Why is DJI Pocket so successful and popular?

This is an article about my reflections on the question: "why is the DJI Pocket Series so successful and popular?". From the perspective of a content creator, a user who uses it for work, event and exhibition video recording, an observer who has followed DJI for many years, someone who understands serious video recording, fun video recording, and normal user video recording, below are some of my opinions on this issue.

Form Factor - Compact but extremely useful

DJI Pocket Series pioneered the movement of ultra-small, pocket-sized gimbals with built-in cameras. It's unlike any recording device we've ever known before.

Remember in 2015, they first launched DJI Osmo - as shown in the photo, a handheld video recording device, integrated camera, capable of 4K recording, taking photos, but only a little bigger than a phone gimbal. To be fair, compared to the extremely popular zhiyun smooth 4 phone gimbal at that time, it was even smaller. Compared to size, form, and usage, DJI Osmo also made a lot of impression in 2015.

That means they have had a strategic vision since 2015, pioneering in this field.

And then when the DJI Pocket Series was born, the size and form were really small, but it was not successful because the Pocket 1 and 2 models had not really good image quality and the battery was poor.

A global hit - DJI Pocket 3 was born, it changed all prejudices and perceptions about video recording, it filled a terrible gap between professional, bulky, difficult-to-use video recording devices that require a lot of technique and compact video recording devices such as actioncams that have many limitations and phones that have okay quality but need a gimbal and many accessories...

DJI Pocket 1 The problem of anti-vibration, but pocket-sized, no bulky phone gimbal, much less a big heavy camera gimbal, from there all types of users can approach and carry a serious video recording device, with a more stable recording gimbal with them anytime, anywhere.

Rotating screen - contributes to success, but not without drama

What people remember most about PK3 is definitely its screen, with the ability to rotate horizontally to open the device, creating extremely great usage habits, and the UX is great.

Before talking about freezing, let's talk about its benefits first. If actioncam users have the ability to press the record button to start recording even when the camera is on or off, then those using Pocket 3 will be able to swipe the screen.

The operation of using the thumb to swipe, the screen rotates horizontally, the device turns on, the thumb continues to press record, it is extremely intuitive, easy to understand, easy to remember and impressive.

Not to mention the screen has the ability to rotate horizontally, making watching liveview video horizontally much less tiring compared to generations 1 and 2. Rotating it vertically, of course it's vertical, but it's worth mentioning that rotating it vertically also means turning it off after 2 seconds.

This way of using it is great, you can rotate the screen without looking, there is tactile and auditory feedback when the screen is finished, it has enough force for the hand to recognize and there is a clicking sound, the same when turned off. I believe many people like this habit, but it is also extremely controversial, because it is often damaged or frozen precisely because the glue between the magnet components slips, and the screen cannot rotate anymore. Many users have a grudge against Pocket 3 for this reason, because in the beginning, few people fixed this error, and the warranty was long, due to the large number of defective devices. From then on they got frustrated, and they forgot all about the advantages of the Pocket 3 and assumed it was a dumb machine. But gradually, there were more people repairing it and the average price was around 400-500K. If you're brave enough, you can open it and apply glue and fix it yourself. My opinion is that if it's the first time, it's really frustrating, it can't be repaired, the warranty is long, but after about a year, things cool down, then the cost of 3 cents or 5 cents to repair is not worth the trouble compared to the affordable price and advantages it brings.

Shot on DJI Pocket 4

Image quality

Pocket 3 is not a cine camera, not the pinnacle of abc imaging technology at all, what it does do is have great quality with a gimbal while the size is less than 2 fingers. It's nice to record a phone, but it's big, it's cumbersome, and the gimbal comes with it, it's just a bag, a box, etc. Cameras and camcorders are out of the question, 4K, 200Mpbs, 4:2:2 10bit log and all... but how many people can hold a camera with a gimbal to travel and vlog?

Shot on DJI Pocket 4 Pocket 3 has filled that gap, the quality from the 1" sensor is extremely stable, 4K is sharp enough, night recording, good low light, ability to handle skin color very smoothly even in low light... It can be summarized that the image quality of Pocket 3 is only higher than that of a phone, in fact it is still equal, but without a gimbal it is already a loss.

Shot on DJI Pocket 4 Not to mention, Pocket 4 now has a higher bitrate, better 10bit D-log, better color reproduction, and wider dynamic range than Pocket 3.

There is a big upgrade on the Pocket 4 that is overlooked: D-log, it gives better recording ability, much wider dynamic range than Pocket 3's D-logM, but many people think that PK4 has no upgrade. I recommend that you use D-log on Pocket 4 because:

It doesn't matter who you are, you can spin it

If you know and have used Pocket 3, I'm sure you will find it easy to shoot, just turn it on and shoot, no need to adjust or think much, but still get stable 4K video without shaking.

Pocket 3 reduces the threshold of usage knowledge to an extremely low level, just open it and start recording, no need to know how to adjust much, the tracking, vertical and horizontal rotation, app... are too intuitive for you to understand. It makes itself suitable for the majority of users as possible, from semi-professional content creators, people who record fun commemorative videos, and I have even seen many people doing services with Pocket 3. From there, I find that Pocket 3 brings a bit more serious feeling in recording videos and creating content, basically because it is a camcorder, it makes us feel more emotionally and psychologically secure that I am a serious worker but the investment is not too large.

Scratching society's itch

The time Pocket 3 was launched and widely available for sale, was also the time when video content took over, everyone was using Tiktok, FB Reels, Youtube Shorts... everything. The common point of this type of video is that it must be fast, neat, with little editing but must be beautiful... Pocket 3 has successfully scratched that itch, it allows people to shoot beautiful videos right from the beginning, without spending much editing => content creators can create more content => channels grow quickly => those growing channels make the image of Pocket 3 imprinted in viewers' heads => viewers keep spending money to buy Pocket 3.

Conclusion

DJI Pocket Series in general and Pocket 3 in particular, it both addresses social needs and fills the gap between phone + gimbal... It is no longer a regular camcorder, but a convenient, compact pocket camcorder, providing stable image quality. It successfully turns video recording from a complicated task that requires a lot of knowledge to record and edit, and is laborious, into something much simpler and more fun. While phones are getting more powerful but still difficult to truly stabilize, and professional camcorders are too heavy, Pocket fills that gap. That's why it not only sells well but is also loved and discussed a lot by the creator community. It's really changed the way many people document their lives, but how much? The number is more than 10 million units sold, that's with Pocket 3, how much do you think Pocket 4 will be?