Key Takeaways
- DJI is testing a new version of its miniature gimbal camera, potentially called the DJI Pocket 3, as leaked images indicate.
- The new camera may feature a large landscape display, addressing a previous issue with the small touchscreen on the Pocket 2.
- What we'd love to see on the DJI Pocket 3 is a larger sensor for improved depth of field and low-light performance, as well as higher frame rates in 4K for slow-motion recording.
I'm a big fan of the DJI Pocket cameras, they provide smooth, physically stabilised 4K footage in a package that can easily slip into your pocket. The last iteration was the DJI Pocket 2, which came in late 2020, and it's been so long that I was beginning to think it might be the last DJI Pocket camera.
Now, though, a leak posted by the often reliable Igor Bogdanov (Quadro News) on X, shows that DJI is testing a new version of its miniature gimbal camera.
It's hard to glean much information from the low-resolution image, but you can clearly see a large landscape display in place of the Pocket's classic square display. This fixes one of the biggest gripes that we had with the previous models, as that tiny touchscreen was extremely hard to work with, and meant that we were often resorting to the smartphone app in order to properly tweak our settings.
It's possible that this screen could articulate, too, but it's hard to tell if that's the case. I sure hope so, as that would add even more versatility to the tiny camera.
As for what else we can expect, it's pure speculation, but we have a few things on our wishlist. Number one would be a larger sensor, which would allow for a shallower depth of field and better low-light performance. Considering that DJI has just squeezed a massive 1/1.3-inch sensor into its Osmo Action 4 camera, and two into its Air 3 drone, I wouldn't be too surprised to see it used here, too.
The DJI Pocket 2 offered up to 4K 60fps recording, so a jump to 100fps or 120fps for high-quality slow motion would be nice to see, as well.
Again, it's hard to tell from the image, but it looks like it could be a larger unit than the previous model. This would mean more room for a larger battery pack. The 875 mAh pack offered up to 140 minutes on the Pocket 2, so a larger pack could offer a seriously impressive runtime.
Of course, this is just wishful thinking at the moment. We still don't know when the DJI Pocket 3 will see the light of day, or even if it will get a proper release at all. But, with this leak, things are looking promising. We've got our fingers crossed for more news soon.