DJI officially unveiled the Osmo Pocket 4P yesterday — and the dual-lens, gimbal-stabilized vlogging camera looks formidable, thanks to its 1-inch main sensor, 3x telephoto secondary lens, 17-stop dynamic range, and 10-bit color log.
Unfortunately, it also won’t – for the foreseeable future – be officially available in the US, thanks to DJI’s ongoing FCC ban. And this is where the new Xtra Muse 2 Pro comes in.
With impeccable timing, this remarkably similar gimbal camera from US-registered brand Xtra just got a fresh teaser reel on Instagram, and the spec sheet (shared on The New Camera) will look strangely familiar to anyone who’s been following the Osmo Pocket 4P with interest.
A 1-inch CMOS sensor? Check. Another 3x telephoto lens? Check. A 10-bit X-Log 3 color profile, 17 stops of dynamic range and 103GB of onboard storage? Check, check and check.
We’ve seen this kind of thing before, both from Xtra Technology and SkyRover, two companies that sell products that bear remarkable similarities to DJI cameras and drones, but — unlike the actual DJI products — are freely available to buy in the US.
As you can see from the embedded teaser above, Xtra’s Muse 2 Pro footage shows a variety of scenarios, including night and low light. There are smooth gimbal movements with clean details and well-controlled noise.
It’s a smart choice of showcase, especially when it comes to low-light scenes: after dark is where tiny sensors get exposed (so to speak), and the results look very impressive.
What else do we know – and what are we waiting for
In addition to the specs from the teaser, the Muse 2 Pro is expected to feature a 3-axis mechanical gimbal, a rotatable touchscreen and ActiveTrack 7.0.
The original Xtra Muse (a dead ringer from the DJI Osmo Pocket 3) has gained Bluetooth support for DJI’s Mic Mini and Mic 2 via a firmware update earlier this year – a useful sweetener for anyone already invested in DJI’s microphone line. So we can expect similar microphone compatibility from the Muse 2 Pro.
If the Muse 2 Pro’s real-world image quality can back up those spec sheet numbers, it will find itself in a very interesting position in the US market. The Insta360 Luna Ultra has just launched there as a dual-lens rival, starting at $769.99 – and after trying it out, we can confirm it’s a serious camera. But competition is good, and with DJI’s appeal of the FCC ban still working its way through the courts, American creators will need options.
The Muse 2 Pro is shaping up to be a very well-timed one, and it seems likely that Xtra will push for it to arrive this summer, perhaps as early as mid-July.
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