DJI Osmo Action - DJI 4K Video Editing Tips for High Quality Sharing

DJI OSMO Action camera has been unveiled at the DJI event on May 15th! Surprisingly, the best ever drone maker DJI now reaches out to action camera. And it has published this nifty gadget - Osmo Action on May 15th, 2019. The good news for shutterbugs is, according to the specifications, it brings just as good performance as GoPro HERO7 Black, in 4K video stabilization, waterproofing, and other aspects. While, on the other hand, you may have to spend more time in agonizing over the decision to choose DJI Osmo Action or GoPro HERO7.

See the detailed specs of DJI Osmo Action + Osmo Action vs. GoPro HERO7 >

Is DJI Osmo Action really a GoPro killer? We'll just have to wait and see. But one thing is sure: get ready with 4K video editor for the new DJI 4K action camera, or rather for UHD footages captured by any DJI drones or action cameras. If you have ever used apps like DJI Go, DJI Go 4 or DJI Mimo, you should know why.

Based on our test, all these three apps officially developed by DJI don't support 4K video editing and sharing. It doesn't even allow you to download (or sync) 4K videos in your iPhone or Android mobile. But EIS (Electronic Image Stabilization) up to 4K 60fps is one of the most attracting features of Osmo Action. There is no chance that we skip 4K and film in 1080p just for being able to edit with DJI Go app.

So I guess a better option is to stay with RockSteady 4K filming with Osmo Action, and then finetune your HD/4K footages with an entry-level 4K DJI video editor software on desktop, like VideoProc for Windows and Mac, Windows Movie Maker for Window only and iMovie for macOS only.

How to Edit DJI 4K Videos with VideoProc

For me personally, desktop computer is a better platform for large long media files, like say a 4K 120fps video of 30 minutes. VideoProc is a HD/4K video editing software designed for desktop. To edit your 4K footages shot by DJI Osmo Action camera, or Mavic/Phantom/Spark drones, firstly free download VideoProc .exe for Windows (10) or free get VideoProc .dmg for Mac. Then double click setup file and finish the clean installation. Launch the DJI video editor.

[Preparation] Move your 4K files from DJI card to hard drive. This could avoid a lot of video slow loading/editing problems. Instead of transferring via email, you'd better use USB cable or file management software, in case your 4K videos are compressed to much.

- On the main interface, click "Video" and then you will get to "VideoProc - Video" block.
- Now click "+ Video" in the top left-hand corner to input a DJI 4K video from local hard drive.

[Cut] - click "Cut" to trim the entire long DJI 4K video into several clips or remove unnecessary footages. Specify the time range by dragging the knob or directly input the timecode. And then "Done".

[Merge] - get back to the main interface, check "Merge" under the preview window to combine your DJI footages into a new one.

[Crop] - enable "Crop" to freely zoom in/zoom out the 4K DJI video, remove annoying black bars, or resize image to 16:9 (for widescreen playback), 4:3 or 1:1 for Instagram. You can even crop video precisely from four directions: left, right, top and bottom.

[Rotate] - click "Rotate" to flip DJI video in the direction vertical or horizontal, rotate video 90 degrees clockwise or anticlockwise.

[Change Speed] under the same tab of Rotate, there is an option to change video playback speed. Set playback speed to 0.10x to 1x to make slo-mo 4K video, or 1x to 16x to apply time lapse effect. "Recalculate Time Stamp" is available as well. 9 ways to adjust video playback speed >

[Watermark] - enable "Watermark" to add text, image or timecode. Text is adjustable in font style, color and size to suit your need. Upload an image, meme or sticker picture, and drag it wherever you like to personalize your video. Besides, you are allowed to change the transparency.

[Effect] - click "Effect" to use the preloaded filters and do color corrections. Change the value of Brightness, Contrast, Hue, Gamma and Saturation slightly. To get back to the original file, click "Reset". Details on special effects adding >

[Subtitle] - add external subtitle files created by yourselves or downloaded online. You can also search subtitles online for movies, TV shows and documentaries.

[Deshake] - Although DJI provides RockSteady stabilized video filming under part of resolution/frame rate settings, there are times you need an extra deshaking process. For example, you Osmo Action doesn't allow you to shoot HDR with RockSteady. VideoProc fixes both severely and slightly shaky videos in easy steps. See the video guide on deshaking below with DJI video editor - VideoProc.

- To make sure your 4K video output in original high quality, choose MP4 4K under "Target Format" > "Video" tab.
- For uploading DJI 4K video to instagram, you'd better downscale 4K to 1080p by choosing MP4 H.264.
- Specify a target folder to save your video.
- Press button RUN to process and encode your DJI 4K footage for saving, uploading or sharing.

Final Words

To edit DJI video for sharing instantly online, DJI Go and DJI Go 4 are good options. But to tackle 4K videos shot by Osmo Action, DJI drones, GoPro, iPhone, etc, VideoProc is a better way to go for entry-level users, for its simplicity and functional diversity. For experienced professional shutterbugs, Adobe Premiere Pro CC and Final Cut Pro are strongly recommended.