressive from DJI, in that darkness but as soon as the cycling part starts, you can see that GoPro has significantly better HDR capabilities, you can see details in the clouds and the face is lit better on that background
I would disagree. To me, it seemed the GoPro had very blurry and low detail video compared to the Osmo 4.
Sharpness in hypersmooth its basically low mainly for sports. He only tested 4k-30fps with hypersmooth and rocksteady not changing camera settings. This 2 cameras are great and with little to no editing you wont know the difference. Imo they dont work at night unless using a gimbal
@@leonarko It depends on what you're using it for and how dark it is. I'm not a content creator, I record for liability reasons from my bike. I don't need to record when it's really dark, but just in darker situations I still want to be able to read license plate numbers. So a brighter sensor allows me to record license plate numbers at the times of the early evening when I'd be riding my bike.
100% agreed on that @@TimEckel
I know these cameras aren't designed for low light but honestly, that city back drop looks gorgeous. Be right back, I need to get out and film something . . . anything.
6:24 I think next time try having different mounts. in fact why not do a best mount option for action cams for night footage. I think a GoPro bra may help or mounting on top of a helmet.
I've found the handlebar the absolute worst for shaking. even the rear of the bike top tube is so much better
It’s why I only used the handlebar briefly, to show how bad it is. Hand-holding or chest mount is the best (which is what I used, hand holding).
"I don't care what you buy - just don't go all fan-boy". That's MY kind of reviewer!!👍👍
I might see the DJI Action 4 as a better option because I have the pre-existing software and accounts of which I am able to group all images into.
Well, I noticed a significant difference from my DJI Osmo action one?
I have no doubts what's the better camera.
Which one ?
Amazing that the DJI 4 is doing that with just the flat profile, if you use D-log and color correct you could get and even better image which is wild
Thank you for this insightful comparison. Small note: the ISO and shutter values would‘ve been interesting.
It would have been useful to know what iso, shutter speed you used for each shot. EIS obviously doesn't work with slow shutter speeds as it can't correct intra-frame blur, so it would be interesting to see both cameras in low light with reasonably fast shutter speeds, and boost the iso as needed. De-noising in post continues to improve an can generate acceptable footage in some scenarios. I don't know of any good way to remove motion blur from slow shutter speeds in post available yet, although I'm sure AI will be able to do this someday.
All of them were defaults, so I let the cameras decide as required. Fwiw, the files are up on teh shared folder, if you want to dig in a bit more.
With my action 3, I never let the shutter go below 1/100. Seems to help in low light. ISO auto up to 3200. Seems like you may get better results with the same settings on the 4.
agree with this.. although i would know some people purchasing these cameras would not know or care about the settings, abit educating that cameras are tools and there are best ways to use them to get its full potential.
looking at the samples, i can definitely say that sensor size really has a bit effect on noise. its one thing to note from the previous dji and go pro footages i compared. riding on bumpy roads not taking into consideration shutter speed and iso would always yield a bad quality. you just have to utilize what you can do to get use to your advantage. no fan boy but impressed with dji's larger sensor
@@Dcrainmaker I just received my Action 4 (went with one even after seeing your other video coz the original action worked for me). It is not impressive at low light, but I think, you should turn off rocksteady + and try the rocksteady alone. The plus mode just struggles like crazy.
@@m1kel I have to try custom settings for the osmo action. I did a test with the native settings. I understood that rocksteady + disrupts the image whereas rocksteady outputs a much better footage.
The newer smartphones and also the GoPro seem to be doing those quite expressive HDR looking videos. Everything in the dark is brighter and the sky is showing every single detail of the clouds. I would prefer having an on/off for this type of video because in some cases it just looks extremely artificial. That's the reason I find iPhone videos horrible (not the quality but that extreme HDR Dynamic coloured look). And the GoPro is similar.
Great video, thanks for the time and effort.
Watched on big screen in 4K.
I couldn’t pick a winner, I guess if you had both you'd be kind of happy until an hour after sunset if you're not moving. That said, both better than my H10 in similar situations
The video demonstrates why DJI should continue their Pocket line.
They will pocket 3 is comming out soon
Your video definitely will keep me from buying ANY action camera.
Danke für die Zusammensetzung. Was mir auffällt ist, dass die Gopro das Bild von oben und unten zusammen staucht. Sehr gut zu sehen bei 15:05min. Das wird keiner Frau gefallen, wenn die dicker aussieht als im orginal.
I'm watching this on a small IPS LCD screen, and it seems DJI for the win. I can see lots of details on the dji most of the time, with the GoPro looking soft.
Thanks for the review! For sure they did not pay for it. I won't be buying any of those, my phone does better job in low light situations. Im looking for something small that still can provide decent low light footage.
Another review I saw did get some fairly impressive results turning the stabilisation off at night, which makes sense because EIS requires a high shutter speed to hide it. Much of the blurriness comes from the EIS, and the artefacts from when the shutter drops.
Of course that isn't good for action at night, but most wouldn't. You'd need some kind of OIS, and you're not going to get that in an action camera. But it might be useful for more vlogging than action.
9:30 you can read the car's licence plate in the GoPro video, but not on the DJI video. Some thing at 6:28, the text and pictogram on the street sign is more distinguishable on the GoPro than on the DJI. Guess the GoPro wins as a dash cam.
Thanks for comparison. In low light 4K comparison Action 4 seems more better. At day time GP12 5K 30 almost the same as Action 4 4K 30. ( But DJI loosing in details). I would vote for DJI.
Great comparison. it is a bit of a toss up at times, one is better, then the other is. At around 2 min, it seems the GoPro looks more natural. Have you compared the file size? DJI products I have (Action 2 and Mini 2) seem to produce much larger files than GoPro at 4K 60fps I can put close to 4 hours on a 128GB card with the Hero 11. The Action 3 I read somewhere can put 2 hours 30 min on a similar size card at 4K 30fps (which should take less space than 60fps). It is another deciding factor for me. As the quality is so close, having almost twice as big files is a con for me.
Before sunset: GoPro was definitely better, the exposure and white balance were both handled. The best example was the sunset and sunflower farm; where, DJI was underexposed and lacked in contrast, whereas GoPro was exposed correctly, contrast was fine and white balance was good as well.
After Sunset: DJI was exposing better for the whole scene; but, the highlights were blown out at the expense of shadow details. Again, it seems that DJI doesn't dial the contrast in at all. GoPro was indeed darker/underexposed but the highlights were tighter as evident both by the bike's headlight and the ceiling lights in the museum tunnel. One thing that stood out for DJI was the cobble section, where the smoothing/stabilization seemed to work better in low light. It was rock steady (no pun intended) as opposed to the camera dropping down flight of stairs of GoPro.
Overall, as you mentioned at the end GoPro seems to get the exposure, white balance, colours more accurate and close to life than DJI.
It clearly shows better dynamic range on go pro when it’s not low light. Perhaps it’s just much higher bitrate? Don’t know but more details also.
It would be good if you shot some some 10bit dlog and turned down the ISO to max 400 then edited\colour graded
Since you left the cameras at default settings, I watched all of the footage with the mindset of an Instagram poster. Which footage is more satisfying for the watcher? For example, at 11:14, we see more details in dark areas on the DJI image, but can’t read the words on the blown out neon sign on the right side. The GoPro is darker but the lights look nicer.
The DJI obviously performs better in low light situations. But, I did buy my GoPro for shooting videos at night. All in all your comparison video provided great insight.
Black Swan Odysseys
hmmm those skys .... and clouds ... where is all the detail gone on the DJI? Huge HDR issues there ....
The true advantage of the bigger sensor, I don't know, I don't seem to see it ... hoped it would perform better in the dark
Thank you for reviewing and comparing, goed gedaan!
Thank you (bedankt) this is one i look for. I do main lowlight camera and GoPro, i did move the EVcomp up. In 4K i not able to use 30 FPS its 24, 25, 50.
Hi there…. Great video…🙌🙌🙌…Is it easy to transfer 4K files from Action4 to I phone via Bluetooth (Apparently Action 3 was pretty notorious when it came to file transfer via Bluetooth only 1080 was was easy)
I've battered my Hero 11 throughout winter and summer, it's still going strong. I'd buy another
A good comparison you have done here but you really need to have w wireless mic set up because it is nearly impossible to make out what you are saying while you are riding around which destroys what could have been a good production
Once you go past Rock Steady the night mode on the Action 4 doesn't work. That's why it's not looking good in the low light.
Bigger sensor size = more light = better low light performance. Don't argue with the science bro. No a fan of either cameras, as they are both junk when it comes to low light performance.
It can equal more light, but that doesn't nessessarily mean it'll be rendered that way. And specifically in an action cam, it doesn't mean it'll be what you want. We can look at the Insta360 1" when it launched as a great example of that. The camera was stunning in the dark when on a tripod. But the second you moved? Useless. Also, keep in mind the lens and apeture in front of things is also a huge factor in the amount of light coming in. Don't get me wrong - sensor size matters, but in an action camera where the goal is generally action, the other things are equally if not as important.
@@Dcrainmaker True that my friend. I not disagree.
This is the only video comparison I've seen that looked close. Every other low light comparison, the osmo totally blew away the hero 11. I cant help but think something deliberate was going on here
I purchased two DJI action four cameras, been messing with him for three days and the quality is absolutely terrible, you put it at 60 frames a second 2.7 K and it looks like 30 frames a second and it’s doing it on both cameras, I’m returning mine.
I dont know. For me, the image quality shifts at almost every scene. Sometime i clearly prefer the GoPro, then the DJI is much better in the next scene. Overall i "feel" a slight advantage for the DJI? So hard to tell.
Nice review, thanks! At 6:00 your telling about hoe bad the quality is on a big screen /laptop. Do you have suggestions for a waterproof (action) camera that can film in a quality that support larger screens ?
The detail of the clouds on the DJI makes me feel like I lost my glasses as an almost legally blind person.
great video! btw I would want to know if you were using the manual exposure or leaving it full auto..
Very good action cameras but for good lighting conditions .... crapy for low light both , a very good smartphone is way better !
thanks for your video revealing this truth with no doubt at all
Good video 😊 just go the dji osmo action 4 , what setting do you recommend street vlogging ?
Seems like the customer wins no matter which one is picked. Both are close with some wins on either side here and there. Compared to when I was buying action cams (Hero 4) things have come a long way for image quality .
I don’t know why more reviews don’t just give people the video and just let viewers decide what they like.
because in most cases the objective is to influence the purchase in favor of a certain brand. which is not the case here.
In my opinion I would still choose the gopro. The only advantage the action 4 has is slightly better audio if there's no wind, and a little better around dusk (however gopro looks more natural) but that's it. I still think the GoPro looks better in all ways. The action 4 is very cold in white balance.
Reality is very cold in white balance
@@ZaZaBoyFlacko unfortunately
Luxury comparison, thanks!
You should compare this with the Osmo 3
great comparison. althought the night footage could have been wayy better if not captured from a vibrating vehicle... clip the cams to your chest and the footage should be 10x better / more stable.
I included hand-held footage both on the bike and walking around too. Chest mounts help, but almost nobody does night-time action cams on the chest for walking, because it's honestly kinda awkward.
Nice comparison! How high did the ISO go in the low light comparisons?
👍, great comparison job.
When you are riding the bike, on the Action 4 it seems as if your head is stretched vertically. Is that your impression as well?
Thank you for the honest videos!
Hard to compare which to choice, because some light GoPro 11 is awesome and some DJI 4 is awesome.
What I want out of an action camera is to be able to capture car registration plates 24/7, not just in daylight. Seems we are a long way from getting that!
could you do the insta360 1 inch? i own one and i am ready to sell mine and my gopro for the dji action 4 if it is even close.
i know the insta360 1 inch does not have the seo value of gopro for your video title.
People might pick one or another, but I don't like them at all. There's plenty for both (which are the top brands) to work on.
thank you , conclusion for me as a dji 3 owner is that the fuzziness of stabilazation at night time is not fixed on the 4, the gopro has the same issue , maybe you can turn the shutter speed up and get rid of the fuzz without going too dark but they could make a better algorithm to do this in auto. so for me there is no real upgrade, for night time something lke dji pocket (something with a gimbal for stabilization) will work much better .So lets see the next gopro or pocket.
Good review, both doing very bad in Low Light. Greetings in Malaysia
GoPro Looks a bit more contrasty and in some scenes warmer. I would like see a comparison between the GoPro shot in flat and the Action 4 shot in log with both being color graded.
imho the action 4 blows out the hightlights? I already saw that in your first video. Yes the picture might be brighter, but the highlights are totally lost.
best video ...thanks for your suggestions
Thanks!!!
IMHO both look bad, while technically the bigger sensor should make a difference, that difference is not significant enough. However stabilization on Osmo Action 4 is somewhat better in low-light.
Yup, there's definitely a specific tipping point where the low-light stabilization goes from favoring GoPro to favoring DJI. It apperas to be mostly once you add in man-made lights (interestingly, if we look at the documents DJI sent out to sponsored reviewers, they explicitly say to show/test low-light footage in city environments, not other places). That's supported when we look at a lot of reviewer footage, especially cycling and running in forests (in daytime). In that case, the DJI Action 4 stabilization struggles. But, once we get into the city testing like I show here, then the GoPro Hero 11 stabilization struggles.
For day light is good for low light maybe DJI action 6 will be good. Action cameras and low light don't go
It looked great when you walked or stood still. But the vibration during the bike footage was disastrous.
I wonder how the GoPro 12 will do when that comes out
Dji claimed osmo 3 was a 2.8 arpeture lens that had to be a misprint. It was complete black screen in most cases in low light while the gopro hero 7 black that had the same specs could see a image at iso 800. Even looking at the lens hero 7 had a bigger lens. Iam hesitant to by the osmo 4 after these mistakes in there manual. In mine it says to download dji fly app for there osmo 3 definitely wrong on that lol.
I've seen two videos with people using cameras similar to my use case, and that's cycling on streets in the evening. Yours is one. Both show the Osmo struggle with stabilisation and as a result not have clear ability to read signs and number plates.
Gopro definitely still seems better to me.
Disclaimer: I'm still using a gopro 7, so I'm not trying to justify money I've already spent or anything. I'm contemplating my next investment. Really appreciate reviews that aren't hyperbolic and fanboy like. Cheers
That said, I'm glad there's no cobble stone like streets where I live... gopro didn't like that
Looks like the action cams still have a way to go concerning night footage.
what country is this it's already 9pm yet it's still soo bright outside
netherland
The era of 1inch sensor action cameras are near I mean insta360 did it. GoPro and DJI hmmm 🍻🍻✅✅
I was there last week... never bumped in to you! 🤣
In certain circumstances the Action 4 was marginally better but this is the Year OLD GP11. With GP12 coming soon the Action 4 is at best a good alternative to Go Pro 11. Both arent great in low light. For action GP is still the king. Hopefully GP12 will be a big improvement
Solid work! Thank you. 👍
Thanks for the upload
both would look much better when the gamma is set higher by 0.2
02:26 till 02:31 - I think I git ny own-gyro broken, was so dizzy looking at left screen more then 3 seconds in a row.
Its so weird that in semi-low light the GoPro is brighter. but then in actual low light the DJI is brighter. Why is this?
All has to do with the unique differences in the algorithms and imaging pipeline. Many ways to solve problems that have different outcomes.
Would've loved to switch.. It's still the GoPro for me..
You are just getting the dji settings optimized for low light on auto. Why can’t someone do a night mode with 3200k settings and iso manually on both? Then we get the point. I bet the 12 will be the same at night 😊you are comparing a 1 year old camera to a new camera. Just like iPhone 13 vs Samsung s23