I've seen many threads that are complaining about the Osmo drifting.  

Maybe it's the use of the word "stabilizer" to describe gimbals that confuses users.  This might change with future development however at the present time most if not all of the gimbal stabilizers that I'm aware of will drift somewhat. The primary purpose of gimbal stabilizers is to reduce/eliminate handheld shake/jitter and to smooth out pans, tilts, etc. Unfortunately the Osmo is not a replacement for your tripod & traditional video camera if your purpose is to maintain a perfectly framed static shot.

The Osmo is not the right purchase if one of your intended uses is a set it and forget recording of something such as a school play.

My 2 bits.

Lee

Exactly. Horses for courses.

Subject line should be:  Buy a tripod ... and a different camera ;-)

Kidding aside, I do totally get your point and you're not wrong.  But how do you justify marketing the product as having a timelapse, panorama, long exposure, etc functions?  Camera has to be able to sit still to do a clean traditional timelapse shot right?  Osmo only really works for timelapse if it's a moving shot.

Direct quote from their marketing "Take long exposure shots with absolute crispness and sharpness, even without a tripod. The stabilization system in the Osmo+ keeps the camera totally still so you can freehand capture long exposures."

That implies the camera can be made to hold a static shot.  In reality the only way to keep it "totally still" is turn it off and put it in the case ;-).  

I get that no camera can be all things to all people (particularly at this price point).  It's just frustrating when a product is marketed and sold as having certain capabilities and features only to find out after extended use that the device isn't really able to deliver on those promises.  There's just a ton of fine print caveats on many of this camera's supposed capabilities. eg. 30min record time*

disclaimer: * 30min record time is limited to 8min in 4k, 14mins in 1080p.

DJI should just sell it based on what it can actually do well, not a bunch of things it's terrible at, latest example, Live Streaming.

dr.nick Posted at 2017-2-27 09:05
Subject line should be:  Buy a tripod ... and a different camera ;-)

Kidding aside, I do totally get your point and you're not wrong.  But how do you justify marketing the product as having a timelapse, panorama, long exposure, etc functions?  Camera has to be able to sit still to do a clean traditional timelapse shot right?  Osmo only really works for timelapse if it's a moving shot.

I understand there is a disconnect between marketing info and real world capabilities of the Osmo line of cameras.
I was just trying to do my part to inform any prospective purchasers of the limitations.