A small heads-up regarding this item combo (admittably old accessories).

Today, my Osmo Pocket 3,5mm audio adapter arrived by mail. I had been wondering if I could use this combination to get both an external microphone and a tripod connected to the Pocket 2. While I do know it is possible with the DIA Handle, I was thinking if I could save some battery of the Pocket 2 by not using it, as the wifi and bluetooth in the handle make the Pocket 2 consume battery power faster than without the handle and it can't be turned off separately from the handle even when no wireless connections are in use. Also, by the chance if it could have worked the way I planned, the Ulanzi's two USB-C ports could have, in theory, given the chance to connect both the audio adapter and a powerbank, allowing both an external microphone and charging battery at the same time. But, alas, seems like it doesn't work that way.

The audio adapter does NOT work with the Ulanzi. The only thing it does is that it removes all audio from the video. Useful if you want some muted video, but not exactly what you bought the adapter for, is it?

It certainly is the Ulanzi, as testing the audio adapter while directly plugged into the Pocket 2 did work when used with the DJI Mic (one weird thing though - with that setup, I only heard the audio from the left speaker of my headphones - I thought the adapter would split mono on both channels! Not sure if using a wired stereo microphone would result in a normal stereo or at least a mono split equally to both sides, will try it out in the nearby future.)

I'm not going to blame DJI on this, as it is a third-party accessory they have not tested. I just bring this out to give an answer to people who have pondered if this would work. A shame for Ulanzi, as having those possibilities would have made this add-on way more versatile and useful.


It still isn't an completely useless accessory however, as it does allow tripod and charging without the wireless tech eating up power in the meanwhile, and also, with a proper USB-C to USB-C cable (male connector on both ends and supporting proper specifications), it does allow remote control with a smart device without wireless connectivity. Just know it limitations forehand, so you won't be disappointed in expecting something it will not offer.

Ok, that is not as I would have expected.
And you are bringing an interesting fact to the table, which I totally forgot.
The battery consumption with the DIAH.....
That might explain why I'm getting even lower battery performance with my latest timelapses. Since it will be on doing 'its thing' for a couple of hours.

Montfrooij Posted at 1-14 01:31
Ok, that is not as I would have expected.
And you are bringing an interesting fact to the table, which I totally forgot.
The battery consumption with the DIAH.....

Glad to hear you found my post informative. And I hope you find a way to do longer timelapses the easier way.

HGDC84 Posted at 1-14 11:20
Glad to hear you found my post informative. And I hope you find a way to do longer timelapses the easier way.

I think I ruined my battery a bit when I did some timelapses with an external battery.
Somehow it got less capacity afterwards.

Montfrooij Posted at 1-14 13:20
I think I ruined my battery a bit when I did some timelapses with an external battery.
Somehow it got less capacity afterwards.

Sorry to hear that

HGDC84 Posted at 1-15 14:45
Sorry to hear that

Yeah, I hope the P3 does better with this. (from what I hear it does support external battery use while in operation)

Montfrooij Posted at 1-16 00:47
Yeah, I hope the P3 does better with this. (from what I hear it does support external battery use while in operation)

It certainly is a field where there would be some room for improvement. Encountered this problem today with my Pocket 2 myself, as I was shooting videos for my employer with it, using the DIA Handle and a phone to remotely control the camera. Had some occasional problems with overheating and quicky running out of battery (the latter probably due to using both the remote control operation on phone and the wireless microphone unit). Having not to worry about damage/overheating while using a powerbank along the wireless connections would be very welcome - even more so, had we the chance to plug it into an AC adapter while recording video.

HGDC84 Posted at 1-17 15:20
It certainly is a field where there would be some room for improvement. Encountered this problem today with my Pocket 2 myself, as I was shooting videos for my employer with it, using the DIA Handle and a phone to remotely control the camera. Had some occasional problems with overheating and quicky running out of battery (the latter probably due to using both the remote control operation on phone and the wireless microphone unit). Having not to worry about damage/overheating while using a powerbank along the wireless connections would be very welcome - even more so, had we the chance to plug it into an AC adapter while recording video.

Exactly what I mean. It's all fun and games for personal use, but I can't rely on it for longer periods of time.

Montfrooij Posted at 1-17 23:48
Exactly what I mean. It's all fun and games for personal use, but I can't rely on it for longer periods of time.

I do wonder if some kind of a cooling fan solution would be possible to remedy the situation. Not sure how to apply one though.

HGDC84 Posted at 1-19 15:31
I do wonder if some kind of a cooling fan solution would be possible to remedy the situation. Not sure how to apply one though.

Probably, but that would add more bulk to the combo.

Montfrooij Posted at 1-20 04:24
Probably, but that would add more bulk to the combo.

I have looked for a solution on eBay, and possibly found one, but it will indeed need some additional accessories for mounting, or in some cases, possibly even a completely separate stand for the fan. Also, I am not sure how much noise the fan would make. Not probably a problem when using the wireless Pocket 2 external mic or the DJI Mic set, but with the Pocket 2's built-in microphones, that could pose a problem.

HGDC84 Posted at 1-23 11:52
I have looked for a solution on eBay, and possibly found one, but it will indeed need some additional accessories for mounting, or in some cases, possibly even a completely separate stand for the fan. Also, I am not sure how much noise the fan would make. Not probably a problem when using the wireless Pocket 2 external mic or the DJI Mic set, but with the Pocket 2's built-in microphones, that could pose a problem.

yeah.
I tried making a motion timelapse tonight, but failed.
Not because of the P2, but because I found out I have to redo something and .... yeah, I got frustrated, so I stopped.

Montfrooij Posted at 1-23 13:08
yeah.
I tried making a motion timelapse tonight, but failed.
Not because of the P2, but because I found out I have to redo something and .... yeah, I got frustrated, so I stopped.

There certainly can be frustrating situations in filming. Today, I was making some stop-motion animation for my employer and did have some problems: DIA Handle occasionally cutting the wireless connection, people going right through the filming area in the middle of the shot, the camera running out of battery due to not connecting the powerbank soon enough and having to wait for it to charge enough to carry on. I did get the shots started and managed to film some scenes, so I do think that, like in many similar situations, with some persistence, I will get all the material filmed I need to finish the project. It probably will take a couple of more shooting sessions, but I already have a general idea of the process figured out.

HGDC84 Posted at 1-24 13:20
There certainly can be frustrating situations in filming. Today, I was making some stop-motion animation for my employer and did have some problems: DIA Handle occasionally cutting the wireless connection, people going right through the filming area in the middle of the shot, the camera running out of battery due to not connecting the powerbank soon enough and having to wait for it to charge enough to carry on. I did get the shots started and managed to film some scenes, so I do think that, like in many similar situations, with some persistence, I will get all the material filmed I need to finish the project. It probably will take a couple of more shooting sessions, but I already have a general idea of the process figured out.

Sounds like you are using the Pocket 2 a lot!
I prefer to have my big camera for these shoots.
It's a pain to drag around, but its super reliable.

Montfrooij Posted at 1-24 23:40
Sounds like you are using the Pocket 2 a lot!
I prefer to have my big camera for these shoots.
It's a pain to drag around, but its super reliable.

I have to admit my use of the Pocket 2 has seen a drastic increase since starting in my job and after asking some additional work from my boss. She got so excited about my project suggestion, she now wants to expand on the idea and make multiple series following a similar format. So there will be a lot more for me to film.

When I originally was wondering which camera to get, I did think a little about getting something in the lines of DSLR, but experiences with one for making video left a sour taste in my mouth.

While I was working in my local congregation, my boss gave me a task to film some video with her DSLR. As there was an upcoming election for choosing the next vicar of our church, my mission was to film their sample masses and the election discussion panel of the candidates.

Unfortunately, I found out the job was impossible to complete, as each session would have lasted for at least an hour and the camera had a stupid limitation of being only able to film half-an-hour videos at maximum. What irritated me even further was the idiotic reason for the limitation: I found out the manufacturer of the camera had cheaped out at the expense of the customer buying the camera (which certainly wasn't a cheap camera, either). They wanted to avoid extra taxes, as EU legislation (at least then) had tax laws saying that a camera that can shoot only half an hour video at maximum will be taxed less that ones that have no limitation on the length of the video. I should have guessed this in advance though, as the company manufacturing the camera has been proven earlier on to do some very questionable, shady and outright consumer-hostile choices when it comes to the customer satisfaction related issues.

This infuriated me so much, I decided to look for a camera that could shoot video for extended periods of time without pauses, be lightweight and mobile, yet reasonably easy on the wallet. And when I saw one of our national cell phone providers advertising the Pocket 2 available with a monthly payment plan with zero interest rates and extra service fees, I took the bait and have been mostly happy with it so far.

The bigger cameras certainly have their advantages, but that is often also reflected in the costs as well. And I do not consider myself to be a hard-core enough cinematographer in the sense that I would neither need nor be able to afford a video camera in the thousands of euros price range.

HGDC84 Posted at 1-25 13:41
I have to admit my use of the Pocket 2 has seen a drastic increase since starting in my job and after asking some additional work from my boss. She got so excited about my project suggestion, she now wants to expand on the idea and make multiple series following a similar format. So there will be a lot more for me to film.

When I originally was wondering which camera to get, I did think a little about getting something in the lines of DSLR, but experiences with one for making video left a sour taste in my mouth.

Very true.
Especially the older DSLR's were horrible (the first ones that had video).
If you are going that route, a mirrorless is probably the best way.
But I opted for a true videocamera.
It's kinda bulky (the one I bought) but has great ergonomics and no limitations.
I found a 2nd hand Canon XA50 and the image quality indoor is almost as good as my DSLR. (but that has a 10 min. max recording time).
And I record most of my music videos with that one these days.
I'd rather upgrade to a Full Frame mirrorless, but there is zero budget (all hobby and other priorities) so I'm very happy with this big and beautiful videocamera.
But you don't want to drag it around for the whole day

Montfrooij Posted at 1-26 00:54
Very true.
Especially the older DSLR's were horrible (the first ones that had video).
If you are going that route, a mirrorless is probably the best way.

Is that video camera one of the classic style camcorder cameras? I have an older one that was good for its time, and while technically mercilessly outdated, I still could possibly use that for some fun projects, as I have a video capture device with analogue audio-video connectors and that camcorder could be used with that as a retro-style webcam for getting that classic 90's-2000's look. But I am sure the more modern camcorders are lighter, smaller, technically superior and more versatile, so there's no real contest there.

For me, the portability, the chance to record non-stop without duration limitations and the ability to remotely control the camera were paramount and the reasons I finally ended up with the Pocket 2. I was also intrigued by the ActiveTrack feature, but have used it less than I thought and noticed it is somewhat a hit-and-miss: works reasonably most of the time in FullHD, but is very spotty at 4K (though I have practically never recorded in that resolution).

Not much personal experience on mirrorless nor full-frame, but I have heard many praises about them. Having the ability to change the focal length would be a plus. I do think the biggest constraint of getting one for myself is the budget. I had to use some caution with my finances when getting the Pocket 2 and some other cinematography equipment, luckily had a financially better situation by then so managed to get relatively many useful items. And now that my work projects with my current employer have taken off, it seems like I finally get great chances to use them for professional work. And the results have sometimes even surprised me - just today I heard that the first video I made and released for my current employer last autumn has gained over 35 000 shares on Facebook

So I will get to use the equipment a lot, actually just today I was filming some more footage on the said video's follow up. The coffee cups will have some further adventures

HGDC84 Posted at 1-26 16:34
Is that video camera one of the classic style camcorder cameras? I have an older one that was good for its time, and while technically mercilessly outdated, I still could possibly use that for some fun projects, as I have a video capture device with analogue audio-video connectors and that camcorder could be used with that as a retro-style webcam for getting that classic 90's-2000's look. But I am sure the more modern camcorders are lighter, smaller, technically superior and more versatile, so there's no real contest there.

For me, the portability, the chance to record non-stop without duration limitations and the ability to remotely control the camera were paramount and the reasons I finally ended up with the Pocket 2. I was also intrigued by the ActiveTrack feature, but have used it less than I thought and noticed it is somewhat a hit-and-miss: works reasonably most of the time in FullHD, but is very spotty at 4K (though I have practically never recorded in that resolution).

Yeah, it's this one.


I bought it 2nd hand, and it was not the latest model, but sufficient for me.
It's massive. But still ok for when you have your car around (not for hikes).
So for my train spotting and indoor music videos it's actually perfect.

Yeah, budget is limited here too as of this year.
But I'm not complaining. Good health and beautiful kids and enough gear to keep me occupied for years

Montfrooij Posted at 1-27 04:46
Yeah, it's this one.
[view_image]

That looks like a serious piece of tech For what I have noticed, most of the time even the basic Canon models are quite good, and that seems to have so much options, I am certain you are very happy with it

Buying second-hand definetely is not a bad option, you can get some real bargains that way.

As for that last phrase, it sounds like your priorities are in great order and happiness is guaranteed

HGDC84 Posted at 1-31 16:07
That looks like a serious piece of tech  For what I have noticed, most of the time even the basic Canon models are quite good, and that seems to have so much options, I am certain you are very happy with it

Buying second-hand definetely is not a bad option, you can get some real bargains that way.

Yeah, it's a nice piece of gear for sure.
A bit too big TBH, but then again, I only use it for specific filming trips and indoor, so it's no problem then.
Can't wait to add the P3 to the list, but that will take a loooong time.
Absolutely!