As DJI Increases Its Imaging Product Portfolio, It All Comes Back to Drones

DJI is a major player in a growing number of imaging segments, with the company being the clear leader in the drone space, a significant force in the gimbal market, and an increasingly popular camera maker with products like the DJI Osmo Pocket 3. PetaPixel spoke to Donovan Davis, DJI Senior Product Specialist, to learn more about the company’s success and strategy moving forward.

The DJI Osmo Pocket 3 Is An Extension of DJI Technology Over More Than a Decade

The DJI Osmo Pocket 3 is an extremely popular tool for creators, sporting a Type-1 CMOS sensor, 4Kp120 video recording, and a super smooth and compact three-axis gimbal stabilizer. PetaPixel staffers routinely see the camera in use when visiting popular travel destinations, industry trade shows, and just out on the town. Content creators, travel vloggers, and plenty of regular people really enjoy the Osmo Pocket 3’s accessibility and performance. It’s valuable for people to capture professional-quality video at an affordable price all by themselves.

It should come as little surprise that Osmo Pocket was born from DJI’s extensive professional experience with the Ronin series. Still, Davis notes that the lineage goes back even further than that, as the Ronin itself leveraged stabilization technology DJI developed for its early drones.

The Osmo product line began as a consumer extension of our professional Ronin cameras and gimbals. Our Osmo and Ronin products were built on our groundbreaking stabilization technology, which was first used on our popular camera drones,” Davis tells PetaPixel.

“At the core of all these products is this: technology should make it easier for creators to get their shots and tell their stories — not make it more technically complicated.”

Davis says that DJI’s product lines deliver something for all levels of creator, but notes that the company is not content to stick entry-level users with lackluster features or performance. He specifically says DJI is working hard to improve the camera quality of its Osmo line while making the cameras even easier to use to create great content.

DJI also thinks the Osmo Pocket 3 specifically was the right product at the right time, leading to its wild success.

“We believe the Osmo Pocket 3 has become popular because it has solved a significant and specific unmet need. Content creators increasingly wanted professional-quality results without a dozen specialized smartphone accessories or the need to carry around bulky professional equipment,” Davis explains.

“In the past, creators needed to carry around their smartphone, gimbal, portable battery, and microphone in case they needed to get their shot. It gets complicated when they need to use their smartphone as a phone simultaneously — it eats up battery and storage.

“The Osmo Pocket 3 Creator Combo gives you everything you need, is designed to work together, and can be assembled quickly.”

A Balancing Act

Although technology at DJI’s highest tier of products, which can cost tens of thousands of dollars, informs the company’s most affordable, entry-level products, there is also a significant balancing act. How does the company handle resource allocation, and, given how many products it makes these days, including power stations and even bicycles (yes, really), how does it keep so many balls in the air at once?

“While some new product categories we’ve entered may be unexpected initially, there’s a method to the madness,” Davis says.

“Every new branch is an extension of our expertise in drones and robotics, from our stabilization and obstacle avoidance technology to the cameras, batteries, and motors. This expansion started when we adapted our drone gimbals for professional filmmaking cameras and continued last year when we applied our long history of battery R&D to create our first portable power stations and e-bikes.”

This interconnectedness and common threads from seemingly disparate product segments relate to DJI’s broader ambitions. As Davis explains, DJI is laser-focused on creating products that integrate seamlessly with each other while ultimately making it easier for people to create and explore.

While to some, DJI may still be a “drone company,” the company hopes to chip away at this restrictive characterization with new product after new product.

“The global success of the Osmo Pocket 3 speaks to the success of our non-drone products,” Davis says. “People don’t just consider us for drones. They are turning to DJI by name for cameras and other content creation tools.”

Even when some “industry insiders” are surprised by DJI’s moves, Davis believes the company’s technology “speaks for itself.”

While DJI wants to be known for more than its drones, Davis admits that, ultimately, the company’s drone expertise remains a foundational pillar upon which the rest of the company’s growing portfolio is built.

“Every new product line is an extension of our expertise in drones and builds on our experience in developing sensors, stabilization technology, batteries, and motors. This is why our products stand out, even in new categories,” he says.

“Today, our consumer products continue to be our primary focus, but we have dedicated teams serving professionals, prosumers, enterprise, and agriculture customers.”

A Continuing Evolution in the Creator Space

Not to sound like a broken record, but so much of what DJI does comes back to its drones. A significant focus in the earliest days of drone development, and things that still matter today, is making necessary components smaller and lighter while ensuring that drones are more powerful and efficient. It is a multi-pronged approach where each advancement, even a minor one, has cascading effects.

The stabilization technology obviously worked its way to Ronin handheld stabilizers, which many video industry professionals use, and the compact, high-performance camera technology is seen in products like the Osmo Pocket 3. The company’s advancements in drone batteries and power also inform the rest of DJI’s portfolio.

DJI’s research and development advancements occur against a rapidly changing creator space. The success of the Osmo Pocket 3 points to the increased demand for professional quality results in an easy-to-use package, but so too does the success of the Ronin 4D, which enables professional videographers to work in new ways. As all camera companies grapple with the increased demand for video features and performance, as evidenced by the continuing releases of new hybrid and vlogging cameras, DJI sees a big opportunity.

“We see this as an opportunity for DJI. Our Osmo product lines, including the cameras, gimbals, and microphones, are designed to make professional-quality content tools accessible to anyone at every stage of their content creation journey,” says Davis.

The company’s latest drone, the DJI Flip, points toward DJI’s commitment to capitalizing on an ever-larger beginner content creator space. For many, drones have felt intimidating. The DJI Flip, which promises imaging performance similar to the DJI Mini 4 Pro, is aimed squarely at beginners.

“The DJI Flip is designed to be an entry-level drone for photographers who are interested in aerial photography but have never flown before,” Davis explains. He adds that so far, the Flip and the DJI Neo released late last year have been extremely popular with beginners. PetaPixel‘s YouTube team has certainly enjoyed using the Flip so far.

DJI Is Dealing With an Increasingly Challenging Geopolitical Landscape

DJI has every right to be confident in its position in the broader creative imaging space and it continues to release successful products one after the next.

Nonetheless, DJI has a lot of different, albeit connected, product lines to maintain, which is always challenging. The company also faces political threats in the United States, a situation the company is urging the U.S. federal government to address. DJI has thus far avoided bans for its products in the massive U.S. market, but the company is absolutely not out of the woods.


Then there is the tariff-sized elephant in the room, a continually evolving situation that no company is entirely sure how to handle. Any company operating in China, and DJI certainly fits the bill there, is practically operating in the dark. It’s not even immediately evident if electronics will or won’t be subject to the extreme U.S. tariffs against Chinese products.

However, despite ongoing political and economic concerns, DJI remains steadfast in that it is not only fine but thriving. Given DJI’s rapid release schedule, it should not be long before the company’s next product is announced, and it will be fascinating to see what it is. It’s a safe bet it will have something to do with drones, whether it is a drone or not.