I’m going to make this short…the Action 5 Pro sucks! After waiting a month for the new Ace Pro 2, which never shipped out, I requested a refund. I purchased the Action 5 Pro Adventure bundle and was very impressed by the look and feel of it, the menus, etc.
That’s where my praise stops. I’m a professional photographer by trade. I wanted to upgrade my old GoPro HERO 9 and get something snazzier to follow our toddler around. I got rid of our Osmo Pocket 3 which while it worked great for vlogging, it’s just not feasible to chase a toddler around in focus or capture some stuff at the beach, waterpark, etc.
A few days ago we hit up our local zoo and I took our GoPro 9 (I hadn’t purchased the OA5 yet). Just something to get some content and honestly, it wasn’t bad. The outdoor stuff looked fantastic like always and even the dark indoor stuff, while not fantastic, was ok.
Received the OA5 2 days ago so yesterday I took it out to run it through its paces. The footage is absolute garbage. I spent hours trying to find real reviews and recommendations for settings on YouTube, lowered the sharpness, set a high bit rate, updated firmware, etc. Tried filming some low-light stuff at 60fps, 30fps, you name it. The outdoor footage was just bad, blooming sun flares everywhere and the colors are off. The supposed SuperNight mode is crap, so noisy, and unusable.
So here we are, I’m returning the DJI OA5 Pro for sure. Guess I’ll stick with my HERO 9 for the time being and when the Ace Pro 2 is finally available off Amazon or B&H I’ll give it a try. Anyway, forget all those YouTube videos, even the ones that really didn’t seem like they were paid or sponsored gloating about how great the Action 5 Pro is.
Hart said:
Thanks for sharing your experience, mate. I was about to purchase one this week, but seeing your review, I have to think more…
Regardless of what you decide to purchase, just make sure to get it from a place with a reasonable return policy. Thank God I didn’t order it from DJI, or had my Insta360 Ace Pro 2 shipped out, I heard their return process was horrid.
That’s a shame. The YouTube videos I’ve seen from it look very good, and I’ve watched comparisons to pretty much every other action cam around right now. Guess they must be doing something different?
Tan said:
That’s a shame. The YouTube videos I’ve seen from it look very good, and I’ve watched comparisons to pretty much every other action cam around right now. Guess they must be doing something different?
I’m not sure. I talked to my wife about it. She’s a developer and also helps with our videography side of the business. If I was a rookie, I might chalk it up to inexperience or not understanding the product. But like I said, I tried auto settings, recommended settings from YouTubers, etc. The RAW footage is just poor, simple, and lacking. Are these YouTubers claiming it’s straight out of the camera but actually doing post-processing on the footage? I’m sure I could clean it up in Da Vinci, but the low-light stuff is impossible. I shot the low-light footage in my house, so maybe I’ll try urban landscapes, but I doubt it’ll change anything.
Vale said:
Really too bad. I’ve read about overheating issues with them. I have an Action 3, which has been amazing. Sounds like they may have botched the 5.
Overheating issues with the Action 5? I haven’t heard of that happening.
Jamesfavor said:
Footage is absolutely beautiful on mine, though I haven’t needed to use it at night yet.
That’s good to hear. The outdoor footage, except for the sun bursts, was excellent. But it wasn’t any better than my 7-year-old GoPro HERO 9. That’s the issue. Plus, at a smaller resolution—4K vs 5.3K—it just doesn’t feel great.
@Lee
In reality, you’re not going to see much difference between 4K and 5K, especially on typical screens. I’ll gladly take better battery life and fewer overheating issues. As a GoPro user, this is much better, in my opinion. I had mine in bright sunny conditions, and never had any sunbursts—even directly pointed at the sun while reviewing honeymoon photos and videos. I’m wondering if something was wrong with your unit. Did you have it in auto, and updated to the latest firmware?
I’ve had a few GoPros, the Ace Pro 1, and my first Action 5 Pro. Never been more happy with an action camera than with DJI. Plus, a game-changer for people using mics connected directly to it without needing to attach a receiver to the open door. I hope they take GoPro’s side magnetic charger idea. GoPro steals ideas too, so why not everyone just take each other’s good ideas?
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