Do you want an motion digital camera when smartphones are so good?

The very first digital camera I ever owned was the Kodak EasyShare Sport, a water-proof digital digital camera that would shoot 12MP images and was rugged sufficient to go together with me anyplace. Quickly, I attempted my first motion digital camera, a GoPro Hero 3+ Silver Version. These waterproof and motion cameras weren’t simply in my arms for sturdiness, although, as they crushed the digital camera efficiency of lowly telephones within the early 2010s, and so they had been extremely moveable.

Now, the hole between the finest Android digital camera telephones and the highest motion cameras could not be nearer. I have not purchased an motion digital camera in 5 years, and I am curious whether or not they’re even crucial in 2024. To seek out out, I took the brand-new DJI Osmo Motion 5 Professional, my trusty GoPro Max, and the Samsung Galaxy S24 FE on journeys and put them to the check. This is the way it went.

Smartphone cameras provide loads of high quality

You do not want an motion cam for high quality, excessive body charges, or stabilization anymore

Initially, there have been a number of key causes to choose up a devoted motion digital camera. They’re typically geared up with broad, fisheye lenses with giant fields-of-view (FOV); some cameras, such because the GoPro Hero 13, will be retrofitted with lens mods which might be specialised for a particular sort of shot — like macro images. Moreover, adventurers flocked to motion cameras for his or her capability to shoot at excessive body charges with wonderful picture stabilization.

Now, many of those traits are discovered on the finest Android telephones. For this check, I in contrast the Samsung Galaxy S24 FE with the DJI Osmo Motion Professional 5 and the GoPro Max. It’s possible you’ll know that the Galaxy S24 FE prices simply $650, which means that pro-level telephones just like the Galaxy S24 Extremely, Pixel 9 Professional XL, and iPhone 16 Professional will all carry out higher than this machine. As such, if the Galaxy S24 FE can hold with motion cameras, all of the flagships are prone to.

The Galaxy S24 FE’s most important digital camera is a large lens, and it is joined by an ultrawide with a 123-degree FOV. That is nothing in comparison with the Osmo Motion 5 Professional’s 155-degree FOV, however it’s a lot for many excursions. Moreover, the Galaxy S24 FE can shoot in 8K at 30 FPS, or in 4K at as much as 120 FPS, which matches or beats the capabilities of the Osmo Motion 5 Professional, which tops at 4K 120 FPS.

The next images had been captured with the Samsung Galaxy S24 FE:

With optical picture stabilization, assist for prime body fee video recording, and wonderful most important digital camera sensors, the Galaxy S24 FE can seize wonderful images and movies. In truth, Samsung’s computational images tech helps images end up nice as quickly as an image is captured. As you may see within the picture samples above, pictures at a resort are vibrant, colourful, and detailed.

The next images had been captured with the DJI Osmo Motion 5 Professional:

The broader FOV of the Osmo Motion 5 Professional is fascinating for some conditions, however you may wish to crop in at different instances. You are much less prone to get an ideal picture straight after pulling a photograph or video from the motion cameras. The colours within the picture samples are uninteresting, darkish, and albeit, a bit lifeless. This may be resolved with picture modifying and handbook colour grading, however that requires further effort.

Motion cameras offer you supreme sturdiness

I do know I might take my cellphone to a waterpark, however I will not

By this level, I’ve come to the conclusion that the Galaxy S24 FE has the specs to create similar-looking images and movies to an motion digital camera. The subsequent situation is sturdiness, and that is a trickier factor. Sure, the Galaxy S24 FE — like many different telephones — has an IP68 water and dust-resistance ranking. In principle, your cellphone will be submerged in as much as 1.5 meters of water for as much as half-hour with out being broken.

I do not advocate doing that. It is true that an IP68 ranking ought to defend towards splashes and lightweight submersion, however telephones are definitely not waterproof. Water-resistance seals additionally weaken over time, particularly as telephones are dropped and uncovered to the weather. Any time I obtained within the water, I reached for the DJI Osmo Motion 5 Professional over my cellphone. It led to spectacular movies, just like the one beneath, that I could not really feel snug capturing with the Galaxy S24 FE.

You might put your cellphone in a water-proof case or pouch, including extra to the cellphone’s current IP ranking. Nonetheless, I nonetheless give an motion digital camera a simple victory for sturdiness. For something involving water, my cellphone stays at residence.

360-degree motion cameras provide one other dimension

After shopping for the GoPro Max years in the past, I do not wish to return

Except for sturdiness, there’s not a lot to separate fundamental motion cameras from the highest smartphones. Extra specialised cameras, just like the 360-degree GoPro Max, provide one other dimension. With the Max, I can report my total environment with little effort, and it creates images like those beneath.

The next images had been captured with the GoPro Max:

The beauty of the GoPro Max, and different 360-degree cameras, is you could neglect about framing a shot or video. These motion cams allow you to report every part and body it later, which helps me keep within the second. That is why I am unlikely to ditch my GoPro Max anytime quickly, both for a cellphone or one other motion digital camera, regardless of it being 5 years outdated.

Not everybody wants an motion digital camera

Occasions have modified, and cellphone cameras are nonetheless improbable

As a smartphone reviewer and motion digital camera fanatic, there’s completely little question that my utilization of motion cameras has modified over the previous decade. I beforehand used them in all kinds of conditions, from nonetheless images to action-packed movies.

Now? A smartphone covers 95% of my picture and video wants, and my mirrorless and motion cameras are instruments for particular jobs. Motion cameras are removed from extinct, although; individuals who want supreme sturdiness and waterproofing ought to completely think about using an motion digital camera as a substitute of their cellphone.

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  DJI Osmo Motion 5 Professional
  

  The DJI Osmo Motion 5 Professional is likely one of the finest motion cameras you should purchase right this moment, with a large 1/1.3-inch sensor and assist for 4K 120FPS video recording. It is sturdy, works with a bunch of equipment, and comes with vital options like Topic Monitoring. 

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  Samsung Galaxy S24 FE
  

  Consider it or not, the $650 Samsung Galaxy S24 FE has the picture and video high quality to compete with an motion digital camera on land. If you get close to the water, although, you could be wishing you picked up a devoted digital camera. In fact, the Galaxy S24 FE is greater than only a digital camera — it is also a terrific midrange cellphone.