The Osmo Nano represents a new direction for DJI, and while the modular design has a few flaws, the image and sound quality are impressive given the camera’s size.
Pros
- Incredibly cheap
- 10-bit and D-Log M color
- Directly links to DJI microphones
- Built-in storage (64 or 128GB)
Cons
- Combo can be top heavy and fall over
- Fewer modes and filters
With more modes and filters, the focus with the Insta360 Go Ultra is on simplicity, portability, and some genuinely powerful AI features.
Pros
- Huge accessory ecosystem
- Charges 0-80% in just 12 minutes
- Easier AI-editing from Insta360 app
Cons
- Heavier combo than Osmo Nano
- No built-in storage
- 8-bit video encoding
Gone are the days when GoPro fully ruled the roost on the action camera scene. In the last few years, we’ve seen new models launched for people who want to capture not only extreme sports, but their travels, friends, families, and everyday lives.
There are three main players locked into the contest these days. GoPro, Insta360, and DJI aren’t just competing on hardware, but also on their accompanying phone apps, software features, AI-powered editing, and innovative form factors.
Insta360 is a brand that’s intent on empowering users to capture unique content that was previously impossible, making the process accessible to boot with its intuitive Insta360 app and quick-editing features.
DJI is the more serious toolmaker for creators demanding quality and a pro workflow. The Osmo Nano is designed to work seamlessly with its microphones, but the DJI Mimo app is also designed to remove the complexity from editing footage.
The Insta360 Go Ultra and DJI Osmo Nano were released on August 21 and September 23 respectively. They’re the two companies’ latest compact action cameras, and each gives you an impressive 4K/60fps video, and weighs just over 50g.
The big draw here is their versatile designs. Both products are made up of a smaller magnetic camera that attaches to a bigger dock with a touchscreen for remote control and playback. The cameras are near identical in weight, but where the Go Ultra looks squarer and thinner, the Osmo Nano is longer and fatter.
There’s so much more inside (and out) to differentiate these cameras, but you need to go beyond the specs sheet. I’ve fully reviewed both cameras in the real world (read my in-depth verdicts on both in my DJI Osmo Nano review and Insta360 Go Ultra review) by running, hiking, playing around at home and using a host of accessories to improve the camera’s experience.
In this article, I’ll share what I’ve learned to help you decide between the two compact and fully wearable content creation machines.
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1. DJI Osmo Nano vs Insta360 Go Ultra: Design and ruggedness
- Both cameras are waterproof to 10m
- Both cameras weigh around 52g
- Osmo Nano weighs 124g (with dock), G0 Ultra weighs 161g (with pod)
Each camera’s design can be broken down into two components. The DJI Osmo Nano has a oblong camera unit on top that attaches to a ‘Multifunctional Vision Dock’ (catchy, and from now on I’ll just call it the dock) underneath with two clips and a magnet. The camera itself can be taken off and mounted magnetically on surfaces and accessories like hat clips and lanyards. The dock, with its OLED HD touchscreen, gives you remote control, scene display, charging, and file transfer.
The Insta360 Go Ultra also has a modular, two-part system: a standalone square camera and the ‘Action Pod’ (which I’ll call the pod), which join together with strong magnets. The pod has a larger flip-up touchscreen, and for this reason it’s like a mirrorless camera interface or mini vlogging camera. In full form, it’s not much smaller than a conventional action camera, so I think you need to be taking advantage of the standalone cam regularly to justify choosing it.
Both cameras are impressively portable and wearable, and there’s no noticeable difference between their solo weight (52g/53g); however, Osmo’s vision dock adds another 72g, and the GO Ultra’s action pod is an extra 108g, tripling the full heft of the combo, although I could still fit the Go Ultra in my jacket or jeans pocket.
What about ruggedness? Both cameras are operable down to 33ft / 10m), and both the Osmo Nano’s dock and the Go Ultra’s pod are IPX4 rated, meaning they’re only protected from splashes. There’s nothing in it from a specs point of view. I like that both models also have lens protectors, and if you crack or scratch these, you’ve only got the small cost of a replacement rather than having to buy a whole new camera.
What I love about comparing cameras and writing reviews is how the tech specs can fall away when you use a product in real life. For me, the Osmo Nano fell short of the Insta360 in its combo form – I found it was top-heavy enough to fall over on uneven surfaces. The Go Ultra, by contrast, is sturdy enough to stay upright on wonky walls, tree trunks and more for creative angles, and you can pull out the screen slightly to act as a clever tripod support.
Things are reversed when you use the cameras on their own. The Osmo Nano will stand upright or on its side, due to its thicker cuboid shape, while the Go Ultra has to be held, worn or mounted.
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2. DJI Osmo Nano vs Insta360 Go Ultra: Performance and usability
- Osmo Nano has built-in storage; Go Ultra relies solely on a microSD card
- Osmo Nano has a 1.9-inch touchscreen; 360 Go Ultra screen is 2.5 inches
- The Nano camera lasts longer; the Go Ultra charges more quickly
The Osmo Nano is available with either 64GB or 128GB of built-in storage, which can be supplemented with a microSD card, while the Go Ultra relies solely on a microSD card. The Osmo Nano can take up to a 1TB card, where the Go Ultra supports cards all the way up to 2TB – perfect for creators who might be away from a computer for some time, or folks shooting a lot of content in one go. While this means you can shoot with the Osmo Nano straight out of the box, it’s worth noting that the microSD card is in the dock rather than the camera itself.
The Osmo Nano has a 1.96-inch touchscreen, while the Go Ultra’s is 25% bigger at 2.5 inches. Personally, I love the extra real estate the latter gives you for framing shots and checking playback without having to revert to your phone screen, and I found the Nano’s screen hard to read at times. Of course, this doesn’t matter as much if you’re mainly using the apps to see a live feed of what you’re filming.
The Osmo Nano has a physical record button on both the dock and the camera, and you can enable gestures like taps and voice commands to start shooting hands-free. The Insta360 Go Ultra also uses gestures, such as a thumbs-up, and your voice to start recording, or you can control both from their respective apps. I my testing these features were reliable on both cameras, with the gestures being particularly useful in loud environments like a busy city center. The Nano’s button itself was a little noisy to press down, even if it is more convenient when you’re holding and carrying it around.
When it comes to battery performance, it’s a nuanced picture. The Osmo Nano camera lasted considerably longer (I got 85 minutes at 1080p/24fps) than the Go Ultra (around an hour). But the Go Ultra charges significantly faster (12 minutes to 80%) than the Osmo Nano (20 minutes) – my test results here aligned closely with DJI’s and Insta360’s claims. Realistically, both of these are lightning quick to charge, but if you’ve run out of juice at a key moment, the Go Ultra will get you shooting again just that bit quicker; it just might not last as long in the first place.
Lastly, usability. The Insta360 Go Ultra is designed for all levels, but it’s particularly user-friendly for beginners. As soon as you power up the camera, on-screen tips introduce you to buttons and explain how to perform tasks like starting a recording or taking a photo with QuickCapture. These walkthroughs got me up and running quickly, whereas the DJI Osmo – despite having fewer in-camera filters and modes – took longer and left me less confident.
- Performance and usability winner: Insta360 Go Ultra
3. DJI Osmo Nano vs Insta360 Go Ultra: Image quality
- Insta360 Go Ultra has bigger 1/1.28-inch CMOS sensor, shoots 50MP photos
- DJI Osmo Nano has 1/1.3-inch CMOS sensor, shoots 35MP photos
Both the Insta360 Go Ultra and DJI Osmo nano cameras have strong AI-powered software and stabilization, but the Go Ultra’s slightly larger sensor, higher photo resolution, and higher bitrate (180mbps over 120mbps) give it the advantage on paper when it comes to measuring photo and video quality. Of course, real-life performance isn’t always an accurate reflection of the tech specs.
I tested both cameras in bright light and used their respective modes in low light to see how the contrast, dynamic range and sheer resolution compared. Comparing footage straight out of the camera, in Auto Mode, and on as similar settings as I could choose, the Osmo Nano captured slightly darker clips. I noticed the Go Ultra would automatically expose the same to be lighter, especially in the sky, but render faces accurately, where the Osmo might be duller. This may be down to the fact that Go Ultra footage is skewed towards people and less editing, whereas the Osmo Nano’s footage is designed to be edited more carefully.
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I found both cameras equally good at adapting to changing light conditions. When I was walking from a tunnel into daylight, my skin was well exposed compared to the darker background – happy news for vloggers. Using each night mode offered usable results, but I think the Osmo Nano slightly wins here on dynamic range (see my video clips below).
Across the board, I found colors were captured accurately, too, although both cameras allow you to change white balance manually. Walking and running shots were both equally stable handheld, and with the camera worn on a pendant.
The Osmo Nano offers advanced shooters and color graders the option of 8-bit and 10-bit color (with four times the information) as well as DJI’s D-Log M Profile to max out the dynamic range and preserve detail in bright and dark areas. For editors who might want to match video from the Osmo Nano to footage from other cameras (on bigger projects), this is a big advantage. Overall, though, for social media users and amateurs like me who just want accurate, stable video straight out of the camera, there’s not much between the two.
- Image-quality winner: Draw
4. DJI Osmo Nano vs Insta360 Go Ultra: Sound quality
- Osmo Nano has two built-in mics, Go Ultra offers Voice Enhancement
- Osmo Nano records in 48kHz, 32 bits, AAC, Go Ultra records in 48kHz, 16 bits, AAC
- Both cameras are compatible with first-party wireless mics
The Insta360 GO Ultra records audio at 48 kHz and 32-bit bit depth in AAC format. There are four audio modes, including Auto Wind Noise Reduction with two strength settings, Stereo recording and Voice Enhancement – the latter working well for at-home vlogs and clips to camera. The DJI Osmo Nano records audio at 48 kHz with a 16-bit bit depth in AAC format, and it has two built-in microphones for stereo recording.
In theory, the Go Ultra’s higher bit depth should give more dynamic range and better audio quality. In practice, I found both cameras recorded pretty clear, crisp speech indoors (and outside, when there was no wind).
I tried all the wind-reduction modes in the video below. You’ll hear that both cameras could reduce the wind noise, but this also muffled other background sounds in the environment on the highest setting. I think the DJI Osmo Nano just pips ahead for clarity.
If you’re looking to record high-quality audio (rather than recording clips just to put music over them for social reels), I’d recommend pairing these cameras with an external mic. The Go Ultra pairs with Bluetooth headphones like AirPods Pro 2 and even the DJI Mic Mini and Mic 2 (as well as Insta360’s own version).
The Osmo Nano can connect directly to up to two DJI Mic transmitters without a separate receiver, making it easier if you’re a creator who already uses the DJI ecosystem.
- Sound-quality winner: DJI Osmo Nano
5. DJI Osmo Nano vs Insta360 Go Ultra: Apps
- Both cameras have mobile and desktop apps with rich editing tools
- Insta360 mobile app has slightly better AI-assisted editing results
These cameras are ideal for capturing unique first-person views and immersive angles. But taking the footage is only half the story; the other half is how they can turn clips into a compelling watch for your viewers. DJI and Insta360 both have free smartphone apps for viewing and recording live footage, reviewing your clips, and then editing them. How you do this on each camera is a slightly different.
Insta360 has built a reputation for easy AI-assisted content creation, and the colorful Insta360 app reflects this. There’s an Explore tab with fun tutorials for inspiration on using your camera, an album to view your clips, and the all-important Edit tab. Feed it a few clips, select Auto Edit, and it’ll generate a polished video of highlights complete with transitions, music, and highlights. I found a few effects a bit cheesy, but overall, the results are brilliant if you want a quick shareable video in minutes – Instagram Reels, for example. There are manual controls to create refined results if you have more time to play.
DJI’s Mimo app is pitched at the brand’s existing pro audience. Visually, the app has a lot more black and gray, but the layout is similar to Insta360 at the bottom of the screen. A One-Tap Edit option analyzes clips to deliver simple videos, which are very usable and take little time to export in different formats. The manual editing tools feel a touch more advanced, with options like Color Recovery to fine-tune your grading.
Both apps are intuitive, but the DJI Mimo has a slightly steeper learning curve for newbies. Its focus on a technical manual workflow is better for users who want post-production control, rather than an app that takes over the hard work for you. Insta360’s AI-driven editing has the edge for beginners and users who are time-poor.
- Companion apps winner: Draw
DJI Osmo Nano vs Insta360 Go Ultra: Early verdict
I’ve fully reviewed the DJI Osmo Nano and Insta360 Go Ultra in the past few months, so each camera’s perks and pitfalls are fresh in my mind. It would be easy to say that both cameras are great at what they do and are bound to please most action amateurs. But that’s not a very helpful conclusion if you’re still totally torn. While there’s not much between these devices on balance, for a true recommendation, I’d ask how you shoot, and what you want from a modular action cam.
The DJI Osmo Nano is a tough camera to beat on the image-quality front, but Insta360’s mobile app is slightly better when it comes to AI-powered auto-editing (and it has a bigger pool of accessories to choose from). I can’t deny that the Osmo Nano’s built-in storage is helpful, but I never found it difficult to link the Go Ultra to my phone to edit content remotely (or quickly pop the microSD in my computer).
Although the DJI Osmo Nano and Insta360 Go Ultra are both relatively easy to use out of the box, the Go Ultra leads the way with tutorials and on-screen pop-ups to guide you when accessing menus, modes and filters for the first time. I can see beginners learning a lot from these walkthroughs.
To me, the Osmo Nano is a more serious action camera that streamlines functionality and has a smaller footprint in your bag. DJI’s renowned image stabilization impresses as ever, and kept all my footage shake-free and level on runs, cycles, drives and more.
In its modular format, the Go Ultra acts like more of a friendly ‘point-and-shoot’ device, and even if you’re not experienced at shooting or making videos, it gives you confidence that the AI tools will help to create polished content without a deep dive into technical settings. The Osmo Nano’s integrated dock is convenient, but I think it sacrifices small size for ease of use – especially when tapping the screen to select settings.
As always, choosing between these two action-oriented cameras comes down to the needs of the creator. The DJI Osmo Nano is better for serious hobbyists or pros who want better (but there’s not much in it) image quality and post-production flexibility. The 10-bit D-Log M color profile and streamlined audio integration make it better for creators who already have a well-established workflow, especially if they already have DJI microphones and the app.
I loved using the Insta360 Go Ultra during testing. It’s pricier than the Osmo Nano, but it’s a fantastic camera for a wide range of users, including families, as well as hobbyist creators who want a more friendly user experience. Its AI-driven software makes it an incredibly versatile and forgiving camera for capturing and sharing moments almost instantly.
You’ll also notice how much cheaper the Osmo Nano is compared to the Go Ultra. It’s really aggressive pricing on DJI’s part. If there’s not enough between the two cameras in terms of their capabilities and ease of use, then the final say could come down to pricing, in which case the Osmo Nano clearly wins.
