DJI's Osmo 360 II fixes its predecessor's flaws, and remains much more affordable than Insta 360 | Tech Radar

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DJI's Osmo 360 II fixes its predecessor's flaws, and remains much more affordable than Insta 360

DJI's second-gen 360 camera is a great all-rounder — and costs far less than its chief rival

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The DJI Osmo 360 II is proof of just how quickly a manufacturer can turn a promising first-generation product into a compellingly well-rounded one. In the space of just a year, DJI has fixed the lens replacement issue, warmed up to underwater shooting, and pushed image quality forward across the board — all while keeping the price well below that of the Insta 360 X6. The Osmo 360 II isn't a transformative leap in outright image quality, but it's nevertheless an excellent 360 camera that gives both the Go Pro Max 2 and the Insta 360 X6 a serious run for their money, particularly after dark.

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Just a year after launching its debut 360 camera, the Osmo 360, DJI has delivered a sequel that addresses pretty much every complaint I had with the original — without asking you to pay through the nose for the privilege.

The Osmo 360 II looks and feels almost identical to its predecessor: same dimensions, same weight, same general shape. But DJI has used that 12-month gap wisely, fixing the two biggest issues I had with the original Osmo 360 in one swift update.

First, the lenses. They're now built with a tougher optical coating, and — far more importantly — they're user-replaceable if you crack or scratch one. For anyone using this camera to capture action sports, that alone might be worth the modest price increase.

Second, DJI's approach to underwater shooting has changed. The waterproof rating hasn't budged from 10m, but where DJI once actively discouraged submersion with the original Osmo 360, it now positions the Osmo 360 II as a viable sub-aqua option for snorkelers and scuba divers.

On the imaging side, the headline feature is native 8K video at 60fps — a first for any 360 camera, edging out even the freshly-launched Insta 360 X6 (which tops out at 8K/50fps). Dynamic range, slow motion, timelapse resolution and Super Night low-light performance have all improved too, though the underlying sensor appears to be physically the same as before, suggesting these are largely processing-driven gains rather than a major hardware leap.

Performance is solid across the board: battery life is roughly on par with the original, storage remains a generous 105GB built-in, and DJI's Mimo and Studio apps are dependable if unspectacular.

Is this a transformative upgrade? Not quite — image quality is a slight rather than dramatic step forward. But DJI has plugged the gaps that mattered, kept what already worked, and done it all while keeping this camera's price significantly below that of the Insta 360 X6.

Against the Go Pro Max 2, the Osmo 360 II's low-light performance is a clear win too. Right now, my instinct is that there's very little to separate the Osmo 360 II and the X6 on image quality alone — I'll be testing the two head-to-head in more depth soon to see which comes out on top overall — but as an all-rounder at this price, the Osmo 360 II is a seriously compelling 360 camera.

Launched September 2 2026, roughly a year after the original DJI Osmo 360

Standard Combo costs £509 / AU

The Adventure Combo (£639 / AU$1,096) throws in useful extras

The DJI Osmo 360 II arrives around 13 months after its predecessor, and it's more expensive: the Standard Combo will set you back £509 / AU

That rival is the Insta 360 X6, which starts at £619.99 / AU

If you can stretch to it, the pricier Adventure Combo (£639 / AU$1,096) is worth consideration. It throws in two extra batteries (three in total), a charging case that holds three batteries at once, plus a 1.2m selfie stick — accessories that anyone shooting for extended periods will likely want anyway, and which would cost more bought separately.

As with several other recent DJI launches, the Osmo 360 II won't be arriving in the US for now, with the company's application for regulatory authorization still pending. American buyers will need to look elsewhere (or import through a third party) in the meantime.

Same 61 x 36.3 x 81mm dimensions and 183g weight as the original

Lenses are now tougher and user-replaceable if damaged

Still 10m waterproof case-free, but DJI now encourages underwater use

Hold the Osmo 360 II next to its predecessor and there's very little physical difference. DJI has kept the same 61 x 36.3 x 81mm body and 183g weight, and the overall silhouette — a squat, screen-fronted block with two bulging lenses, one on either side — is unchanged. The screen, connectivity options and mounting hardware, including the 1/4-inch tripod thread and DJI's own magnetic quick-release mount, all carry over unaltered from the original too.

The main changes here are on the lenses themselves. DJI says the Osmo 360 II's lenses use a tougher optical coating that better resists scratches, and if you do manage to crack or damage one, it's now a user-replaceable part via DJI's own lens replacement kit (£35 / AU$50 — and if you prefer, there's also the option of taking or sending it to an authorized repair spot to get someone else to fix it). It sounds like a modest tweak on paper, but it's the biggest change DJI has made this generation from a peace-of-mind perspective, particularly for anyone shooting the kind of high-impact action footage where dinging the lenses is a real risk.

DJI hasn't increased the Osmo 360 II's case-free waterproof rating, which remains at 10m (half of the 20m offered by the Insta 360 X6). What has changed is the company's own confidence in the camera underwater: where DJI previously discouraged underwater capture on the original Osmo 360, it now positions the Osmo 360 II as a viable option for snorkelers and scuba divers working within that 10m limit.

Battery capacity increased slightly, and format stays interchangeable across the Osmo range

DJI's claimed 100 minutes of 8K/30fps recording held up in testing

DJI has nudged the Osmo 360 II's battery capacity up from 1950m Ah to 2150m Ah, but real-world battery life is roughly on a par with the original. The batteries themselves remain interchangeable across both Osmo 360 generations and recent Osmo Action-series cameras, so anyone already invested in DJI's action camera ecosystem can use batteries across their various devices.

DJI claims you get 100 minutes of continuous 8K/30fps recording on a full charge. In my testing, I used 25% of the battery to capture 25 minutes of 8K/30fps footage, which backs up DJI's figure almost exactly.

Push the Osmo 360 II to its most demanding setting, 8K at 60fps, and a warning prompt appears letting you know that overheating is a possibility. How long you actually get before that happens depends on ambient conditions, with airflow and temperature both playing a part, but in my testing indoors at room temperature, with no fan or breeze to help cool the camera, it lasted around 19 minutes before shutting itself down to cool off. If you're planning extended 8K/60fps sessions, especially somewhere warm, it's worth considering that limitation.

Storage carries over unchanged from the original Osmo 360, with a generous 105GB of usable built-in space, plus a micro SD card slot if you need more.

The new Insta 360 X6 next to the even newer DJI Osmo 360 II. (Image credit: Future | Sam Kieldsen)

Already own a DJI Mic? There's a good chance it'll connect wirelessly to the Osmo 360 II for 24-bit audio, as part of DJI's Osmo Audio ecosystem. If you don't, the camera's four built-in microphones do a decent job of capturing usable sound on their own.

Editing and reframing your 360 footage means going through one of DJI's two companion apps: the mobile DJI Mimo app, or desktop-based DJI Studio. I tested both, and found them solid and dependable overall, if not spectacular. Mimo's AI-assisted auto-editing tools left me distinctly unimpressed, so if you were hoping to shoot all day and wake up to a finished edit, temper your expectations — but for anyone willing to manually cut, reframe and tweak their own clips, both apps get the job done without drama. DJI Studio stood out in particular for its excellent subject tracking and the impressive 64x slow-motion mode, which uses interpolation to smooth out footage.

First 360 camera offering native 8K/60fps video recording

The Osmo 360 II is the first 360 camera on the market to offer native 8K video at 60fps — even the just-released Insta 360 X6 tops out at 8K/50fps. That's not the only imaging upgrade either: DJI has added a stop of extra dynamic range, bumped slow-motion up to 4K/240fps (from 4K/100fps), pushed timelapse resolution to 16K/30fps (from 4K/30fps), and introduced HDR support for the 120MP photo mode. Edit your footage in DJI Studio and you can also access up to 64x slow-motion via frame interpolation.

Then there's Super Night 2.0, DJI's low-light shooting mode. I wasn't blown away by the original Osmo 360's version of Super Night — it was decent, no more — but here the results look significantly cleaner and sharper, and you can now record at up to 60fps rather than being capped at 30fps. There is one catch: you still can't shoot in D-Log M with Super Night 2.0 active, so you're restricted to the standard color profile (Adaptive Tone remains available, however).

Interestingly, the image sensor itself appears to be physically identical to the one in the original Osmo 360, which suggests that all of the above gains have come via processing and software refinement rather than new hardware. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but it does mean these image quality improvements are evolutionary rather than the product of some new imaging leap.

All the usual 360-camera fundamentals — stabilization, stitching, selfie stick removal and flare handling — are brilliantly handled here. It's a slick camera that can capture good-looking footage while requiring very little effort from the user.

Taken as a whole, image quality is excellent, if perhaps not a huge leap over the original — more a slight but real improvement on what was already a very good setup built around a large, capable sensor. For the sample video embedded in this review, I shot footage using the default Standard color profile, D-Log M (graded afterward using DJI's own LUT plus some manual color tweaks), and Super Night 2.0, all recorded at 10-bit. Everything was reframed in DJI Studio on my Mac, then edited in Da Vinci Resolve.

Video is, understandably, still noticeably sharper, more detailed and more impactful in daylight, but shoot with a bit of care and it's absolutely possible to capture excellent after-dark footage too.

Photos are perfectly fine too, though I've never considered still photography much of a draw on a 360 camera personally — it feels like a secondary feature here rather than a primary selling point.

Pricier than the original Osmo 360, but significantly cheaper than the Insta 360 X6.

Pricier than the original Osmo 360, but significantly cheaper than the Insta 360 X6.

Same body as before, but user-replaceable lenses and newfound underwater confidence are big wins.

Same body as before, but user-replaceable lenses and newfound underwater confidence are big wins.

Solid battery life and storage, dependable apps, but 8K/60fps can trigger overheating.

Solid battery life and storage, dependable apps, but 8K/60fps can trigger overheating.

First native 8K/60fps 360 camera, with better dynamic range and a much-improved Super Night 2.0.

First native 8K/60fps 360 camera, with better dynamic range and a much-improved Super Night 2.0.

You want flagship features without flagship pricing The Osmo 360 II undercuts the Insta 360 X6 by over £100 while offering the first native 8K/60fps 360 video on the market, plus meaningfully improved Super Night low-light performance.

You like peace of mind when shooting action sports Cheap, user-replaceable lenses mean a cracked or scratched lens is no longer catastrophic — a direct answer to one of the biggest weaknesses of the original Osmo 360.

You regularly shoot in low light Super Night 2.0's jump to 60fps and its cleaner results make this a far stronger nighttime shooter than the Go Pro Max 2, which stumbles noticeably once the sun goes down.

You're on a tight budget If price is your primary concern, the cheaper (if lower-spec) Go Pro Max 2 undercuts the Osmo 360 II comfortably, especially now that it's available at discounted pricing.

You're based in the US The Osmo 360 II isn't launching stateside for now, with DJI's regulatory authorization still pending — so US buyers are out of luck unless they're willing to import.

If money is no object and you want the sharpest, cleanest 360 footage around in any light, the Insta 360 X6 remains the camera to beat — it's just going to cost you considerably more than the Osmo 360 II.

Go Pro's comeback 360 camera is significantly cheaper than the Osmo 360 II and delivers excellent daylight image quality, but its low-light performance can't compete, and its own replaceable lenses haven't been engineered for the same low-light or dynamic range gains DJI has made here.

I tested the DJI Osmo 360 II Adventure Combo ahead of its official release

I shot video across a long weekend trip to northeast England, plus my hometown

I used the included 1.2m selfie stick and a car mount, in daylight and at night

I was sent a DJI Osmo 360 II Adventure Combo a few days ahead of its official release for testing. I put the camera through its paces on a long weekend trip to the northeast of England, as well as around my Kent coast hometown, mounting it on the included 1.2m selfie stick for on-foot shooting and attaching it to my car for vehicle-mounted footage. I tested it across a range of lighting conditions, from strong daylight to full nighttime darkness, and also shot a handful of 120MP stills alongside my video testing. I also tested both DJI's desktop and mobile companion apps, using them to reframe footage and photos.

Sam has been writing about tech and digital culture for over 20 years, starting off in video games journalism before branching out into the wonderful worlds of consumer electronics, streaming entertainment and photography. Over the years he has written for Wired, Stuff, GQ, T3, Trusted Reviews and PC Zone, and now lives on the Kent coast in the UK – the ideal place for a camera reviewer to ply their trade.

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Key Takeaways

• News, deals, reviews, guides and more on the newest computing gadgets

• Start exploring exclusive deals, expert advice and more

• Unlock and manage exclusive Techradar member rewards

• DJI's Osmo 360 II fixes its predecessor's flaws, and remains much more affordable than Insta 360

• DJI's second-gen 360 camera is a great all-rounder — and costs far less than its chief rival