Every once in a while, a tech product crosses my desk, and it gets my attention. I mean REALLY gets my attention.
For those who go back that far, think VisiCalc, Lotus 1-2-3, the first Nikon Coolpix digital, Minolta Dimage V or even Adobe Photoshop for that matter.
These products were either a major breakthrough or a massive jump over previous versions or competitors.
Well, another has turned up today, the latest DJI Pocket camera called the 4P.
The standard Pocket 4 has not been out that long – I reviewed it back in May – and that in itself is a brilliant little portable camera, but the Pocket 4P takes the genre to a whole new level.
VLOG Combo
I have the VLOG Combo which in addition to the Pocket 4P camera comes with a bunch of extras including an extended battery pack, Frame Tap remote controller, fill light, wireless mic and magnet/clip and windscreen and all the necessary cables, tripod and carry bag.
Separately I also have a suite of filters including three ND filters and a Mist filter, plus a wide angle lens adaptor.
The VLOG Combo sells for $1099 and the standard Combo for $959.
What Your Money Gets You
The first obvious difference between the Pocket 4 and 4P is the extra lens in the 4P.
The primary wide-angle lens is equipped with an all-new 1-inch CMOS (20mm format equivalent and f/2.0 aperture). Powered by LOFIC technology, it delivers an incredible 17 stops of dynamic range1 and supports up to 4K/240 fps. video.
This gives an idea of the dynamic range shooting almost directly into the sun at 10am over water at Koombana Bay in Bunbury WA
That compares more than favourably with my Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Pro in dynamic range alone.
The second lens is a new high-resolution and large-aperture 60mm med-tele lens and delivers the classic focal length for standout portraits. It supports 3× optical zoom and up to 12× zoom1. The f/1.8 large aperture (f/6.3 equivalent depth of field) strongly compresses the background, pulling it closer to the subject for a blurred effect.
It’s important to note that the 60mm lens uses optical technology not digital.
This is shot at 240fps / 4K. The cars are moving at 60kph for reference
You can also get up to 8x ultra-HD slow motion footage at 4K / 240 frames per second and a slow shutter mode for creating motion blur.
To get the maximum benefit out of this, DJI has also upped the game with its 10-bit D-Log 2 colour profile which certainly puts it up there with premium cinema cameras.
If you are not sure what this means, it simple terms you get over one billion colours, tonal transitions stay exceptionally smooth, and this maximises the flexibility for post-production colour grading in something like DaVinci Resolve.
The lenses can operate in several different focus modes. To lock the focus on a specific static object, simply tap it on the screen, but there are also continuous focus modes:
- Default: Maintains continuous focus. Ideal for filming moving people or objects.
- Product Showcase: Prioritizes focus on objects closest to the cameras. Ideal for showcasing products.
- Subject Lock Tracking: Locks onto a subject and keeps it in focus when a detection box is tapped on the screen.
- Registered Subject Priority: Gives focusing priority to a registered subject.
You also get six different film tones; CC Film, NC Film, Pastel, Warm Tone, Movie and Retro.
Intelligence and Stability
The stabilisation system DJI call RONIN and used in its top of the range gimbals has been incorporated into the DJI Pocket 4P, and DJI’s Active Track has also been upgraded and keeps subjects –people, vehicles, pets or dynamically shaped objects – firmly centred in the frame, even at 12x Zoom. It intuitively prioritises a registered subject or centres multiple subjects at any focal length using auto framing.
Active Track can either be turned on manually or via Gesture Control – an open palm to initiate Active Track and a V sign to start recording.
Controls
Controlling the DJI Pocket 4P uses a combination of the on-body buttons and joystick, on screen touch and swipe controls and of course, the gesture controls I mentioned earlier for Active Track. The buttons have multiple functionality; the left button is the Zoom button for example and if pressed once it switches to 3x zoom, twice for 6x and if held does a progressive zoom. The speed can be controlled in the settings.
The right-hand button is defined as a custom button and by default zooms out at a constant rate, again, the sped can be defined in settings. But you can map any number of other functions to it as you wish from the settings menu.
The gimbal is controlled from a joystick and there is a record on / off button that doubles as a shutter release in still mode.
Settings
The Settings menu on the DJI Pocket 4P is extensive and I strongly suggest anyone has a detailed read of the manual and a l-o-n-g play with the camera to become conversant with all the options – there are lots!
Make no mistake, whilst you can use the Pocket 4P as a point and shoot camera, you’d be doing yourself and the camera a huge disservice if you did, so yes, learn all its functions, flexibility and nuances to get your money’s worth I say.
Storage
Whilst there is provision to add an SD card – make sure it is a high speed one with at least 64GB capacity is my suggestion – the Pocket 4P also has 107GB of onboard memory. When shooting video, once the file size has reached 16GB, the Pocket 4P will automatically create a new file and continue.
In that same vein, the 4P supports on board stitching of panorama photos.
Accessories
The FrameTap controller is the same as comes with the Mobile 8P from DJI I reviewed a few weeks ago and lets you control a limited number of functions within the camera from up to 25 metres away making it an ideal accessory for vloggers who create content out in the field. It comes with a separate charging cable – it is not USB-C charged which is a bit strange in this day and age I admit.
The Fill Light is the same as with the Pocket 4 and simply clips on the top of the camera drawing power from the bus. It has separate brightness and temperature settings.
The transmitter / mic uses DJI’s proprietary OSMOAudio system to record directly to the camera – there is no need for a separate receiver.
Finally, a mini tripod is supplied that screws into the base of the battery extension.
Setting Up
Like all DJI products, before it can be used you need to activate the Pocket 4P. This is quite easy to do and is in conjunction with the DJI MIMO app which you’ll need to install from Google Play Store or the Apple App store.
You’ll most likely also need to update the firmware, but be aware, the DJI servers can be a little slow at times, so I suggest doing this from a decent internet connection.
In fact, after writing a majority of this article I was notified of a major firmware update that added some important new features:
- Added Auto Media Transfer to iOS devices: newly captured footage can be automatically transferred to your mobile device after the camera is powered off. For a more stable experience, we recommend pairing the camera with an iPhone 16 series or later running iOS 26.4.1 or above and ensuring the camera’s battery level is above 15%.
- Added HDR 10-bit to the colour modes, supporting 10-bit high-dynamic-range video recording. For the best preview experience, footage should be played back on a device that supports HDR display.
- Added Auto Brightness & Colour Temp. for the fill light. Once enabled, the fill light automatically adjusts its brightness and colour temperature based on the current scene, eliminating the need for frequent manual adjustments.
Conclusion
I have had less than a day to come to grips with the DJI Pocket 4P, but from what I have seen so far, it has blown me away. Here we have a camera that can act as a point and shoot, play alongside a decent mirrorless and has the filmic capacity of a cinema film camera.
I suspect it will take more than a few hours of experimentation to become familiar with all its workings and possibilities, but I certainly intend to give that a crack I can assure you.
I am sure I have missed some of the capabilities and functions available in the DJI Pocket 4P in this first look, but I will update this as I learn more and get access to a manual which is not available at time of writing.
Stay tuned.
If I had one criticism at this stage, it is one I have had of DJI cameras in general and that there is no HDMI output whatsoever. THAT would be the icing on the cake. Yes, I know you can live stream from the Pocket 4P (and other models) as is, but HDMI would allow you to connect to switchers like the Blackmagic Design ATEM Mini Pro or RØDECaster Video as against just using USB-C.