DJI Osmo Action 6 review: Excels in low light.

1 day ago7 min read7 comments

Alright, let's get straight into it. DJI, the absolute titan of the drone world, has just dropped the Osmo Action 6, and it’s a serious play to finally dethrone GoPro and Insta360 from the top of the action cam leaderboard.You know the scene: GoPro has been the undisputed champ for years, the Hero series its trusty belt, while Insta360 has been the slick newcomer with all the fancy tricks. DJI? They’ve been the solid number three, but with the Action 6, they’re not just competing; they’re changing the entire meta of the game, especially if your content creation happens when the sun goes down.The two headline features are a complete game-changers: a massive, chonky square sensor and—get this—the first-ever variable aperture in an action cam. That’s right, a variable aperture.It’s the kind of tech you’d expect in a proper mirrorless camera, not something you strap to your helmet before sending it down a mountain bike trail. This f/2.0 to f/4. 0 range is a total cheat code for low light.I took it out for a night ride, and the footage was just cleaner and sharper than anything I’ve pulled from my Hero 13. The stabilization, Rocksteady 3.0, doesn’t have to work as hard because the camera can keep the shutter speed up, meaning less of that gross pixelation and tearing when you’re bouncing around in the dark. It’s not perfect—I’d kill for full manual control over that aperture instead of just fixed presets or auto—but it’s a massive leap forward.Now, let’s talk about that square sensor. This is a straight-up genius move for the content grind.We’re all out here creating for both the cinematic widescreen of YouTube and the vertical dopamine hits of TikTok and Reels. The Action 6’s custom 3,840 x 3,840 mode is the ultimate ‘film once, use twice’ tool.I dropped the footage into DaVinci Resolve, and flipping a full 4K horizontal edit into a pristine 4K vertical clip was literally a copy-paste and a quick reframe. No resolution loss, no having to awkwardly rotate the camera mid-adventure.It’s the same logic Apple is using with the iPhone 17’s front camera, and it saves a ridiculous amount of time for editors who are already burning the midnight oil. In broad daylight, the playing field levels out.The GoPro Hero 13, with its higher resolution, can deliver insanely sharp 4K after supersampling, giving you more flexibility to punch in on shots. The colors from the Action 6 are great straight out of the camera, just like its predecessor, but in tricky, high-contrast situations—think a forest with light filtering through the leaves—the Action 6’s 10-bit D-LogM mode held onto more detail in the shadows.It’s a subtle win, but a win nonetheless. DJI also threw in some fun, Fujifilm-inspired Film Tone looks for those who don’t want to mess with color grading, and a new Natural Wide field of view that eliminates the weird distortion of the standard wide angle.On the spec sheet, it’s got the usual action cam ruggedness—waterproof to 20 meters, a four-hour battery life at 1080p—but with some slick upgrades. The 50GB of internal storage is a lifesaver for anyone who’s ever forgotten an SD card (we’ve all been there), and the Wi-Fi and USB-C transfer speeds have been seriously boosted.The new dual-latch mount is more versatile, and it even has gesture controls now, so you can wave to start recording, just like on their new Neo 2 drone. So, what’s the final verdict? If your life is a constant stream of sunset surf sessions, night hikes, or dimly lit indoor events, the Osmo Action 6 is your undisputed champion.It’s the low-light king. But if you’re a pure daylight warrior who lives and breathes YouTube and wants every last pixel of detail, the GoPro Hero 13’s resolution might still tempt you.At $369, it’s pricier than the Hero 13 Black but positioned as a specialist tool. In the end, DJI hasn’t just made another action cam; they’ve carved out a dominant niche. They’ve looked at the board and decided they don’t want to play the same game anymore, and for a huge part of the creator community, that’s an absolute W.

#DJI

#Osmo Action 6

#action camera

#low light

#review

#featured

Stay Informed. Act Smarter.

Get weekly highlights, major headlines, and expert insights — then put your knowledge to work in our live prediction markets.

Comments

Loading comments...