DJI Action 4 - 4K50 HB - Very Unstable - Hardware Defect?

I just got the Action 4 and made some test recordings in various modes. Unfortunately, the recordings were not satisfactory as they were too shaky.


I have previously used the Action 1 and 2, as well as the Pocket 3, and never had issues with stabilization.

I assume there is a hardware defect.

For the test recordings, I reset the Action 4 to factory settings and only switched to 4K50 HB , and in the second video, I set it to RockSteady+. The firmware is up to date.

In comparison, look at the third video : The Action 2 never had stabilization issues.

DJi Action 4 4k50 HB :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Anl-92Y3rUQ

DJi Action 4  4k50 Rocksteady +

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhhA1EvIKwQ

Dji Action 2 4k50 HB  ( recording the same time as the first video )

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mh7HvW0jztI

what firmware version was the camera on: and what Pro settings were set. You may need to also do a test without Trees overhead causing a lot of shade.  possible  to shoot in  full Sun.

Thank you for answer

Firmware Version:v01.04.07.10 (2024.06.13)

I previously took some test videos in Pro mode with D-Log, using manual Settings ( ISO and white balance ). For a better comparison, I made the videos in my first post after a factory reset, only change to 4K50 HB in the first video and RockSteady+ in the second.

When recording handheld, there’s no jitter, but I could use my Pocket 3 for that.
I specifically need the Action 4 for mounting on my mtb.

It looks like the shutter is too slow for the stabilisation to work properly. You want a minimum of 1/200th sec for it to work consistently. Handheld, quite still shots don’t matter so much but being rattled on a bike needs something faster.

The low light from tree shade and dull weather have caused the shutter to slow down.

Have you got the ISO fixed or on auto? If you have it set low, the camera won't be able to access the higher ISO's, so forcing the shutter to slow down.

Thank you for answer.

For a better comparison, I made the videos in my first post after a factory reset, only change to 4K50 HB in the first video and RockSteady+ in the second.

Mount becomes one with the Bike, need to have a cushion,  so maybe test out the best way to mount, as noted wear it then  mount it.  best settings everyone has  shutter can be set to the Max 100/8K  takes away the jitters and allows  EIS to be used

   Maybe the DJI team has a rseolution but that takes forever to hear back. good luck.

Thank you for answer.

I've observed a difference in the mounting adapters for the Action 2 and Action 4 cameras. When using the Action 2 mount with the Action 4, the fit is loose, leading to reduced stability in my initial test videos. However, in the videos from my first post, I used the correct mount for each camera

My opinion, the camera should perform optimally right out of the box with the latest firmware, without requiring manual adjustments to settings like shutter speed, ISO, or white balance. As you can see in this video, the footage isn’t very smooth, and if you need Pro mode to fix it, as we say in Germany, “good night!”

Deleted ...

I hear yout.  so  it is best to prepare for the staff

1 a file in googledrive
2 the log report located in the sd card in the misc folder
and load up  here the link for them,  when asked,

3 do be prepared for  further testing   till a resolution can be offered

Regards FISH  

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Fishycomics Posted at 6-23 04:17
what firmware version was the camera on: and what Pro settings were set. You may need to also do a test without Trees overhead causing a lot of shade.  possible  to shoot in  full Sun.

Hi there, thank you for reaching and we do apologize for the inconvenience caused. Could you please share us the flight logs through the link below for our engineering team to check further on this for you? If would greatly help us to check thoroughly and advise you accordingly.

[ https://pan-sec.djicorp.com/s/Z74tzzJfNbsipfw ]

Looking forward to your response. Thank you for your support and understanding.

DJI Natalia Posted at 6-23 20:40
Hi there, thank you for reaching and we do apologize for the inconvenience caused. Could you please share us the flight logs through the link below for our engineering team to check further on this for you? If would greatly help us to check thoroughly and advise you accordingly.

[ https://pan-sec.djicorp.com/s/Z74tzzJfNbsipfw ]

Link dont work.....

hatejittering Posted at 6-23 22:23
Link dont work.....

Hi there, thank you for your response and we're sorry to hear that the link doesn't work. No worries, kindly share us the the flight logs here through any shareable link such as Google Drive. We'll help you check further and advise you accordingly.

Thank you for your patience.

"hatejittering" - the name says it all! You wrote above that you have set the camera to factory settings. But what is the ISO setting? Any ISO limitation is counterproductive for the stabilizer. Better a noisy video than a shaky one. Noise in action videos is overrated anyway. When comparing the different cameras, the OA4 should actually have an advantage due to the larger sensor. Here is a similar shooting situation with the Insta Ace Pro (same sensor size as the OA4):

Their stabilizer also reaches its limits. The only solution to this problem is external stabilization with a gimbal:

Even the small sensor of the Osmo Action(1) is enough in this case...

DJI Natalia Posted at 6-23 20:40
Hi there, thank you for reaching and we do apologize for the inconvenience caused. Could you please share us the flight logs through the link below for our engineering team to check further on this for you? If would greatly help us to check thoroughly and advise you accordingly.

[ https://pan-sec.djicorp.com/s/Z74tzzJfNbsipfw ]

thank you DJI Natalia  get with the mentioning of the OP not quoting who is helping the OP

Thank you all for the responses.
Since I've had the camera for less than 15 days, I was able to request a replacement through DJI’s Express Exchange Service, and I hope to receive a replacement unit soon.

As Helmut mentioned, an action camera is useless if the video is shaky. I'd rather accept a bit more noise in the image than deal with jitter.

I understand that action cameras need a higher shutter speed for stable footage.
With my Pocket 3, I use ND filters to reduce the shutter speed, following the shutter 180 degree rule, but that’s only feasible with a gimbal camera.
If the replacement unit produces the same results, I'll continue to use my Action 2 and likely buy a second action 2 as a backup.

  great to hear, hope it works out
the camera return period should be 14-days  from the first Purchase, replacing does not extend the return period.   keep the site posted of your Resolution.

Regards FISH

Shaky footage caused by too slow shutterspeed, nothing wrong with camera.

johansenfoto Posted at 6-25 05:40
Shaky footage caused by too slow shutterspeed, nothing wrong with camera.

totally agree   must be out in full Sun,    open sky,  

hatejittering Posted at 6-24 04:11
Thank you all for the responses.
Since I've had the camera for less than 15 days, I was able to request a replacement through DJI’s Express Exchange Service, and I hope to receive a replacement unit soon.

With my Pocket 3...

I tested the Pocket 3 of R(h)eine Biker, mounted at the handle bar of my bike. The result looks like this:



Completly unusable. And the problem is not the gimbal, the problem is the focus element in the lens of the camera. It moves permanently from one extrem to the other. There should be a possibility to fix it...  

I  went out to do a simple   500ft test OP3, (movable lens) OA4 FF lens Both on a clamp and both in hand,  I recall years ago on a casio Exslim I have placed away  taht it can be the worst camera for a car ride due to a moving lens.

hope it helps

Helmut Ruch Posted at 6-25 10:12
With my Pocket 3...

I tested the Pocket 3 of R(h)eine Biker, mounted at the handle bar of my bike. The result looks like this:

I think it's really easy to f-up the gimbal with that much shaking, so be careful.

johansenfoto Posted at 6-25 13:55
I think it's really easy to f-up the gimbal with that much shaking, so be careful.

a larget gimbal like a hohem, or Inkee and a action  camera will be better then a Drone type gimbal that he Pocket is based off of

johansenfoto Posted at 6-25 13:55
I think it's really easy to f-up the gimbal with that much shaking, so be careful.

As I said before, the problem is not the gimbal. I build a mount, which I expected would protect the gimbal from hard shocks. Have a look here:
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/1 ... slad87isxr&dl=0
And, if you watch the catastrophic parts of the video picture by picture, you will see that the gimbal works perfectly. Its only the focus that pumps for and back. Ok, the Pocket 3 isn't an actioncam...

Helmut Ruch Posted at 6-25 15:05
As I said before, the problem is not the gimbal. I build a mount, which I expected would protect the gimbal from hard shocks. Have a look here:
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/1qetu8re66fdrql7gcygj/Pocket3-Halterung.pdf?rlkey=iyyc15l0vuzya9cslad87isxr&dl=0
And, if you watch the catastrophic parts of the video picture by picture, you will see that the gimbal works perfectly. Its only the focus that pumps for and back. Ok, the Pocket 3 isn't an actioncam...

Yeah I saw, but I was thinking about the motor for the gimbal have to work "overtime" for that kind of shaking

johansenfoto Posted at 6-26 00:00
Yeah I saw, but I was thinking about the motor for the gimbal have to work "overtime" for that kind of shaking

Compared to the 130 g of the Osmo Action, which my iSteady pro has to manage under the same conditions and which works perfectly, see above, the camera modul of the Pocket 3 itself is very leightweight. I think that the motors and the mechanic should be able to handle that.

Helmut Ruch Posted at 6-26 01:41
Compared to the 130 g of the Osmo Action, which my iSteady pro has to manage under the same conditions and which works perfectly, see above, the camera modul of the Pocket 3 itself is very leightweight. I think that the motors and the mechanic should be able to handle that.

Could be, but will not last years I can imagine. Better to just use OA4 or something

great to hear, its best to do what you think is best to ge your shots, and remember over time too much vibration to a Machanical product is not good

I think really, for extreme action, electronic stabilisation might be better than a physical gimbal. Gimbals slow the movement of the camera down down but that video looks like the camera is being violently flicked and the gimbal can’t cope with it. Also, the focus must be getting a battering on the Pocket 3. Electronic stabilisation might keep up a bit better in good light at least and there is no focus mechanism to get battered. In low light, electronic stabilisation looks poor as well though unless you raise the ISO,  but that shaking looks really extreme…..

hatejittering Posted at 6-24 04:11
Thank you all for the responses.
Since I've had the camera for less than 15 days, I was able to request a replacement through DJI’s Express Exchange Service, and I hope to receive a replacement unit soon.

That's great to know you have gotten the needed assistance.

If you have any other questions, kindly let us know. Thank You, have a great day!

Iancraig10 Posted at 6-26 06:53
I think really, for extreme action, electronic stabilisation might be better than a physical gimbal. Gimbals slow the movement of the camera down down but that video looks like the camera is being violently flicked and the gimbal can’t cope with it. Also, the focus must be getting a battering on the Pocket 3. Electronic stabilisation might keep up a bit better in good light at least and there is no focus mechanism to get battered. In low light, electronic stabilisation looks poor as well though unless you raise the ISO,  but that shaking looks really extreme…..

Hi there,

Thank you for sharing your resolution. This sure will help other users whose having the same issue. We appreciate your valuable suggestions. We will forward your feedback to the related department. Thank you for your great support. Have a safe flight always!

As mentioned, I used the 15-day exchange service after purchasing the camera and received a new sealed Action 4 from DJI Netherlands within four days. This unit was manufactured in June 2023 and unfortunately only had 16% battery remaining. I hope this doesn't affect the battery’s longevity. My returned Action 4 was manufactured in April 2024. Shipping was covered by DJI and was very quick via DHL Express.

Here is the new video with the replacement Action 4. As in my initial post, it was recorded with the latest firmware and without Pro mode. For comparison, I also included footage from the Action 2 and the Pocket 3, with both cameras filming.

So do you feel the  New product is better?  was not noted?

I think it’s better, and I could use the recordings, but the light and the speed are not the same as in the first video in the initial post.

DJI Netherlands was supposed to get back to me within 5 days with a report on whether the camera is damaged.

Here’s a short recording on cobblestones:

Happy you got a  working camera.   if you feel the battery storage is not to your satasfaction chat with DJI, and also maybe they have the report as well.
enjoy the Action 4.

As mentioned before I doesn't think it was something wrong with the camera, but the new one looks great and as it should be.
Happy for you to get a fast delivery and good camera back

I don’t think there was a serious problem either really, but they reacted well and it’s good that you have a new one. Good on DJI.

I’m still suffering from seeing the P3 rattling the focus and gimbal mechanisms being rattled around tbh. It's  really not designed for that.

Once, I was videoing with my P2 and fell over, and to save the camera, I did a Superman roll on the floor. Suffered anxiety for ages after, thinking I'd damaged the gimbal or focus mechanism. It captured my fall in a similar way to that bike footage!!!

Iancraig10 Posted at 6-29 00:03
I don’t think there was a serious problem either really, but they reacted well and it’s good that you have a new one. Good on DJI.

I’m still suffering from seeing the P3 rattling the focus and gimbal mechanisms being rattled around tbh. It's  really not designed for that.

I agree with you, the gimbal is not made for that kind of fast shaking. When I had the P2, I was really careful not to touch the gimbal when in use because I know how easy those small motors breaks.

Happy   DJI  can make Brushless micro ones.

hatejittering Posted at 6-28 05:07
As mentioned, I used the 15-day exchange service after purchasing the camera and received a new sealed Action 4 from DJI Netherlands within four days. This unit was manufactured in June 2023 and unfortunately only had 16% battery remaining. I hope this doesn't affect the battery’s longevity. My returned Action 4 was manufactured in April 2024. Shipping was covered by DJI and was very quick via DHL Express.

Here is the new video with the replacement Action 4. As in my initial post, it was recorded with the latest firmware and without Pro mode. For comparison, I also included footage from the Action 2 and the Pocket 3, with both cameras filming.

Best stabilization/quality seems to me to be on daytime is on GoPro from 10 Black higher.
Best stabilization/quality seems to me to be on dull and night time is on Action 4.

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