The Osmo Action is cheaper, the Hero 9 is twice the price but seems much better in some key areas, especially in the one thing that really counts: image stabilization. Is this a fair comparison? Can you talk me out of getting the Hero 9 instead of the Osmo Action? I'm a DJI fanboy so I'd prefer to stay in the DJI fold if I can.

It's only natural to want the newest shiny toy.
Depends on your intended use of the action cam.

Difficult one - I'd go with OA

I am thinking the same, but I will wait a bit for OA2 and then I will decide

Since the OA has been out, we all await the OA2,  Hero 9 is what  about a month Old still complaints of issues that a firmware release Oct 22, while DJI is at Oct 20th of a  announcement?

I hold off  until the OA2  comes out and then make a decision.

I rather own a OA over  H9, but some don;t see it that way. troubles and issues vs  minimal ones
OA for me. for now.

Makes it harder now that the OA is Amazon Prime Deal for $199 (10/13/2020). Might be hard to pass up on.
OSMO Action Prime Deal
Go Pro 9 is almost 2x as much (and for some well worth it). For me using an action camera not that often, I think I might be going OA.

I've just purchased OA  and like it. Considering the price alone between OA and GP9, I would get OA in a heartbeat. In addition, being able to use compact mic adapter is a plus. GP mic adapter is huge and expensive, IMO. I had GP7 and sold it to get OA just because of  mic adapter alone.  

Man I get a 2nd one for that price.  what sucks is gopro on prime LOl  no brainer there.

BoozaWooza Posted at 10-12 21:59
It's only natural to want the newest shiny toy.
Depends on your intended use of the action cam.

Thanks - I'll be mounting it to my road bike and mountain bike. Also using it when trail running. The video stabilization seems much better with the H9.

Fishycomics Posted at 10-13 07:07
Man I get a 2nd one for that price.  what sucks is gopro on prime LOl  no brainer there.

I hear you, the price difference is extreme. But what would you do with two?

AndyUS19 Posted at 10-13 07:00
I've just purchased OA  and like it. Considering the price alone between OA and GP9, I would get OA in a heartbeat. In addition, being able to use compact mic adapter is a plus. GP mic adapter is huge and expensive, IMO. I had GP7 and sold it to get OA just because of  mic adapter alone.

Do you have a video you wouldn't mind sharing with your audio experience?

Hello there Dangerly. Thank you for reaching out and for these information you have shared. Whether you want to record your world from behind a lens or be the star of the show, the DJI Osmo Action's dual screens allow you to capture it all with the touch of a button. A vivid front screen lets you frame yourself effortlessly in any setting, while the back screen delivers a crystal-clear, hyper-responsive display. In addition I will post a link  where in you can see why the DJI Osmo Action is the Only Action Camera You Need ( https://www.dji.com/why-osmo-action ). Thank you.

Dangerly Posted at 10-13 13:09
Thanks - I'll be mounting it to my road bike and mountain bike. Also using it when trail running. The video stabilization seems much better with the H9.

I don't have a H9, but I wouldn't go for the OA. It's really disappointing when riding harder Terrain with Bicycle.
Either the whole video is stuttering and jittering because Stabilization is too weak or the Video looks like "on rails" and unnatural.

I think even the Hero 8 does a much much better job in Stabilization.

Plus: The view-angle of the OA is too little. Yes, you will have to live with the fisheye-look of the Hero, but you get a much wider Field of View.

In short term I was really 100% pro Osmo Action but on long term I kinda regret buying it.

OA have good stabilization, and I think it's doing better than H8.

Mizzu Posted at 10-13 23:27
I don't have a H9, but I wouldn't go for the OA. It's really disappointing when riding harder Terrain with Bicycle.
Either the whole video is stuttering and jittering because Stabilization is too weak or the Video looks like "on rails" and unnatural.

Thanks so much for your feedback. Your experience is consistent with Youtube video's I've seen online.

I just bought OA Prime Combo from Amazon on Prime Day for £239 (for $300 US equivalent) and for that you get the standard Combo package plus DJI hand grip and Care Fresh package and regardless of how good H9 or even OA2 is, the price can't be beater.

This is my first action cam and so if OA was considered better than H8 (there are plenty of YT videos to support than claim) then it'll be good enough for me, even if OA2 comes out tomorrow.

Peace!

If you do decide on the H9 I would give it a little time to see if the updates improve things, the GoPro  support forums seem to have many unhappy users.

Value for money the action wins hands down.  However I can compare the H8 with the action and the image and stabilisation is better on the H8 .

MKosmo Posted at 10-20 11:57
If you do decide on the H9 I would give it a little time to see if the updates improve things, the GoPro  support forums seem to have many unhappy users.

Value for money the action wins hands down.  However I can compare the H8 with the action and the image and stabilisation is better on the H8 .

For applications like mountain biking, the Hero seems to have vastly superior stabilization. I am guessing DJI isn't targeting the first-person intense action video market as hard as GoPro.

As a cyclist, I prefer the camera which has no bugs during start/stop recording, especially on races (you have only one chance to take an interesting shoot). Bought DJI.

CyclingTwoVlogg Posted at 10-20 12:35
As a cyclist, I prefer the camera which has no bugs during start/stop recording, especially on races (you have only one chance to take an interesting shoot). Bought DJI.

Thanks for that perspective. May I ask if you would share a video or two that shows off how that looks for you? I'm planning on mounting what I get on a bike.

Shoot on the road bike: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cz_PqpTa1J8&ab_channel=CyclingTwoVlogger
Shoot on MTB bike: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nxEtf6Eh4A&ab_channel=CyclingTwoVlogger
All clips 1080p60fps but rendered in 2k  to avoid youtube's bad codec in 1080.

CyclingTwoVlogg Posted at 10-20 13:21
Shoot on the road bike: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cz_PqpTa1J8&ab_channel=CyclingTwoVlogger
Shoot on MTB bike: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nxEtf6Eh4A&ab_channel=CyclingTwoVlogger
All clips 1080p60fps but rendered in 2k  to avoid youtube's bad codec in 1080.

Those are awesome clips. Thank you so much. How do you have your OM mounted?  It looks like it's attached to your body somehow and not your bike? It looks pretty smooth.

Also, how did you get that speed/rpm overlay? That's really cool.

I use chinese gopro chestmount.
Speed and pedal cadence comes from gpx file from my bike computer and the program to add it to the video is Garmin Virb Edit. It's free.

For audio examples see here:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzElHETnGMMv0IFohXTp2LA?view_as=subscriber
All the videos I did since May use the Osmo Action, actually 2, one for the front and rear of my Kayak.
I use Davinci Resolve to sync the two clips and use audio from the front mounted camera.  Each camera has a deadcat for wind noise.

The mic adapter is great and it's 20 bucks on Amazon.
Most of the time I don't use the Rock Steady unless it's super windy out, most of the time I am fishing there is not a lot of movement.

Don’t bother with a hero 9. Major audio issues with clicking and popping. Multiple people getting replacement devices as same issue remains. Hardware is all over the place

Don’t bother with a hero 9. Major audio issues with clicking and popping. Multiple people getting replacement devices as same issue remains. Hardware is all over the place

Arpettaz Posted at 12-11 06:05
I’ve got both the OA and GP9. Stabilisation is comparable in good light, with maybe GP9 having the edge. Horizon levelling on the GP9 is brilliant and a real game changer. User interface and touchscreen sensitivity is better on the OA. Battery life in the GP9 is superior to the OA. So is battery life and horizon levelling worth the extra cost - I would say yes

Thanks. Have you ever done a side-by-side comparison or similar?

Commom user OA works just fine and its cheaper. More intensive user the OA simple sucks because sound is very bad even with external adapter and mic.

Dangerly Posted at 10-13 13:09
I hear you, the price difference is extreme. But what would you do with two?

I use two on my Kayak for multiple camera angles :-)

spitfirePT Posted at 12-14 11:04
Commom user OA works just fine and its cheaper. More intensive user the OA simple sucks because sound is very bad even with external adapter and mic.

That is probably kind of objective on the sound with the mic adapter, my sound with a EDUTIGE ETM-001 is excellent.  Just as good as the GP 7 with same mic.  can't comment on GPH9