DJI Action 2 Review

Design

The DJI Action 2 camera system has a modular design comprised of “blocks”. The main block is about 1.5 x 1.5 x 1 inch and is the “brains” of the DJI Action 2 camera itself. This block contains the camera lens on the front and a small 2-inch display on the back. The blocks contain magnets that allow you to easily attach different accessories.

At launch, there are two different kits you can purchase:

• The Power Combo contains an add-on power bank as the 2nd block and adds about 66 minutes of recording time, as well as a USB-C port and a Micro SD card slot.
• The Dual-Screen Combo that I’m reviewing, which includes a 2nd block with a built-in display, power bank (although only adding about 49 of recording time), USB-C port, Micro SD card slot, and additional microphones.

There’s also an interesting magnetic lanyard included that you can wear under your shirt and attach the DJI Action 2 magnetically through your shirt. This makes it great for recording your hikes, bike rides, etc without needing to strap on a chest harness. It also makes it quick and easy to detach and reattach the camera as needed.

Performance

Both pictures and videos recorded with this camera are impressive, especially considering the DJI Action 2 is so small! Photos can be captured with a resolution of up to 12MP and exported in JPG or RAW format. Videos can be recorded up to 4K at 120FPS. Both video and picture quality is great: even when shooting directly into the sun, the camera still captures a good amount of detail in the shadows for a well-balanced photo.

DJI has two modes of video stabilization. The “Rocksteady” mode does a surprisingly good job of smoothing out videos while walking around, almost as if I was using a gimbal.

The second stabilization mode is “Horizonsteady” which keeps the horizon level in the distance regardless of how you rotate the camera while shooting. I found this useful when I wanted to move the camera down to ground level and back up as I could rotate the camera around without it showing on the video recording.

There is a button on the main block and the accessory block. You can turn the camera on and off with a long press of either button and snap pictures or start/stop recording with a quick press of either button.

Using the small 2-inch display takes some getting used to, especially if you have big fingers. You can swipe left-to-right to view your pictures, and swipe right-to-left to view picture settings. Swiping from the middle of the screen to the left or right changes between the different modes, such as photo, video, slow motion, etc.

The DJI Action 2 only has 32GB of internal storage, with only about 22GB available out of the box. You’ll likely want to take advantage of the MicroSD card slot on either the power bank or dual-screen block.

The DJI Action 2 also features a “webcam” mode when connected to a computer, so you can use it for video calls when you’re not out on an adventure.

I have noticed that the camera will sometimes pause operations after prolonged use due to heat. It’s only happened a couple of times to me, but I could see these becoming more of an issue during the summer season.

Battery Life

The DJI Action 2 camera can last about 30 minutes by itself. The Power Combo block adds about 66 minutes while the Dual-Screen Combo block adds about 49 minutes.