Hardware

The Osmo consists of four parts: a Zenmuse X3 three-axis gimbal with a camera, an ergonomic handle with all the control buttons, a 10.8Wh battery and a phone clamp. In total this weighs about 538 grams (1.19 pounds) according to my scale, which is still quite manageable when you add a smartphone to it, but you can get this down to 422 grams (0.93 pound) if you remove the phone holder. The package also includes a lens cap plus a wrist strap for safety measures, as well as a cute little carrying case that may fool your friends into thinking you have a tiny ukulele inside.

For those who are already flying an Inspire 1, its Zenmuse X3 module needs no introduction. This fan-cooled gimbal-camera is powered by Sony's 1/2.3-inch 12-megapixel sensor that can record videos of up to 4K resolution -- 4,096 x 2,160 at 24fps or 3,840 x 2,160 at 30fps/24fps, to be exact -- with a maximum video bitrate of 60 Mbps. If you want a smoother video, you can go up to 60fps at either 1080p or 720p, or even do slow motion with 120fps at 1080p. As with the drone version, you get a 20mm f/2.8 lens with a 94-degree field of view. The gimbal is also where you insert your microSD card, which needs to be of at least Class 10 or UHS-1. Obviously, the faster the write speed, the better. In my case, DJI supplied a 16GB Panasonic microSDHC UHS Speed Class 3 card with our review unit, and it's worked well for me so far.

While the default gimbal-camera module on the Osmo and the Inspire 1 share the same name, there's a catch: You can't use Osmo's module on the drone; it only works the other way around. According to DJI, the main difference between the two is that the one on the Osmo has a mechanical structure that's optimized for hand-held use, including the way it flattens for storage, the orientation of its tilt motor and other small changes inside the camera and gimbal.

Much like the Inspire 1, the Osmo is also compatible with the higher-end Zenmuse X5 and X5R gimbals for some Micro Four Thirds action, but you will need to buy an adapter for them.

The detachable, metallic phone holder hangs onto the left side of the handle via a screw thread mount. It clamps onto your smartphone by way of two corners on one side and the middle of the other side. All three contact points, as well as the parts touching the back of the phone, are padded with soft plastic, so there's no need to worry about the clamp scratching your phone. The biggest device I managed to slide in there was the 6-inch Oppo R7 Plus, which comes in at 158mm tall and 82mm wide, so the equally tall, but narrower iPhone 6s Plus will fit just fine, although it may be a struggle if it's in a thick case.

While we're here, I should add that DJI also offers a range of accessories for the Osmo, including an extension rod, tripod and straight extension arm -- as well as universal, bike and vehicle mounts. Most of these can be installed on the Osmo in the same way as the phone holder.

This leaves us with the handle, which houses a stereo microphone, a 3.5mm audio jack for a lavalier mic, a screw mount at the top for the gimbal, a battery that goes in from the bottom and several buttons plus a couple of LED indicators dotted around the thumb and index finger areas. Thanks to the soft grip and thoughtful curvature, the Osmo is easily one of the most, if not the most, comfortable hand-held gimbals to hold. When placed in hand, your thumb can easily reach the slider for power, a flat joystick for maneuvering the camera, a capture button for still photos and a video-recording toggle.

On the other side, there's a trigger button that provides three functions: Hold down to lock the camera's orientation, double-tap to re-center the gimbal and triple-tap to swing the camera back for a selfie. Yes, you may as well call this the world's most expensive selfie stick. If needed, the gimbal does allow minor adjustments by hand; just avoid twisting too hard and thus accidentally locking the gimbal. Don't worry, this is all explained in the app's tutorial, which gives us a nice segue to the next section of this review.

Software

When you're feeling adventurous, the Osmo functions just fine without the DJI Go app on iOS and Android, but that does require some guesswork and you'll also miss out on a lot of features. Most importantly, this is where you set your photo aspect ratio, video resolution and video frame rate. You can also use the app to adjust your gimbal's parameters and re-calibrate it when necessary. To link up, simply turn on the Osmo, connect your phone to the gimbal's WiFi hotspot and then launch the app.

Once you've entered the camera view, you can toggle between the still-camera and the video-recording interfaces. These come with common quick settings like white balance, ISO and exposure compensation. You can also tap on the screen to set an exposure reference point, or hold down and move your finger around to control the gimbal. Additionally, there are mode-specific features like slow-motion toggle (1080p at 120fps) in the video interface, and various shooting modes in the still-camera interface: single, multiple, interval, panorama (360 degrees or just 180) and time-lapse. But regardless of which interface you're in, you can still initiate whichever capture mode you desire using the buttons on the Osmo.