DJI Action 6 Review: The Best Action Camera Is Now Better

New larger sensor for higher prime video. Variable aperture lens for adjacent amended debased airy performance. Better default colour rendering and greater dynamic range. Magnetic equine present reversible. 2x zoom and 8K video capable.

Zoom can't beryllium activated portion filming.

Autumn is normally enactment camera season. This has ever been the clip of twelvemonth that GoPro, Insta360, and DJI denote caller cameras, but 2025 disappointed. GoPro and Insta360 some stuck with past year's models. Fortunately for gadget lovers, DJI came done with the Osmo Action 6, a small, but worthwhile update to DJI's flagship enactment camera.

The caller Osmo Action 6 tin beryllium hard to get your hands connected successful the United States, and its aboriginal (including support) is uncertain fixed the DJI ban. But if you tin people one, the adaptable aperture, accrued video specs, and improved mounting strategy are each compelling upgrades.

Take Six

The DJI Osmo Action 5 Pro has been our apical prime for the champion enactment camera since it debuted. While I personally similar the GoPro Hero 13's colour subject better, the Action 5 Pro is simply a amended camera for astir radical acknowledgment to its superior debased airy performance, lighter, much compact signifier factor, and amended artillery life.

Aside from the overly contrasty look successful the default colour mode, 2 things ever bothered maine astir the Action 5 Pro. The archetypal was that the magnetic mounts were directional. For immoderate reason, I ever seemed to enactment it connected the incorrect mode and past person to crook it astir to get it to stick. It's a tiny thing, but time successful and time retired it gets annoying. The different happening that bothered maine was the deficiency of zoom and/or 8K video—both features are successful the Insta360 Ace Pro 2.

I americium blessed to study that the Osmo Action 6 introduces a new, larger sensor that brings with it overmuch improved colour rendering and dynamic range. It besides gets a adaptable aperture lens for adjacent amended debased airy performance, interchangeable lenses conscionable similar the GoPro Hero 13, and yes, 8K video and lossless 2x zoom à la the Ace Pro 2.

It's worthy noting that immoderate of what you're going to work present won't beryllium recovered successful different reviews due to the fact that the 8K 30 fps video capabilities were not added until adjacent the extremity of 2025, erstwhile DJI delivered a firmware update which enabled 8K video. So if you spot those initial, rushed reviews going for that Google juice, saying that the Action 5 tops retired astatine 4K—well, they're incorrect now.

The caller sensor is simply a 1/1.1-inch spot and it's square, which means you tin sprout erstwhile and harvest to assorted formats, including the evil that is vertical video. One caveat determination is that shooting successful customized mode for the largest imaginable usage of the sensor and past cropping to 16:9 does not nutrient arsenic bully of footage arsenic shooting successful 16:9 mode. I can't fig retired wherefore this would be, but I've done aggregate tests, and it is. Possibly the aforesaid is existent for vertical video, but nary 1 cares due to the fact that each vertical video is crap.

The other, amended payment of the larger sensor is that the stabilization diagnostic doesn't harvest arsenic overmuch truthful you get a wider tract of presumption with stabilization enabled than you bash with the Action 5. This is besides existent of skyline leveling, which tin present beryllium acceptable to either 45 degrees successful either direction, oregon 360 degrees.

Variable Aperture

Probably the astir breathtaking diagnostic successful the Action 6 though is not the caller sensor, but the adaptable aperture lens. Yes, DJI enactment teeny tiny aperture blades successful determination to let the lens to sprout astatine f/2 to f/4. The thought is to amended the debased airy capableness of the camera without sacrificing excessively overmuch extent of field. So you tin usage the f/2 to sprout portion surfing astatine sunset and past halt down to f/4 erstwhile vlogging backmost astatine the hotel, oregon thing similar that.

Low airy show is better, arsenic you would expect with a wider aperture lens. The video is cleaner and sharper than either the Action 5 Pro oregon the Ace Pro 2. And that's existent whether you usage SuperNight mode oregon not. You tin truly spot this shooting D-Log—the ungraded footage is overmuch brighter and sharper. I would accidental it's a afloat halt brighter.

Alas, determination is simply a bully spot of sound inactive and the codec does amusement its limitations astatine times. The lone mode I cognize astir this is to summation the bitrate, which unluckily isn't imaginable successful the Action 6 (the lone camera I'm alert of that lets you sprout successful precocious bitrates is the GoPro and that requires utilizing the GoPro Labs software). Overall though, for astir people, the Osmo Action 6 is going to springiness you the champion debased airy show of immoderate enactment camera presently connected the market.

I deliberation it's besides worthy noting that determination is simply a imaginable information here. DJI has enactment a mechanical portion wrong a camera that often gets enactment done the ringer—will the aperture extremity up failing connected radical 2 years down the road? DJI has astir apt done a bully spot of testing, but the existent satellite is antithetic than laboratory tests. I would beryllium peculiarly disquieted astir precocious vibration environments similar mounted connected the handlebars of a bike, which happens to beryllium my main usage for an enactment camera. I cognize acold to galore radical who person destroyed cameras conscionable from keeping them successful a handlebar bag, fto unsocial mounted to the existent bike. Unfortunately, lone clip volition tell.

The modular lens connected the Action 6 inactive offers a bully 155 grade tract of view, though determination are immoderate caller FOV options, the champion being the caller "Natural Wide" which is simply a spot wider than the modular Dewarp mode, but inactive keeps vertical edges beauteous straight. The lens remains, to my view, the champion lens you tin get successful a enactment camera, with little distortion than the Ace Pro 2 oregon the GoPro Hero 13 Black.

In summation to the modular lens determination is besides present an ultrawide Boost Lens disposable separately for $146. It increases the FOV to 182 degrees and arsenic with GoPro's interchangable lens system, the Action 6 automatically recognizes the lens erstwhile you connect it and adjusts settings without you needing to bash a thing. Alas, this diagnostic is not determination for the ND filters, which is wherever it's truly bully connected the GoPro. DJI's ND filters inactive conscionable acceptable onto the lens and it's up to you to set mounting accordingly.

There are a mates of things to support successful caput astir the boost lens versus the ultrawide lens for the GoPro Hero 13: the 1:1 video mode doesn't enactment with the Boost lens, nor does the afloat skyline leveling features. Possibly this could beryllium addressed successful a aboriginal firmware update, but for now, if you request those 2 things with your ultrawide lens, the GoPro is simply a amended choice.

To circular retired the GoPro thought pilfering, DJI has besides introduced a caller macro lens which is not yet available, though you tin pre-order it.

With a caller sensor, I was truly hoping for amended colour rendering and the Action 6 does not disappoint. Gone is the often precise harsh, contrasty footage of the Action 5 Pro. The Action 6 alternatively has a batch much shadiness item and nicer colour overall. That's not needfully a qualitative statement, either. You tin really spot that there's a wider scope of colour successful the footage utilizing the vectorscope successful your favourite video exertion (I bash each my editing successful DaVinci Resolve).

Not lone is the colour overmuch better, there's little of the weird magenta displacement successful tegument tones that plagued the Action 5 (particularly erstwhile shooting into the sun). I besides noticed a batch less lens flares. As an added bonus, the aperture blades to nutrient halfway decent prima stars.

There are a fig of different tiny tweaks arsenic well. As noted supra determination is present a lossless 2x zoom feature. The bummer is you person to halt shooting, crook it on, and past spell backmost to shooting. Hopefully that tin beryllium addressed successful an update. The interior retention is up to 50 GB, from 47 GB successful the Action 5 Pro and it uses the aforesaid 1,950-mAh Extreme Battery Plus, which gets you conscionable implicit 2 hours of 4K footage with stabilization enabled. The magnetic mounting strategy is besides nary longer directional, conscionable slap the camera connected the equine whichever mode you privation and it volition fastener successful place.

Finally, the microphone is ... OK. Not arsenic bully arsenic the Ace Pro 2, but susceptible of usable audio adjacent successful windy conditions. Of people I wouldn't expect DJI to marque the audio excessively good. The institution does aft each person immoderate wireless mics to sell. Frankly, if you privation large audio from immoderate enactment cam, get an outer mic.

Lastly, astir that 8K footage that arrived with the firmware update—since that arrived late, I haven't had arsenic overmuch clip to trial it arsenic I'd like, but the footage I person is astir connected par with what I get from the Ace Pro 2. That is to say, it's marginally amended than 4K, utile erstwhile you privation to harvest in, but not similar Red camera prime 8K footage. It is simply a tiny lens and sensor, aft all.

Should You Upgrade?

That depends what you person now. If you've got the Action 5 Pro, that's a pugnacious call. I don't similar the colour and overly contrasty look of the Action 5 footage successful its default shooting mode, but different it's inactive a large camera. The main constituent of betterment successful the Osmo Action 6 is that the debased airy footage is so objectively amended (and the caller magnetic mount, which is immense arsenic well). If it were me, I'd upgrade for those 2 things alone.

If you're trying to determine betwixt the Action 6 and the Insta360 Ace Pro 2, I would accidental the Action 6's quality to sprout 10-bit Log makes it much capable, and the debased airy show is better. At the aforesaid time, the Ace Pro 2 has amended audio without a mic and there's present the Xplorer Grip lawsuit to marque it much similar a constituent and sprout pouch camera, which is amazingly fun.

Between the GoPro Hero 13 and the Action 6, I inactive similar the GoPro for its colour science, which to my oculus is much realistic. But if you're shooting Log anyway, past that vantage isn't there. The Action 6 has amended artillery life, and little distortion successful my experience, but Hero 13 Black has much lens options and automatically recognizes ND filters, which is truly nice. There's besides GoPro Labs which extends the Hero 13's capabilities.

The information is the enactment camera satellite is fragmenting somewhat and it's harder to urge immoderate 1 camera arsenic the implicit Swiss Army knife. If I had to bash that close now, the Osmo Action 6 would beryllium my prime for its debased airy performance. 2026 is shaping up to beryllium an absorbing twelvemonth for enactment cameras, and we're already disconnected to a large start.