The barrel distortion on any wide angle lens can be significant, but it’s especially severe on the Osmo Pocket 3. Fortunately it can be corrected.

The barrel distortion itself looks different as well, in that the side of Parliament is straight rather than curved, but leaning. Very often with barrel distortion, edges are more rounded in at the top and in again at the bottom, giving curved edges. (Giving the shape of a barrel)

Looks great after the correction.   

Iancraig10 Posted at 12-21 01:16
The barrel distortion itself looks different as well, in that the side of Parliament is straight rather than curved, but leaning. Very often with barrel distortion, edges are more rounded in at the top and in again at the bottom, giving curved edges. (Giving the shape of a barrel)

Agreed. Maybe it’s not actually barrel distortion per se but it’s definitely distortion. Not surprisingly some of the video I took yesterday around London is also distorted but I have managed to correct it - a bit of a convoluted process involving my iPhone 15 Pro (but it works)

Yes, it works that’s the main thing. I looked at the time on Big Ben and thought how well it did given the current lighting conditions here at that time. Yesterday was dreadful all day but it looks like the Pocket 3 helps enormously in our current natural UK lighting. (Or lack of)

Iancraig10 Posted at 12-21 03:04
Yes, it works that’s the main thing. I looked at the time on Big Ben and thought how well it did given the current lighting conditions here at that time. Yesterday was dreadful all day but it looks like the Pocket 3 helps enormously in our current natural UK lighting. (Or lack of)

I have checked out the video I took and it looks very good. Based on research and looking at YT posts from people who know what they are talking about, I didn't use the Night Video mode.  Instead I used D Log M, 4k 50 fps (frame rate selected to prevent light flickering and allow me to slow down footage if required), PRO mode with white balance set at 3500, AUTO exposure but with ISO set @ 50-1600, EV set to zero,  sharpness and noise reduction both set at -2.  For the colour grading I use DJI's own LUT (which can be downloaded from their site)

The photos I took and posted with this thread were a bit of an experiment.  I would not use the OP3 for photos because the resolution is so much smaller compared to its precessor (OP2).  For photos I had my Lumix S5ii full frame camera with me and got some spectacular pictures - without any distortion!!!!!!

Steph Jant Posted at 12-21 03:14
I have checked out the video I took and it looks very good. Based on research and looking at YT posts from people who know what they are talking about, I didn't use the Night Video mode.  Instead I used D Log M, 4k 50 fps (frame rate selected to prevent light flickering and allow me to slow down footage if required), PRO mode with white balance set at 3500, AUTO exposure but with ISO set @ 50-1600, EV set to zero,  sharpness and noise reduction both set at -2.  For the colour grading I use DJI's own LUT (which can be downloaded from their site)

It looks great. Especially if you understand the light at 4:15pm here. I haven’t got a Pocket 3 yet, but really like the Action 4 enormously. Low light is good on the Action compared to other action cams, but I’m looking at the Pocket 3 precisely for this kind of thing. Portability and low light. I’m always surprised at low light footage that I’ve seen on YouTube tbh.

For me though, the price is on the cusp of being a bit high although in truth it offers a lot.

Iancraig10 Posted at 12-21 03:21
It looks great. Especially if you understand the light at 4:15pm here. I haven’t got a Pocket 3 yet, but really like the Action 4 enormously. Low light is good on the Action compared to other action cams, but I’m looking at the Pocket 3 precisely for this kind of thing. Portability and low light. I’m always surprised at low light footage that I’ve seen on YouTube tbh.

For me though, the price is on the cusp of being a bit high although in truth it offers a lot.

I have the Action 4 as well and the OP3 is so much better in terms of video - no surprise given the larger sensor.  I agree OP3 is pricey, but to make it manageable I went for the Standard package.  I'm not a vlogger so did not need the Mic, and I never needed extra battery when I owned and used the original Pocket and P2 so the battery pack would be a waste of money.  And why would I use the extra-wide lens attachment that comes with the Creator Combo when the thrust of this thread is all about distortion (ha ha)

Steph Jant Posted at 12-21 03:41
I have the Action 4 as well and the OP3 is so much better in terms of video - no surprise given the larger sensor.  I agree OP3 is pricey, but to make it manageable I went for the Standard package.  I'm not a vlogger so did not need the Mic, and I never needed extra battery when I owned and used the original Pocket and P2 so the battery pack would be a waste of money.  And why would I use the extra-wide lens attachment that comes with the Creator Combo when the thrust of this thread is all about distortion (ha ha)

Oh that’s a good point! The wide angle adapter might pull it in even more.

I would need the mic. Pocket 2 is great with its mic. Just a pity it’s not compatible with Pocket 3.

I must admit, I haven’t noticed that lens distortion on YouTube before but now you’ve pointed it out, I’ll start looking for it!!

Have you a link to the video that you made or is it not published on YouTube. I’d be interested to see it because of that distortion but also, it’s London and I rarely get in to do any videoing. I must do some more there myself.

Iancraig10 Posted at 12-21 04:41
Oh that’s a good point! The wide angle adapter might pull it in even more.

I would need the mic. Pocket 2 is great with its mic. Just a pity it’s not compatible with Pocket 3.

I did check out some YouTube videos before posting this thread, and the distortion is noticeable especially with architecture. The video clips I took yesterday are still in a raw format and I probably won’t get to make my actual video until after Christmas now.

Hi, there. Thank you for reaching out. May we ask for the serial number of your DJI Osmo Pocket 3 and if the wide-angle lens was installed during this time? Also, please upload the original footage via Google Drive or Dropbox and provide the link here for further confirmation. I hope to hear from you soon.

DJI Gamora Posted at 12-21 22:43
Hi, there. Thank you for reaching out. May we ask for the serial number of your DJI Osmo Pocket 3 and if the wide-angle lens was installed during this time? Also, please upload the original footage via Google Drive or Dropbox and provide the link here for further confirmation. I hope to hear from you soon.

5WTDL8M001UQQQ. I don’t have the wide angle lens accessory. Original photo uploaded to Google Drive:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1LEJlXV_hOLX6gzEkDzqYIpm122RyQgF3/view?usp=drivesdk

I can't see any "Lens barrel distortion" in this photo. What we see here in german is called "Stürzende Linien":

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/St%C3%BCrzende_Linien

Translated from this Wikipedia articel:

Falling lines
Photo taken with camera tilted upwards. The parallel building edges appear as falling lines

Vertical lines shown in central projection that run parallel in the object are referred to as falling lines. With the vanishing point at the top, they appear to “fall” towards each other in the depiction.

The term is often used in photography - especially architectural photography. In the latter you want, among other things: represent the frontal view of a surface (building front, wall, etc.) for documentation purposes or for geometric evaluation. You are prevented from doing this because the appropriate recording point is e.g. B. is not accessible or difficult to reach in front of a tall building. In photographic technology, the recording method with a transversely movable lens (shift) was developed, which instead of distorted pictures from unfavorable positions, images without falling lines are possible (e.g. pictures of a high-rise building facade from the ground and at a short distance).

Parallax Error

That’s what I suspected because Big Ben isn’t curved as you would normally see with barrel distortion.

I do wonder how the possible distortion correction works with the Pocket 2.

Once, I took some photographs of my artwork that was hanged inside a building in a way it could be seen outside through the window and I put a polarization filter on the Pocket 2. When I placed the filter, the Pocket 2 claimed I had inserted a wide-angle lens. After taking the photos and checking the pictures on my computer, I noticed there was some pincushion distortion in the pictures. I did manage to fix that through a plugin used with the Paint.net application, but the situation left me curious. I suspect the Pocket 2's winde-angle lens causes some barrel distortion, which the Pocket 2 attempts to correct automatically when it detects the wide-angle lens is in use. I do wonder if it can tell the difference between the wide-angle lenses and other filters when used with the officially-branded DJI ones; With the PolarPros I used, it usually confuses them with the wide-angle lenses. And, so far, I have no experience on how this works with the Pocket 3 asi I don't own one as of now.

Helmut Ruch Posted at 12-23 03:30
I can't see any "Lens barrel distortion" in this photo. What we see here in german is called "Stürzende Linien":

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/St%C3%BCrzende_Linien

I don’t disagree. But I think my point is still valid - that the distortion/perspective/parallex effect (or what ever you want to call it) is acute compared to other lenses I have used. Yesterday I compared the P3 with a 20mm lens fitted to my mirrorless camera and the effect is more pronounced on the P3. But as I said in the original post, it can be corrected

Steph Jant Posted at 12-23 00:04
5WTDL8M001UQQQ. I don’t have the wide angle lens accessory. Original photo uploaded to Google Drive:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1LEJlXV_hOLX6gzEkDzqYIpm122RyQgF3/view?usp=drivesdk

Thank you for responding. Please allow us to coordinate this concern to our relevant team for further checking.

Steph Jant Posted at 12-23 09:53
I don’t disagree. But I think my point is still valid - that the distortion/perspective/parallex effect (or what ever you want to call it) is acute compared to other lenses I have used. Yesterday I compared the P3 with a 20mm lens fitted to my mirrorless camera and the effect is more pronounced on the P3. But as I said in the original post, it can be corrected

This is not a problem caused by the lens, but by the photographer! If you tilt your camera upwards you get this effect with every camera, see the photo in the linked Wikipedia entry. It is du to the rules of geometry.

Helmut Ruch Posted at 12-26 01:38
This is not a problem caused by the lens, but by the photographer! If you tilt your camera upwards you get this effect with every camera, see the photo in the linked Wikipedia entry. It is du to the rules of geometry.

I both agree and disagree with you. In the photo I posted at the start of this thread the camera was almost level. But I agree with you that the more you point your camera up the greater the perspective distortion. I would also make the point that wide angle lenses have more distortion than say a 50mm lens.

Steph Jant Posted at 12-23 00:04
5WTDL8M001UQQQ. I don’t have the wide angle lens accessory. Original photo uploaded to Google Drive:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1LEJlXV_hOLX6gzEkDzqYIpm122RyQgF3/view?usp=drivesdk

Update: Although the link isn't working, our corresponding team concluded that the lens barrel distortion is within the normal range based on the image provided here in DJI Forum. Should you have further concerns, please keep us posted.

It's not uncommon that the correction algorithm is updated in the first period after launch.
(So I hope they do)