Smartphones serve as the primary video recording device for most people, and are also the chosen go-to gear for many social media creators. While leading phones like the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra and the Apple iPhone 14 Pro feature capable built-in video stabilization, most phones have yet to adopt the shake-reducing tool. This is why gimbals in general, and the DJI Osmo Mobile 6 in particular, are so valuable. They let you capture ultra-smooth video with your phone. Whether you simply want cleaner footage of your kids playing at the park or need the smoothest action possible while recording high-speed stunts, the Osmo Mobile 6 offers a handy zoom wheel, a telescoping arm, and powerful software features that make it an essential addition to your video toolkit. It’s our Editors’ Choice pick for everyday-use gimbals, particularly for use with iPhones.
Functional Upgrades
The DJI Osmo Mobile 6 makes a few small but significant design tweaks when compared with the DJI Osmo Mobile 5. The most obvious change is the color; the new model is dark gray, while the previous generation is off-white.
The most welcome addition is a small digital readout that lets you quickly know which mode you’re in, a feature not available to the Osmo Mobile 5. DJI also replaced the zoom slider with a combined zoom/focus wheel. It’s much more enjoyable to use than the slider, although it is a little more sensitive than we’d like. DJI also refined the joystick, making it easier to dial in precise movements.
DJI carried over the record button, the mode button, and the rear-mounted trigger from the Osmo Mobile 5. Everything you need to control the gimbal with one hand is within easy reach.
Similar to the Osmo Mobile 5, the new model folds down so you can stick it in the included pouch or other carrying bag. It’s not a particularly large gimbal. When opened all the way, it measures 10.87 by 4.39 by 3.9 inches (HWD). When folded, it measures 7.44 by 3.32 by 1.73 inches. It tips the scale at 10.9 ounces; the magnetic phone clip adds another 1.09 ounces. Last year’s model weighed 10.20 ounces, so the Osmo Mobile 6 gained a little weight.
The Osmo Mobile 6 features a built-in extension rod that stretches 8.46 inches. It is mostly meant to help put some distance between yourself and the camera while recording self-facing video, but it can help add some height to your shooting angle as well.
A set of screw-mounted tripod legs in the box enables you to set the gimbal down while it holds your phone. If you’re a vlogger or content creator who does a lot of solo filming, this is a handy extra.
The gimbal comes with a strong magnetic clamp that locks to your phone. If you have an iPhone with MagSafe, you can arrange it so that your phone automatically launches the DJI Mimo video app (via Bluetooth) when you connect the clamped phone to the gimbal. Android users, unfortunately, don’t get this feature. DJI also offers the DJI OM Fill Light Phone Clamp ($59), which includes a short-throw fill light to help when recording in darker scenes. Then there’s the $329 DJI Mic, which lets you record higher-quality audio wirelessly.
A rechargeable battery is built into the chassis. It relies on USB-C for charging; a cable is included in the box, but you’ll need to provide your own charging brick. DJI estimates the Osmo Mobile 6 can steady a phone for 6 hours and 24 minutes under perfect conditions (meaning, the gimbal is balanced). In reality, we got closer to 5 hours and 30 minutes. DJI does not say how long it takes to recharge the gimbal, although it took several hours to recharge the Osmo Mobile 5.
Mode-ified Recording
The Osmo Mobile 6 includes a handful of recording modes to help you get your shot. The default is Follow mode, which offers general stabilization. (That’s the one you’ll use most of the time.) There’s also Tilt Locked mode, which keeps the camera horizontal no matter how you move the gimbal. FPV mode assigns all three axes to follow the main subject no matter how the subject moves, while Spin Shot mode helps with rotating the camera left or right for circular motion shots. The new status indicator lets you know what mode you’re in before you start recording so you won’t find yourself recording your shot with the wrong mode.
Depending on the type of content you’re creating, you may want to record in portrait or landscape orientation. A press of the swap button will automatically flip the phone between the two. Moreover, it will remain perfectly level while flipping, so you can change the orientation without recalibrating the gimbal. Now you can switch between capturing TikToks, YouTube shorts, and standard video quickly and easily.
In terms of actual stabilization, the Osmo Mobile 6 is fantastic. We easily captured beautiful, Steadicam-like footage. The three-axis stabilization keeps even relatively aggressive movements stable with almost no shaking.
The wheel on the side of the gimbal is a nice feature to have because it allows you to either zoom in and out, or manually adjust the focus near and far. The focus mode, in particular, opens up some creative possibilities by allowing you to shift the focus from the foreground to the background and back again. These types of shots can otherwise be tricky to capture via smartphone.
The DJI Mimo App
The Mimo app works together with the capable hardware to help push results to the next level. Its features round out the experience, including an upgraded Follow mode called ActiveTrack 5.0, Quick Launch (for select iPhone devices), tutorials, Shot Guides, and more.
ActiveTrack 5.0 is one of the main selling points of the Mimo app and the Osmo Mobile 6 itself. With it, you can select a subject in the viewfinder and the gimbal will then automatically follow that subject to the edge of its rotational limits. Even if the subject moves side to side relatively quickly or steps back, the app and gimbal can keep them locked in the shot and in focus. The subject need not necessarily be a person; we were easily able to track our dog as it roamed around.
Gesture controls, which you turn on through the app’s interface, simplify the process of recording yourself. For example, you can set your phone to start recording when you make a specific gesture, or start recording and tracking your movements. This feature worked perfectly in our testing.
Shot Guides, a carryover from the Osmo Mobile 5, is designed to guide you through creating different types of shots with the gimbal. It’s more than just a tutorial, though; it shows you how to set up the shots and angles to create exactly what you have in mind. This supplements the basic tutorials, which teach you everything you need to start using the gimbal (although it’s quite easy to use).
Of note, while the fully featured DJI Mimo app is available for the iPhone in the iTunes App Store, the app is not available for Android devices in the Google Play Store. Instead, Android device users need to download the APK file directly from DJI’s website. This means the app has not been vetted by Google; side-loading is a less secure way to install apps on Android devices. Moreover, many of the features discussed above are simply not available for Android phones, and you should expect some disappointing video-resolution limitations for Android devices.
Final, Steady Thoughts
Consumers or creators who want to take their smartphone videography to the next level should consider using a gimbal. The DJI Osmo Mobile 6 improves upon some of the flaws of the Osmo Mobile 5, such as button placement and the zoom toggle, while adding a useful status readout and more powerful features to the DJI Mimo software—at least for iPhones.
Competing gimbals include the Zhiyun Smooth-5 ($149.99), which we have not tested, as well as the price-reduced DJI Osmo Mobile 5 ($129.99). Options in the under-$100 range tend to lose software support and may feature only two-axis stabilization, while gimbals costing above $300 tend to favor professional videographers. This leads us to award the DJI Osmo Mobile 6 as our pick for everyday gimbals.
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