Did someone throw me in a Delorian and take me back in time nine years because 360 video is back! Well, ask the nerds and it never went anywhere but in reality sometimes it takes a big or bigger name to really make something work, and DJI getting into the 360 degree camera game really will lift this whole category.

We go back as far as the Samsung Gear 360 or the 360Fly camearas which really got in early when we were doing “VR” by strapping smartphones an inch from our eyes.

Fast forward to 2025 and there’s really only been one brand in this market – Insta360. A company that really made this pop and expanded then into action cameras and tiny portable cameras. At the same time GoPro has continued selling their 360 camera for years since it’s launch. So perhaps DJI is just utterly slow to the market?

Whatever the case, they’re here now, and their whole ecosystem makes this an absolute cracker.

The Standard Combo pack gets you the camera, lens protector, case and battery for $759. Another $230 is worth the investment because you get two more batteries, a battery charging case, a 1.2m selfie stick and the DJI instant clip mounting bracket.

For our review, DJI also sent us their 2.5m selfie stick, and I’ve got to say, the extra length gives you far more options when filming, but it’s length and weight do make it harder to manage on mounting systems or even in the hand if you’re moving at pace with wind resistance drawing your camera away from you.

In simple terms, it works like other modern 360 cameras, two cameras, two sensors, capturing literally everything around it.

The video from one side is then stitched together like magic to make one big video, in the case of the DJI OSMO 360 a full 8K resolution.

After the fact, in the edit, either on your phone or on a PC, you can then edit the video to clip the scenes as you want it, but perhaps critically to “point” the viewers eye in one part of the scene you captured.

I tested the smartphone version of the app, it was great, edited this simple first video to keep the car in frame, until I drove over the bridge where I panned the camera view around so you could see the sights.

Wondering if YouTube still had it’s 360 degree features embedded, I uploaded a quick video in the EFTM Studio and it’s one you can use your mouse (or fingers) to pan the camera around – so 360 video is still working fine on YouTube:

But that’s a very niche use-case for video I think. More likely you’ll “film” in 360, and then edit the video to be as you want the viewers to see it.

To do this, you use DJI Studio, on a Mac its super powerful. You can use AI intelligent tracking to allow the video to “follow” a certain subject. In this case, I can highlight myself and let the software track me throughout.

This creates a “green” tracked area in the timeline. And it means you don’t need to move the shot manually, and set a keyframe each time the camera moves.

However, when you do want to set certain areas to look at, simply drag the scene with your mouse, and set a keyframe. The software will automatically “pan” the camera between keyframe shot selections.

Here’s what you get when you use that tracking and keyframes:

So how much video is being recorded. Well, 8K worth, but that’s weird to watch:

Which is why you zoom in on the shot selection. This means you can get a decent resolution 16:9 video selection without any warping.

How on earth does the video get recorded when you can’t see how you’re holding the camera?? Well, here’s my full “behind the scenes” on that one:

In essence, those two lenses will overlap further away from the camera. So if we zoom in on my hand where I’m holding a selfie stick, you can get a glimpse of that happening:

But extend that selfie-stick a bit, and you don’t lose fingers, in fact, it’s a brilliant technological marvel!

Based on my testing, you’ll get well over an hour of recording, but short of two hours – the great thing is you don’t NEED an SD card with ample on-board storage. But if you’re buying extra batteries and doing a bit of shooting, recommend getting a decent SD card.

There’s no point owning one of these without the Selfie-Stick I’ll be honest, and if you’re going to do it, get the big one – you just never know!

This is awesome, but still niche – no question.

However, if content is your thing, this is a must have in the arsenal – remember it can be used just as an “Action cam” too, no question – but it’s that “film everything” and choose the shot later that makes this really compelling.

Spec for Spec DJI has probably pipped Insta360, but I think the real market here isn’t competing with Insta360 or GoPro, it’s buying into the DJI Ecosystem they have created. If you’ve got the DJI Microphones, they are an easy pair with this, which makes videos like that Behind the Scenes demo possible, with ease.

Pricey, for sure, but outstanding quality, easy to use and well worth a look.