3x Lens Turns DJI Osmo Pocket 4P Into the One to Beat

3x is the number that turns the DJI Osmo Pocket 4P from a clever stabilized pocket camera into the small video tool I’d actually choose first.

DJI’s Osmo Pocket 4P makes the second lens feel practical, not ornamental

The DJI Osmo Pocket 4P adds one big thing to the regular Pocket 4: a second camera with a 3x telephoto lens. That sounds modest. It isn’t. The telephoto changes what the camera wants to shoot, not just how sharp the footage looks, according to The Verge.

This is the rare hardware upgrade that earns its space. Yes, the Pocket 4P is bigger and heavier than the Pocket 4. It costs more too. In Europe, The Verge lists the Standard Combo at £529 / €599 (about $680), while the Vlog Combo costs £605 / €689 ($785). The device weighs 230g, about 40g more than its smaller sibling. Battery life drops to 210 minutes, half an hour less than the Pocket 4.

Those are real compromises. They’re just not dealbreakers for most creators who care about framing. The Pocket line has always been good at stabilization. The Pocket 4P is better because it gives that stabilization a second visual language.

“For most, this will be the better buy, though the Luna Ultra has one major advantage: You can actually buy it in the US.”

That sentence from The Verge captures the whole tension. DJI appears to have built the better compact dual-lens camera. American buyers may still be pushed away from it.

The 3x telephoto gives Pocket 4P footage a stronger point of view

The 60mm equivalent telephoto lens is the Pocket 4P’s real argument. It uses a 1/1.28-inch-type sensor with an f/1.8 aperture, compared with the main camera’s 1-inch sensor and f/2.0 aperture. It supports 4K landscape, 3K portrait, similar 37-megapixel stills, low-light, slow-motion, and timelapse modes. The Verge says panoramas are the main exception.

That matters because compact video cameras often default to the same wide, slightly frantic look. Good for walking. Good for context. Less good for intent.

A telephoto lens lets creators isolate a face across a room, pull detail from architecture, shoot food without hovering over the table, film pets without chasing them, or make product shots feel deliberate rather than documentary. The Verge specifically praises the Pocket 4P for product shooting, portrait video, and pets, citing the tighter depth of field and “beautiful optical bokeh.”

Better framing can beat another spec bump. A creator doesn’t always need more resolution. Often, they need distance, compression, and separation. The DJI Osmo Pocket 4P gives them that in a device still small enough to carry.

The caveat is zoom discipline. The Pocket 4P can record 4K footage at up to 12x zoom, but The Verge says quality starts to drop beyond 6x, with 12x footage looking soft and text turning blurry. That’s fine. The win here is not digital reach. It’s the optical 3x perspective.

DJI beats Insta360 Luna Ultra on the equation creators actually care about

The cleanest comparison is not Pocket 4P versus Pocket 4. It’s DJI Osmo Pocket 4P versus Insta360 Luna Ultra, the only dual-lens rival named in the review.

Here’s the buyer’s version:

The Verge says DJI undercuts Insta360 by £150 / €130 ($150) in Europe while offering better battery life, wider dynamic range, superior slow motion, and double the built-in storage. The Pocket 4P also carries 107GB built-in storage and supports 1TB microSD cards.

Analysis: DJI’s edge is not just the spec list. It’s that the company already knows this form factor. The review says the Pocket 4P keeps the same body, controls, software, stabilization, recording options, and storage approach as the Pocket 4, or close enough to count. That continuity matters when a product is meant to be pulled out fast and operated with one hand.

The FrameTap remote also narrows Insta360’s biggest usability advantage. The Luna Ultra lets users detach the whole front panel as a remote. DJI’s FrameTap is separate, smaller, and less integrated, but it lets users start recording, move the gimbal, zoom, access playback, and control basics from a distance. It can’t change every setting, including resolution or frame rate. Still, it solves enough of the same problem.

For creators thinking about vertical-first formats, the Pocket 4P’s 3K portrait ceiling matters. We’ve covered how phone-native viewing has reshaped creator priorities in 200B Shorts Views Crown Vertical Video King of Phones. DJI’s camera is strong, but it’s not giving vertical shooters every spec they might want.

A 230g Pocket camera still makes sense if the second lens becomes muscle memory

A bigger Pocket camera sounds self-defeating until you ask what the second lens actually replaces.

A parent filming a school event can stay seated and still frame their child. A traveler can pick out a carved detail on a building without cropping later. A reviewer can shoot product close-ups with background separation. A vlogger can cut from a wide walking shot to a tighter reaction or object detail without changing cameras.

That’s where the Pocket 4P earns its 230g body. The added lens needs to become part of the creator’s normal shooting rhythm. If it does, the size penalty fades. If it doesn’t, the regular Pocket 4 starts to look smarter.

The physical trade-offs are not trivial. The Verge says the gimbal and lens apparatus is about twice the size, making the Pocket 4P taller and wider overall. The camera is still compact and light, but it feels “a little less pocketable.” The exposed lenses also raise durability concerns. When powered off, the two lenses face forward rather than sideways into the gimbal arm, and DJI no longer offers a gimbal clamp. The recessed lenses help against scuffs, but dust may collect more easily.

That’s the price of the better shot. For serious mobile creators, it’s a fair price.

Many creators don’t need 3x zoom, and they shouldn’t pretend they do

The strongest argument against the Pocket 4P is simple: lots of people won’t use the telephoto enough.

If your work is mostly walk-and-talk clips, interiors, ultra-wide travel footage, or quick social posts, the regular Pocket 4 may already be enough. A phone camera may be enough too, especially if your priority is speed over stabilization, lens control, and color work.

The Verge also notes the Pocket 4P keeps the same 2-inch flip-out touchscreen, which remains fiddly. Most settings still rely on swiping across that small display. That’s a pain point for anyone who shoots quickly and doesn’t want to think about interface choreography.

There’s another counterargument that matters more in the US: the Insta360 Luna Ultra may be the easier recommendation simply because it’s available. The Verge lists the Luna Ultra at $769.99 in the US. The Pocket 4P, like other recent DJI products, won’t launch there.

Analysis: availability can beat quality when creators have deadlines. A camera you can buy through normal channels beats a better one stuck behind import anxiety.

DJI’s US absence turns a great camera into a frustrating buying decision

The Pocket 4P’s biggest weakness is not the battery hit, the larger camera module, or the small screen. It’s the sentence buyers in the US don’t want to read: the Pocket 4P won’t launch in the US.

The Verge ties that to DJI’s ongoing US problems and notes that hopes for a similar product from Xtra have dimmed. Xtra delisted its Muse 2 Pro, halted preorders, and refunded deposits while the FCC works to crack down on alleged DJI front companies.

That makes US market uncertainty part of the product, not a footnote. American creators are left choosing between waiting, importing, buying from gray-market channels, or choosing the Luna Ultra. None of those options helps DJI’s momentum.

The irony is sharp. The Pocket 4P looks like the version of this camera DJI should want everywhere: more versatile than the Pocket 4, cheaper than Luna Ultra in Europe, and strong enough to pull creators away from phones for specific shots. Instead, its addressable buyer pool is narrowed by geography.

Hardware only wins when people can buy it.

Creators should reward cameras that change how they see

The DJI Osmo Pocket 4P deserves praise because its second lens changes behavior. It pushes creators to notice tighter frames, cleaner portraits, richer detail shots, and moments that wide cameras flatten.

That’s the test buyers should use. Don’t buy the Pocket 4P because it has another lens. Buy it if that lens will make your videos more intentional and more varied. If you won’t reach for 3x often, save the money and pocket space.

Assuming you can actually buy it, DJI has built the better dual-lens compact camera for most prospective buyers. The next watch item is whether US availability remains the feature Insta360 owns by default.

The best compact camera is the one that makes you notice more shots before they disappear.

The Bottom Line

• The 3x telephoto lens gives creators more framing options in a still-pocketable stabilized camera.
• The Pocket 4P’s added weight, cost, and shorter battery life are meaningful tradeoffs for buyers.
• US availability concerns could push interested creators toward competing compact camera options.