In this blog I will review the DJI Action 6 camera. I’ve owned it since release and have used it extensively for filming my travels and making YouTube videos. In this blog I will share my thoughts after putting it through its paces. For the record, I have no relationship with DJI, and this camera was purchased with my own money.

Context

This review is coming from someone who uses this camera for documenting travels, life, and making YouTube videos. I don’t jump out of planes, I don’t scuba dive to 10,000 meters, and I don’t push this camera to extreme physical limits. With that in mind, this review will only be relevant to people with a similar use case.

Noteworthy Features

There are a few noteworthy features worth mentioning. The first one is the 1:1 square sensor, which on paper sounds like a bit of a gimmick, but in practice it’s extremely valuable to a specific group of people while being utterly useless to another.

If you’re a content creator, or you make things in both vertical and horizontal formats, then this feature is a godsend. Recording in the 1:1 ratio means that you capture both horizontal and vertical footage at the same time. You then have the freedom to crop and adjust as you see fit in editing. Another great use case is being able to shoot horizontally while the camera is mounted vertically, or vice versa. This is useful for those who have specific mounting requirements.

With that said, if you don’t care about making Instagram reels or mounting the camera at awkward angles, then this feature isn’t all that important.

The second interesting feature in the DJI Action 6 is the variable aperture lens, which can go from f2 to f4. While it sounds great on paper, in reality the only useful purpose for this is controlling how much light is entering the camera. It allows you to limit the light when shooting on bright sunny days and let more light in when shooting in low light. I wouldn’t say it’s a gimmick, as it does what it says on the tin. I would just say the use case is more about light control than depth of field.

While both of these features are great, and I have personally used them often, I don’t think they are the sole reasons someone should choose this camera over the Action 5 for example.

Reliability & Quality

My Action 6 has had a very luxurious life, and aside from a brief snorkelling attempt it has never been exposed to anything that would remotely push it to its limits. With that said, in my time using it I’ve not experienced any freezes, bugs, corrupted files, or strange behaviour.

As for the build quality, I would definitely say that the Action 6 feels very premium and in my opinion a step above the previous cameras. It has a solid rubberised body that feels high quality and capable of withstanding most situations.

Usability & Ergonomics

The Action 6 has gained some weight and size compared to the Action 5, which for some people is a downgrade while for others it isn’t an issue. If you’re used to body mounting the camera, then the 6 will feel ever so slightly bigger. Is this a push to get people to buy the new Osmo Nano? I don’t know, but one would not be crazy for thinking that.

Outside of the size, the camera is still as usable as ever with great tactile buttons and a beautifully responsive touch screen. When it comes to powering on, the first time you do it after an extended shutdown period the camera can take a few seconds to be ready. If you power it on again afterwards, or use the quick capture function, the startup time drops to around a second.

Image Quality

I’ll be honest and say that the image quality doesn’t feel like a massive upgrade from the Action 5. That’s not a bad thing, as the Action 5 was already great. I only mention this because the marketing might lead you to believe that the larger sensor and variable aperture will produce dramatically better results.

The image quality is excellent, especially when shooting in D-Log 10-bit and colour grading the footage. With a bit of work in editing you can get some really wonderful results from this camera. Of course in low light the image quality and stabilisation drop off quite a bit. It’s still usable, but noticeably worse.

Microphones

The built in microphones are great but very prone to wind noise. I suggest picking up some stick on wind socks to cover the microphones if you don’t plan on using external mics.

Assuming there is no wind, or you’re using wind protection, the microphones are very good for the size. Easily good enough to be used without anything external.

What I Don’t Like / Wish It Had

I would love to see a 1 inch sensor fitted into this camera. The body has grown in size, so surely it could accommodate one. I would happily swap the 1:1 aspect ratio for a 1 inch sensor.

My biggest gripe with the system is that there is no ability to control focus. The focus is effectively fixed to infinity and that’s it. For most scenarios this isn’t an issue, however if you want to film something up close, be prepared for a noticeable drop in sharpness and detail.

Other than that, I honestly can’t think of anything major to complain about. It does what it’s supposed to do, it’s reliable, it gets the job done, and it looks good in the process.

Who Is It For

Traditionally action cameras were built for action sports, however these days I feel this category is far more versatile.

Of course if you’re about to ride your motorbike across the world, this is a great camera to have. If you want to film yourself scuba diving, it’s also a fantastic tool. However even if you’re simply documenting a trip to Disneyland, this camera makes a lot of sense.

I can also see many people using it to document their kids, as it’s easy to use, produces a great image, and can withstand almost anything a child might throw at it.

Do I Recommend It?

If you already have an Action 5, and you don’t specifically need the 1:1 ratio, I would probably wait for the next version. If you are just getting into the DJI ecosystem, or you’re upgrading from something like the Action 3 or 4, then the Action 6 is definitely a worthwhile upgrade.