One very useful feature that is on the competitions camera is the ability to touch an area to expose to that area.  I have multiple places where I film that require this feature.  The background is bright and sunny and the foreground wehre I am at filming is dark.  On that other camera I could tap in the dark area and expose myself better.  It does blow out the background some.  Its something we have to deal with to show whats going on in the foreground better.  It also turns on an auto expose by spot mode if you tap dead center.  So it auto exposes what is in the spot area as it gets closer or further from camera.  If you tap and hold on the DJI screen nothing happens.

It’s something I use all the time as well.

The big difference is if the Action 3 had it, it would be even better if it also worked (to some degree) on the front screen, so you get a correct exposure on your face in those weird conditions where the background is really bright. Quite difficult on the GoPro because the front screen is just a display so you end up choosing a spot where your face might be for a correct exposure.

GoPro can’t do that either!

wish they could also offer that via the app, at least a histogram.

The Osmo Action (1) has this funktion, called "spot metering".  I used it quite often... It would really be nice to have it back.

Which action camera can you tap on screen to do spot metering?

johansenfoto Posted at 1-31 14:36
Which action camera can you tap on screen to do spot metering?

The GoPro has spot metering.

Iancraig10 Posted at 1-31 14:44
The GoPro has spot metering.

Ok but you cant tap on screen for make where it to meter from like any dslr?

Hi, FwB. Thanks for reaching out. Osmo Action 3 only supports evaluative metering currently, but not spot metering. We appreciate your feedback, and we'll forward it to our DJI Developers for attention. Significant suggestions will be implemented via the firmware update, app update, etc. For any updates, please stay tuned to the latest news on our DJI official website at (www.dji.com). Should you have further concerns, please reach back here at DJI Forum. Thank you, and have a nice day.

johansenfoto Posted at 1-31 14:58
Ok but you cant tap on screen for make where it to meter from like any dslr?

Hold your finger down for a few seconds and it meters from where you touch. So not just a touch but hold your finger on the screen until a little square box shows up.

Iancraig10 Posted at 1-31 23:36
Hold your finger down for a few seconds and it meters from where you touch. So not just a touch but hold your finger on the screen until a little square box shows up.

Aha, nice feature then

johansenfoto Posted at 1-31 23:44
Aha, nice feature then

It’s very useful. Stops highlights being blown out so easily and you can choose exactly what to expose for.

spot metering is useful for Dashcam footage.  or in any vehicle  filming from the inside.  how many points  would be a start , meaning on the screen nine

Iancraig10 Posted at 2-1 02:49
It’s very useful. Stops highlights being blown out so easily and you can choose exactly what to expose for.

That's true but it is also really easy to f-up the whole video because people meter from wrong place.

Shooting -2 EV in daylight will save video for most people or -1 EV in general

johansenfoto Posted at 2-1 10:55
That's true but it is also really easy to f-up the whole video because people meter from wrong place.

Shooting -2 EV in daylight will save video for most people or -1 EV in general

Well, some people mess up with a point and shoot camera! It’s not really for people who don’t know how to use it, but I must admit, I get way better exposures on the GoPro when I do. Don’t need a global -1 stop or whatever then, which can introduce noise into the lows when you boost them.

Way better to get exposure correct in the first place, which is what the screen is for…. You can check it.
It's a nice feature to have if you want to use it. Or leave it if you don't.

Well I do not want touch  exposure if they can not offer it to ALl like the gopro has to timelapse and  others

Iancraig10 Posted at 2-1 11:37
Well, some people mess up with a point and shoot camera! It’s not really for people who don’t know how to use it, but I must admit, I get way better exposures on the GoPro when I do. Don’t need a global -1 stop or whatever then, which can introduce noise into the lows when you boost them.

Way better to get exposure correct in the first place, which is what the screen is for…. You can check it.

When I shoot still images with my dslr, I always use spot metering. And often I meter on the darkest and brightest area of the images to set the exposure between.
With video it can be a bit harder when/if you make like a driving video since scenery change.

johansenfoto Posted at 2-1 23:22
When I shoot still images with my dslr, I always use spot metering. And often I meter on the darkest and brightest area of the images to set the exposure between.
With video it can be a bit harder when/if you make like a driving video since scenery change.

I wouldn’t use spot metering while moving tbh unless it gave a good 'overall average' for what I'm going through. I wouldn't use it in a car because scenery changes so quickly and you can't check the #creen while driving.

Iancraig10 Posted at 2-2 00:44
I wouldn’t use spot metering while moving tbh unless it gave a good 'overall average' for what I'm going through. I wouldn't use it in a car because scenery changes so quickly and you can't check the #creen while driving.

Yup but for a still scenery it is great indeed

in a ca, you want to use it because it will  take the overexposure out, see how a gopro works not a DSLR

Fishycomics Posted at 2-2 03:55
in a ca, you want to use it because it will  take the overexposure out, see how a gopro works not a DSLR

Then you can use minus EV.

You should tried being at snow covered mountain here in Norway with ONLY snow and sun

johansenfoto Posted at 2-2 04:16
Then you can use minus EV.

You should tried being at snow covered mountain here in Norway with ONLY snow and sun

The car is dark inside,  the background is light outside. Exposure lock by gopro works fine, Spot meter for the Osmo Action works Fine,   Action 3, maybe hte future  firmware will get it. raisng and lowering EV value just does not cut it

Fishycomics Posted at 2-2 04:20
The car is dark inside,  the background is light outside. Exposure lock by gopro works fine, Spot meter for the Osmo Action works Fine,   Action 3, maybe hte future  firmware will get it. raisng and lowering EV value just does not cut it

I think you’re talking about extreme contrast Fish?  I found that in Florida and Spain. Deep black shadows and extreme bright sun. Quite difficult sometimes so you end up exposing for one or the other because the camera dynamic range doesn’t’t cover it.

I wonder whether HDR on the Action might work better in those conditions?

I guess you just have to make a decision…. Expose for highlights or shadows? At least on the GoPro you can choose with just a touch.

It is strange that spot metering is on the original, but not the 3.

just showing when needed, DJI  staff  will give us spot metering in the future  I hope


Maybe they  can fix the Dewarp issue too  that is your Action 3

Fishycomics Posted at 2-2 04:20
The car is dark inside,  the background is light outside. Exposure lock by gopro works fine, Spot meter for the Osmo Action works Fine,   Action 3, maybe hte future  firmware will get it. raisng and lowering EV value just does not cut it

Auto exposure is what I always use in those conditions

Has Exposure Lock been added to the Action 4?

Unfortunately, no.

I imagine in that case the price would've gone up by $120 as opposed to $70. But patience! It's coming! I'd say in about 2-3 years, when the camera's price will be hovering around $550-600, there will be spot metering. And by the time it will be $800, there will be autofocus, too :-)

osmonauta Posted at 8-12 03:13
I imagine in that case the price would've gone up by $120 as opposed to $70. But patience! It's coming! I'd say in about 2-3 years, when the camera's price will be hovering around $550-600, there will be spot metering. And by the time it will be $800, there will be autofocus, too :-)

…and then 10 years later when it costs $1500 we will get a hindsight feature!  It will take them that long to figure out Sony did it first so they can feel better about copying what GoPro copied.

each feature adds issues, DJI most likely  got it on and just fails to work

Iancraig10 Posted at 8-11 13:47
Unfortunately, no.

This is quite unfortunate.
The wild part is that this is not a hardware dependant feature and so it would not drive cost up.
10 year old smartphones (many) like my old Samsung Galaxy had exposure lock.
This could easily be added in software/firmware.

Yes, it’s not a biggie to implement really.

its firmware related and one person who is left that  was told to do the work on his/her spare time, how I feel,, my opinion  I love to have it. but even the OA4 does not, why Gopro got it and added it in, years ago from spot meter to Exposure lock

I believe spot metering / exposure lock would only benefit photographers who would use the Action 3/4 to take pictures, or people who take timelapses. Otherwise spot metering would blow the heck out of your footage - unless of course you plan to take part in an inter-galactic expedition. When photography came up, (some) people wondered why the Action 3 even can take pictures since nobody is using it to take photos (even though it is capable of taking pretty good ones). So if you don’t take photos (or timelapses) then why would you need spot metering?

osmonauta Posted at 9-6 22:18
I believe spot metering / exposure lock would only benefit photographers who would use the Action 3/4 to take pictures, or people who take timelapses. Otherwise spot metering would blow the heck out of your footage - unless of course you plan to take part in an inter-galactic expedition. When photography came up, (some) people wondered why the Action 3 even can take pictures since nobody is using it to take photos (even though it is capable of taking pretty good ones). So if you don’t take photos (or timelapses) then why would you need spot metering?

"since nobody is using it to take photos (even though it is capable of taking pretty good ones). So if you don’t take photos...?"


lol, you are concluding with your own hypothesis.
The "camera" definitely is designed with photography in mind as a service with the various configurable settings for photos.
But regarding video, spot metering isn't the only reason for 'touch metering' you can select an area in your FOV and lock the exposure.
This is useful for several reasons, namely to avoid changing lighting conditions that can occur in auto-exposure.

Not sure if you read my post or you just blindly doing target practice, but I think I might be the only one in this group who actually use the camera to take photos since I haven't seen anyone posting any. So yes, if you take photos, spot metering would be nice. I can see it's being useful for timelapses as well.

But most people here spoke negatively about using the camera for photography and they are mainly using it for video. With that in mind, tell me how exactly will you use spot metering when placing your camera on a bicycle, or skiing down a slope, or during skydiving, surfing, underwater, putting in on an airplane, car dashboard, etc, where lighting conditions can change in a fraction of a second depending on how and where you turn/move?

osmonauta Posted at 9-15 11:11
Not sure if you read my post or you just blindly doing target practice, but I think I might be the only one in this group who actually use the camera to take photos since I haven't seen anyone posting any. So yes, if you take photos, spot metering would be nice. I can see it's being useful for timelapses as well.

But most people here spoke negatively about using the camera for photography and they are mainly using it for video. With that in mind, tell me how exactly will you use spot metering when placing your camera on a bicycle, or skiing down a slope, or during skydiving, surfing, underwater, putting in on an airplane, car dashboard, etc, where lighting conditions can change in a fraction of a second depending on how and where you turn/move?

I use it in my rally car, inside the car is dark and outside the windscreen is light. The action 3 simply doesn’t work for this and I’ve had to resort to using the action 1, which has spot metering. I only want the camera to focus out the windscreen, the 3 tries to focus everywhere and fails.