DJI Osmo Pocket 3 - The Best Way To Take Car Rolling Shots
Rolling shots - the holy grail of car photos, The only type of car photos that can truly convey speed in a photo format.
The struggle most people face with rolling shots (rollers) is they can be sometimes be unsafe, requiring a friend who will drive you, or equipment that can run you a large bill.
In the past few mounts, the DJI Osmo Pocket 3 has been becoming extremely popular for car content creators, with plenty of videos being shared on TikTok of it in action. DJI themselves have also shared a quick setup video and the results are incredible! So today I am going to share with you why the DJI Osmo Pocket 3 is the best, safest, and most affordable way to capture car rolling shots in 2024:
Safety
Traditionally to get roller shots, your either hanging out the side of a window, or your opening the trunk to your SUV and shooting out the back. Both can involve risks to your equipment and your own safety. I would be lying if I said I didn’t ever do this myself, but each time I thought there must be a better, safer way to do it.
The other risk involved can be some traffic violations for no seat belt, which could apply to the driver as well as the occupant. Definitely not something you want to get hit with.
A YouTuber I enjoy watching is Woyshnis Media (Brandon Woyshnis). Brandon has been capturing amazing footage of cars for quite some time, and has mastered rolling shots from the back of his minivan trunk or from the second row, with the sliding doors opened. This is how rollers have traditionally been shot. As you can see from some of Brandon’s uploads, he has
Affordable
A few years ago the best option out there was a super complex and expensive system. The system involved utilizing:
vehicle with a trailer hitch
custom built metal support beam
an expensive spring support (which would absorb the impacts)
a DJI ronin rig
SmallHD video which was broadcasted electronically
a DJI ronin remote to control the camera movement
As you might tell, this quickly added up to a rig worth well over $2,000
How to take rolling shots with the DJI Osmo Pocket 3
Mounting the DJI Osmo Pocket 3
First you will need to determine what mount setup you want to go with. There are two options - a suction cup mount or a tow hook attachment mount. The suction cup mount will offer the most versatility in terms of where it can be placed, so if you plan on getting different angles - this will be the most ideal setup. The tow hook attachment is also a viable option but will only allow for one camera position. Both will be equally sturdy, but the safest will most likely be the tow hook attachment.
The SmallRig double suction cup mount seems to be a popular choice to use as it will utilize more suction power, increasing the security of your equipment being mounted on a moving vehicle.
Once you have your suction cup or tow hook mount - you’re all set! The DJI Mimo app will give you a live view of your camera and allow you to adjust the camera’s position remotely from inside your car. For best viewing, an iPad will give you a very good image of what you’re working with to make adjustments on the fly.
DJI Osmo Pocket 3 Specs
Video
4K at 24/25/30/48/50/60 fps and 120 FPS for slow motion
2K at 24/25/30/48/50/60fps and 120 FPS for slow motion
1080p at 24/25/30/48/50/60fps at 120 and 240 FPS for slow motion
3K at 24/25/30/48/50/60fps - no slow motion options
includes options for Hyperlapse, Timelapse, and Motionlapse
Photo
JPEG & JPEG+DNG - so yes, there will be raw file formats to use for editing!
1-inch CMOS sensor
20mm lens with a f/2.0 aperture with digital zoom options for photo and video
The battery has an operating time of 166 minutes, or a bit over 2.5 hours but will vary depending on what video type you are filming at and general use. To get to a full charge it will take approximately 30 minutes.