Table of Contents
Table of Contents
DJI Osmo Pocket 3
DJI Mic 2
Google Pixel 9 Pro
Apple iPhone 16 Pro
Other units in my assortment
For virtually 20 years, I’ve carried greater than twenty kilos of electronics in my backpack for the slightest probability of needing to seize content material for my skilled life. My backpack normally contained my MacGuide, a full-frame digicam with a giant lens, a tripod, and an assortment of video and audio gear that I all the time deemed important.
As it seems, over the previous two years, a lot of these things had been rendered out of date, as many firms launched new merchandise that had been rapidly capable of change know-how that I beforehand thought-about irreplaceable.
Part of this shift was led by an development in smartphone cameras, and particularly, the Pixel 9 Pro. However, that alone wouldn’t have been sufficient. With a shift in video developments — with vertical video equally, or extra, essential than conventional horizontal video — got here the launch of my favourite DJI product ever, the DJI Pocket 3.
Here are 5 merchandise which have lastly persuaded me I can shed over ten kilos and ditch my full-frame digicam at residence for work.
DJI Osmo Pocket 3
Nirave Gondhia / Digital Trends
There’s just one place to start out: the DJI Pocket 3. I’ve already written about the way it’s one of many merchandise that reworked my life final yr, however its affect is considerably larger. While DJI has been identified for making nice handheld gimbals, motion cameras, and drones for years, the Pocket 3 is the primary product I’ve seen that has utterly reworked life for creators.
I’ve attended over 50 main commerce reveals in my profession, and final month’s CES 2025 was enlightening as virtually everybody I noticed capturing video was doing so with the Osmo Pocket 3. Why? It’s easy: it’s the one product that makes it easy to change between vertical and horizontal video in a second, and it does so with out actually impacting high quality. With a fast rotation of the show, you may go from capturing 4k video on the 16:9 horizontal side ratio to 3k video within the 9:16 vertical side ratio.
There are different side ratios you can additionally specify, making it preferrred for sq. photographs for social if that’s your fancy, however these two make the most of the total capabilities of the digicam and setup. The Osmo Pocket 3 can even seize photographs, however I’ve discovered that it’s far much less succesful than the principle digicam that’s probably in your pocket, so I solely use it for video. Facial monitoring makes it tremendous straightforward for vlogging as does the best way it integrates with the DJI Mic sequence.
DJI Mic 2
DJI
Before the appearance of the DJI Mic and comparable small wi-fi microphones like these from Rode, capturing nice audio for video was a irritating affair. It required carrying a full microphone setup with transmitter and receivers — whether or not wi-fi or in any other case — and several other meters of cables to go along with it. Then there’s the extra modifying that goes into that setup, with the necessity to sync audio to video in post-editing.
My favourite factor in regards to the DJI Mic 2 is the way it integrates with the DJI Osmo Pocket 3 out of the field. If you purchase the Pocket 3 Creator Combo, it’ll routinely pair the primary time you flip them on, however should you purchase them individually, it solely takes a few seconds to take action. Then it’ll routinely pair each time you flip them each on, and as an alternative of needing to sync audio individually, the Pocket 3 will simply use the audio out of your paired DJI Mic 2.
Between the DJI Pocket 3 and the Mic 2, I estimate that it saves me at the least an hour for any short-form video I create, and several other hours for a long-form video. Crucially, it simply makes it easy to seize content material, which means the one factor stopping me from publishing are issues which are utterly in my management.
Google Pixel 9 Pro
Christine Romero-Chan / Digital Trends
The Osmo Pocket 3 has a couple of key challenges that imply I additionally want to hold different units to completely change every little thing I’d use my digicam for. One of those is its efficiency in taking photographs, and the opposite is the comfort of capturing video on the go. For the latter, I take advantage of the iPhone 16 Pro, however for the previous, I’ve discovered that the Pixel 9 Pro has the perfect digicam for product photographs.
Thanks to Myriam Joire from the Mobile Tech Podcast, I’ve realized that it’s the 2x mode on the Pixel 9 Pro’s digicam. Combined with the power to seize each RAW and JPG photographs by default from the auto digicam mode — versus needing to make use of the Pro or Master mode on different Android telephones — it’s the setup that’s confirmed to be the simplest.
Two weeks in the past, I left my full-frame digicam at residence and used simply the Pixel 9 Pro and Osmo Pocket 3 to cowl an early preview of Samsung’s new Galaxy S25 sequence. The outcomes had been wonderful, and the good thing about utilizing a cellphone for these photographs signifies that I can simply edit and share them, while not having so as to add in a step of transferring to a pc. For the S25 photographs, I did find yourself modifying them in Lightroom on my Mac, however the Pixel 9 Pro provides me a alternative for every picture I take.
Apple iPhone 16 Pro
Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max Andy Boxall / Digital Trends
Where the Pixel 9 Pro is much less efficient than I’d like is video. The Osmo Pocket 3 serves as a stable substitute for my digicam right here, nevertheless it additionally means I’ve to hold one more gadget with me. Thankfully, my trusty iPhone 16 Pro is all the time in my pocket as properly, and it’s the perfect smartphone with regards to easy video recording.
In specific, placing it in cinematic video mode signifies that I drop down from 4k decision however get crisp and easy motion and handheld panning. Previously, I’d must arrange a tripod and digicam to get these easy pans, however the Osmo Pocket 3 — after I’m carrying it — or the iPhone 16 Pro are worthwhile alternate options.
I favor the Pixel 9 Pro for product photographs because it’s higher than the iPhone general, however for video, Apple’s smaller flagship nonetheless reigns supreme for me.
Other units in my assortment
Tushar Mehta / Digital Trends
My full-frame digicam setup was huge and required an even bigger bag to hold and defend all my gear, particularly when attending commerce reveals or touring. Thanks to a a lot smaller setup now, I’ve been capable of change from a 30L Peak Design bag that appears and looks like a digicam bag — which additionally made me a goal in locations like Barcelona throughout MWC — to a daily backpack. It additionally provides me a a lot wider vary of baggage to select from, as I now not have to make sure there’s devoted safety for my digicam.
Inside my present bag of alternative — made by Troubadour — there are additionally a couple of different units which have confirmed important. I really like carrying both the OnePlus 13 or the Oppo Find X8 Pro as a result of they change the necessity for a zoom lens and a digicam. Even Samsung’s new Galaxy S25 Ultra can’t compete, as I just lately found in a digicam shootout captured in Dubai.
If you even have a full-frame digicam, or perhaps a DSLR, and are bored with having to maintain carrying it for work, I extremely advocate making the change. The Osmo Pocket 3 prices $700 for the creator combo with one DJI Mic 2 and that may successfully change your digicam for many issues. It’s price noting that you could be not prefer it for broll and pan photographs, though lowering the panning velocity within the settings may assist meet your wants.
Beyond that, the Pixel 9 Pro is the perfect cellphone I’ve used for product pictures, particularly because it allows you to use all of Google’s AI and digicam processing smarts while not having to make these edits your self. It additionally routinely backs up all of your photographs and makes them out there in Google Photos, which means you’ll by no means lose one thing you’ve captured, even when your cellphone had been to get broken.