I just bought a second hand Osmo Pocket and I installed the latest firmware via the MIMO app.

I noticed that while I am panning, the pan is not smooth, but is choppy / jittery (see video sample below).
At first I thought that this was caused by my phone, which was connected to the camera via the USB C plug, but then I shot a few sample videos with the camera unplugged from the phone and I still got choppy video.

I resized the 4K video files down to 1080p, just to make it easier for my PC  to play them back and to see if the jitter was caused by my computer,  but I still got jittery playback at 1080p, so this leads me to the  conclusion that the problem is not in my playback setup.

My SD card is Sandisk Ultra 32 GB.
I am shooting in Pro mode with the following settings:

4K/24 fps
ISO: 100
shutter speed: 1/800 sec

white balance: Sunny
picture profile: tried both Normal and Cinelike, same jittery result

handheld in FPV mode

camera is unplugged from my phone

Is this choppy, jagged, stuttery outcome just the way Osmo Pocket shoots all videos?
Or is there anything that I can do in order to get smooth, good looking video from this camera?
Help, please.

Hi there. Thank you for reaching out and we're sorry for the trouble that this has caused. Can you please try to use a different SD card and check if the issue persists? If yes, it seems that you already maximize all the possible troubleshooting steps and it is recommended to send the unit in for proper diagnostics. You may contact our team at https://www.dji.com/support to start up a ticket. Thank you for your understanding and support.

I can see the picture being choppy and jittery in real time on the screen while I am filming, so it is probably not the SD card that is causing this.
I have a suspicion that these cameras just shoot choppy video and nothing could be done about it. There are countless reports of this same problem from different people online.
I.E. the Osmo Pocket is completely useless for anything other than static frames.

With that being said, I will still buy a new SD card, just in case.
What make and model SD card do you recommend?????

Try 50fps with a lower shutterspeed. (preferably 1/100s since that is the 'rule of thumb' for 50fps footage)
This reduces the risk of jumpy video greatly as the differences between the frames is smaller and your brain thinks it is fluent .
This is not a 'fault' of this camera btw, but more how the eye + brain work and with very steady moves (like a gimbal makes them) it is much more prominent since the movement is 'steady' and the jumps are repetative.

You might need to use ND filters to lower the shutterspeed, especially if you want to use 24fps.
In that case, you should stick to 1/50s shutterspeed.

Montfrooij Posted at 9-7 02:16
Try 50fps with a lower shutterspeed. (preferably 1/100s since that is the 'rule of thumb' for 50fps footage)
This reduces the risk of jumpy video greatly as the differences between the frames is smaller and your brain thinks it is fluent .
This is not a 'fault' of this camera btw, but more how the eye + brain work and with very steady moves (like a gimbal makes them) it is much more prominent since the movement is 'steady' and the jumps are repetative.

I tried shooting in darker environment, at 24 fps and 1/50 sec shutter speed (as close to the 180 degree shutter rule as this camera allows).
There was absolutely no visible difference in smoothness between shooting at 1/50 sec and at 1/800 sec. The pans were still very jerky and the 1/50 video taken did not look more "cinematic" than the 1/800 samples.

This problem is very annoying and needs to be fixed somehow. Not sure if a firmware update can do it, but it is worth trying.
I bought this camera because people on YouTube were praising it's cinematic qualities. No one of the reviewers mentioned that the camera is actually pretty useless because it just stutters every time you do a pan (guess those affiliate link clicks were more important to the reviewers than making an objective review).

I had the ambition to shoot a short film with my Osmo Pocket. Looks like I can't even shoot a semi-decent reportage with it: the stutter is just unbearable. I hope many people read this thread before they buy this product.

If you are a child who doesn't give a damn about video quality, then I guess you can use Osmo Pocket for a few fun shots around the house. Maybe even videotape a (very choppy) video of your BD party or something...
However, if you are a grown up and if you need a real camera, avoid!

PocketShooter Posted at 9-7 03:48
I tried shooting in darker environment, at 24 fps and 1/50 sec shutter speed (as close to the 180 degree shutter rule as this camera allows).
There was absolutely no visible difference in smoothness between shooting at 1/50 sec and at 1/800 sec. The pans were still very jerky and the 1/50 video taken did not look more "cinematic" than the 1/800 samples.

Do you have examples of choppy movement shot at the correct shutterspeed?
So that would be double the framerate (about).
24fps = 1/50s
50fps = 1/100s

Montfrooij Posted at 9-7 04:11
Do you have examples of choppy movement shot at the correct shutterspeed?
So that would be double the framerate (about).
24fps = 1/50s

Hi, I will post 24 fps and 1/50 sec shutter speed samples when I get back.

PocketShooter Posted at 9-7 04:47
Hi, I will post 24 fps and 1/50 sec shutter speed samples when I get back.

Thanks!
I will try and make some examples with 1/800 and 1/100 shot at daylight conditions with ND filters to see if I can prove the theory.

Here is a first test.
It was very quick and not representative (like this is not how I would film normally) but it was to show the difference between the 'right' and the 'wrong' shutterspeed.
There is still some stuttering in the slower shutterspeed part, but less than with a fast shutterspeed.



I'm now doing a test with slower movements and even slower shutterspeed.

Here is the second test. This time also with 1/50s shutterspeed (so equal to the framerate).
There is still stuttering in all shots, but it looks the best with the slower shutterspeeds.
My suspicion is that the super steady movement of the gimbal is the cause, as there is the same 'difference' between the frames every time and this fools the brain into thinking it is stuttering.



So I have to test with a regular camera to see if I can get the same results without a gimbal.  

Hi again guys, here is another sample video, This time it was shot at 4K at 24 fps and 1/50 sec shutter speed.
You can see the jitter / stutter in the edges of the white windows frames when I am panning left and right.
This annoys me to death.

PocketShooter Posted at 9-7 06:11
Hi again guys, here is another sample video, This time it was shot at 4K at 24 fps and 1/50 sec shutter speed.
You can see the jitter / stutter in the edges of the white windows frames when I am panning left and right.
This annoys me to death.

Yes, I see this too.
The slower the shutterspeed, the less 'annoying' it gets.
Check my tests above to see what difference it makes.

I am now rendering a third test, this time with my Nikon D750.
Just to see if it is something DJI is doing wrong.
So I'm curious to see if that also has this stuttering.

So here is my final test with a NON DJI camera.
Notice there is stuttering. The slower the shutterspeed, the less harsh it gets.
And the thing that really stands out is that it is the most prominent when there is lateral and steady movement!
So clearly it is not something that is a 'Pocket' problem. It has to do with steady movement and the way your brain sees this.

Ok, now I feel like a complete beginner.
I looked at my footage on my main screen (of the laptop) instead of an external monitor.
And guess what......
The stuttering is mostly gone.
So I guess that the device you are using to watch the footage also matters.

Ok, I found out I could set my external monitors to a framerate of 50fps.
This totally eliminates the stuttering.
Unfortunately I can't 'prove' it, since you would have to be behind my screen to see, but maybe you can do this as well (if you are on Windows).
Funny enough my main laptop screen only allowed for 60 + 120 fps, but my external monitors could be set to 50fps.
It is under advanced display settings.

Thanks a lot, man. I will try messing with my media player / monitor settings.

PS:
Quite honestly, I don't see any stuttering whatsoever in your Pocket's videos.
Mine stutters like crazy. Hope it's just my PC causing this, but I doubt it.

So, I did a bit of experimenting and indeed it was mostly my monitor's refresh rate that was causing the stutter.
Here are two new videos that I shot.

29.97 fps  1/60  shutter speed: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yqwfeQw61c

29.97 fps  1/50  shutter speed: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glcnrAq6CGk


Both videos are shot using the Osmo Pocket's 30 fps setting, which in reality is  29.97 fps. This is why I set my monitor's refresh rate to exactly 59,94 Hz (29.97 X 2) and played the videos at that refesh rate. Now the pans look a lot smoother.
I still see jitter and flickering where the left edge of the building meets the sky, but the pan is smooth and there is no choppyness.
If I change my refresh rate to anything else that is not exactly divisible by 29.97, then the choppyness re-appears.

Now, it is obviously not the camera's fault, but this whole monitor refresh rate deal this creates a few problems.
First, I cannot shoot my movie at 24 fps (like I am supposed to), because people who watch it online will most probably have their monitors set to refresh rates that are not not exactly divisible by 24 and therefore will experience choppyness...
At the same time, I cannot shoot at 30 fps, because this will make my film have that soap opera look and not the cinematic look of a proper 24 fps theater movie.
It's a Catch 22 situation, but there must be a solution.

PocketShooter Posted at 9-7 22:38
So, I did a bit of experimenting and indeed it was mostly my monitor's refresh rate that was causing the stutter.
Here are two new videos that I shot.

Yeah, man, I would like to thank you for having me make these tests and finally finally realize what is the cause of this stuttering (at least in my situation).
Man, I have never watched this buttery smooth footage hahahahahahahahaha.
It is clearly a very deep topic and one that has a lot of variables to consider.
And to think that we are living in 2022.....
I was sort of thinking that this rubbish would be over by now.

But far from it.

At least I now know how I have to watch my footage (setup my monitor refresh rate)......
Darn.
If only I tested this earlier.

Montfrooij Posted at 9-8 02:41
Yeah, man, I would like to thank you for having me make these tests and finally finally realize what is the cause of this stuttering (at least in my situation).
Man, I have never watched this buttery smooth footage hahahahahahahahaha.
It is clearly a very deep topic and one that has a lot of variables to consider.

No, you are the one who deserves to be thanked in this situation. Thank you for being so helpful and for taking your time to do those tests.
Much appreciated!

One last thing: 24 fps on the Osmo Pocket is actually 23.98 fps.
So you need to set your monitor to a frequency number that is exactly divisible by 23.98. For example: set it to 71.94 Hz (which is 23.98 X 3). Then the pans get a lot smoother, but there is still a lot of flicker at the edges where there is sudden difference in contrast.
Maybe a slower shutter speed would "smear" the flicker a bit, but then your footage will turn out too muddy.
What I learned is that it is very hard to dial in "the perfect settings".

PocketShooter Posted at 9-8 08:22
No, you are the one who deserves to be thanked in this situation. Thank you for being so helpful and for taking your time to do those tests.
Much appreciated!

Yeah, I'm going to experiment with ND filters as the pros use them for a reason I guess.
(and I have them laying around anyways)

Montfrooij Posted at 9-8 23:26
Yeah, I'm going to experiment with ND filters as the pros use them for a reason I guess.  
(and I have them laying around anyways)

It looks like flicker on DJI cameras is caused by the low frame rate (24fps, 25fps, 30fps).
I don't get any flicker at the high frame rates (50fps or at 60fps).

The ND filters will only help you shoot at 1/50 shutter speed on a bright sunny day and will help you get more motion blur. I don't think that they themself can remove the flickering.
If your frame rate is too low and if your monitor's refresh rate is "wrong", you will always experience flicker and stutter.

I watched a lot of videos on the subject and interestingly enough most DJI drone owners also complain about this same problem.
DJI must do something about it. There are cameras from other makers out there that don't introduce any flicker even at 24fps, so it must be something in DJI's algorithms that are causing this.

DJI, can you hear us?
Do something about it and fix that problem.

PocketShooter Posted at 9-11 07:14
It looks like flicker on DJI cameras is caused by the low frame rate (24fps, 25fps, 30fps).
I don't get any flicker at the high frame rates (50fps or at 60fps).

I thought this was the case, but just found out that my laptop was causing this.
And to be more specific : the refresh rate of the external monitor.
After I set it to 50hz, the flickering was completely gone.
I'm feeling quite dumb as I always blamed DJI for this.

And some backstory why DJI camera's are blamed : the effect is most prominent with steady moves, since every frame has 'the same' difference and you notice frame skipping (that is what this actually is) more clearly compared to handheld footage when the moves are not steady.
So with a gimbal that makes very smooth movements possible, you will see the effect of frame skipping more prominently.

Another matter is 'stuttering' caused by over sharp footage, but TBH, that is not as bad as this frame skipping I used to see.

Montfrooij Posted at 9-11 08:38
I thought this was the case, but just found out that my laptop was causing this.
And to be more specific : the refresh rate of the external monitor.
After I set it to 50hz, the flickering was completely gone.

Hi, I just noticed that all of your sample videos above were shot at 50 frames per second. This is a very high frame rate that does not cause flickering, especially if you set your monitor's refresh rate to 50 Herz.
Try shooting at 24 fps. You will notice a ton of flicker at the edges of straight objects. This is definitely a problem that DJI must address.

PocketShooter Posted at 9-11 09:04
Hi, I just noticed that all of your sample videos above were shot at 50 frames per second. This is a very high frame rate that does not cause flickering, especially if you set your monitor's refresh rate to 50 Herz.
Try shooting at 24 fps. You will notice a ton of flicker at the edges of straight objects. This is definitely a problem that DJI must address.

I noticed a ton of flickering, but that was resolved by setting my monitor refresh rate to 50 indeed.

Now you will run into frame skipping when your footage is shot at 24fps, as that will add one frame every 25 frames if the refresh rate is 50hz. So I would have to set my refresh rate to something that is a multiple of 24.
I wonder if those who complain have done that. (set their refresh rate at some multiple of 24)

I will test it out (if I can, I'm not sure if my laptop allows for this)

Montfrooij Posted at 9-11 10:51
I noticed a ton of flickering, but that was resolved by setting my monitor refresh rate to 50 indeed.

Now you will run into frame skipping when your footage is shot at 24fps, as that will add one frame every 25 frames if the refresh rate is 50hz. So I would have to set my refresh rate to something that is a multiple of 24.

DJI Osmo Pocket does not shoot at true 24 fps. It shoots at 23.98 fps instead.
So I set my monitor's refresh rate to 71.940 Herz, which is exactly 3X the frame rate of 23.98 fps.
This removed the stutter, but did not remove the edge flicker.

Try it. You will see what I mean.

I have done a test. Shot at 24fps 1/50s
Now I noticed that it was actually 23,976 fps.
I did not have a good refresh rate to match that, so I converted it to 25fps
That looked better than the 25fps footage, but not as smooth as 50fps
And to me that does make sense, since there are fewer frames to work with.
I will also try with my Nikon DSLR.

Sorry for the dark footage.

PocketShooter Posted at 9-11 10:57
DJI Osmo Pocket does not shoot at true 24 fps. It shoots at 23.98 fps instead.
So I set my monitor's refresh rate to 71.940 Herz, which is exactly 3X the frame rate of 23.98 fps.
This removed the stutter, but did not remove the edge flicker.

I have seen that indeed and had to convert to 25fps (speeding up the footage to match that).
Now I'm doing a test with my Nikon.

So the same test. (again super dark footage, but the lamp is a good reference for the flickering)

24fps (Nikon also has 23.976 which apparently is the NTSC standard) converted to 25 fps to match my refresh rate.
Now my hands are not as smooth as a gimbal, so the stuttering is not that present, but it still is.
1/50s shutterspeed btw.



HD version is still uploading, but maybe that is ready when you watch it.

Yes, they both show flickering at 25 fps and 50 Herz. But the flickering on the Nikon is considerably less noticeable than it is on the Osmo Pocket.

PocketShooter Posted at 9-11 11:30
Yes, they both show flickering at 25 fps and 50 Herz. But the flickering on the Nikon is considerably less noticeable than it is on the Osmo Pocket.

It is less noticeable, but my theory is that that is because I did not (can't) move the camera as steady as DJI does with the gimbal.
So with DJI cameras there is an equal amount of difference between the frames every time and with a 'non gimbal' movement you don't have this smoothness and the differences between frames varies every time (because the movement is not steady).
So I feel like that could contribute to this 'problem'.
I would like to see some raw footage of 'non DJI camera' that does not have this stuttering when it is moved as steady as with a gimbal.

Montfrooij Posted at 9-11 12:30
It is less noticeable, but my theory is that that is because I did not (can't) move the camera as steady as DJI does with the gimbal.
So with DJI cameras there is an equal amount of difference between the frames every time and with a 'non gimbal' movement you don't have this smoothness and the differences between frames varies every time (because the movement is not steady).
So I feel like that could contribute to this 'problem'.

This below is an eye-opening video. Too many factors play a role simultaneously, it's unbelievable.
This gentleman explains it all so well:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gw3T_UKTPJU

PocketShooter Posted at 9-11 21:14
This below is an eye-opening video. Too many factors play a role simultaneously, it's unbelievable.
This gentleman explains it all so well:

Thanks. I will watch that later

PocketShooter Posted at 9-11 21:14
This below is an eye-opening video. Too many factors play a role simultaneously, it's unbelievable.
This gentleman explains it all so well:

Yeah, that is interesting stuff.
And frankly the main things that I usually do are :
- Don't pan. (it does not look good AND introduces a high chance of stuttering)
- Move very slow.
- Shoot at 50fps.
So those three saved me from stuttering without knowing the science behind it

And it's quite funny that there is usually 2 responses to these questions (why do I have stuttering)
- DJI has to fix it (they can't, it's not something they cause, the operator needs to fix it!)
- You NEED ND filters. (that is not a solution to everything. It only solves one of the 7 parameters and a quite small one to be honest)

Thanks for sharing this.
It should be standard theory for all DJI owners.

Montfrooij Posted at 9-11 22:33
Yeah, that is interesting stuff.
And frankly the main things that I usually do are :
- Don't pan. (it does not look good AND introduces a high chance of stuttering)

Yes, at this point I must agree it isn't DJI's fault. Still, I wish DJI would put some sort of explanation of this phenomenon, or even a link to the video above, so thousands of frustrated people wouldn't pester them with questions, thinking that their device is faulty.

PocketShooter Posted at 9-11 23:35
Yes, at this point I must agree it isn't DJI's fault. Still, I wish DJI would put some sort of explanation of this phenomenon, or even a link to the video above, so thousands of frustrated people wouldn't pester them with questions, thinking that their device is faulty.

Yeah, this usually happens when 'normal' people get acces to stuff they are not trained for.
And because we are quite spoiled with 'tech that just works' these days, we expect everything to work automatically almost.

And with a lot of 'repeated false information' you could easily think that some wrong idea is true.
But with a tiny bit of logic and some good testing, a normal person should also be able to figure this out quite a bit.

i have the same issue. i've tried everything. ive tried manual 24p (with different shutter speeds). I've tried 24p auto. I've tried 60 manual and auto and then tried to conform it in Premiere ("interpret footage") and the pans still look jittery and terrible.

Here are the numbers I used filming inside my house to get a non-jittery pan: pro mode, 48 frames per second (no thats not a typo), 1/60 shutter, 200 exposure. Then conform to 23.976 in premiere via "interpret footage"

rachelcenter Posted at 10-9 06:28
Here are the numbers I used filming inside my house to get a non-jittery pan: pro mode, 48 frames per second (no thats not a typo), 1/60 shutter, 200 exposure. Then conform to 23.976 in premiere via "interpret footage"

Hi there. Sorry for the late response. Can you please confirm what specific DJI product are you using? Also, please upload the original video file showing the issue via Google Drive and send the link to us so we can check it further. We will wait for your response. Thank you for your cooperation.

For anyone who ends up on this page and is looking for a solution. Here are my tests and solution. You will get shaky and choppy video while panning if you are shooting in 24fps or upto 50fps. The fix is to shoot 4k in 60fps and you will have smooth footage as butter. Make sure your firmware is updated. I was struggling with this and shooting in 4k 60fps solves the panning issue.

DJI really needs to fix this. If you pan in 24fps the video is horrible while you pan but in 60fps it is smooth as butter.

Here are two videos. Christmas one is in 30FPS and you can see the jitter while i pan and the last video i uploaded is in 60fps and it is smooth as butter.
30FPS. You will see that when i Pan the video is shaky and skipping frames


60FPS, Smooth as butter. No issues at all.


If the video is smooth in 60FPS and the issue is in other FPS that means it is 100% firmware issue.