After a year of anticipation, I finally got my hands on a DJI Action 2. It’s priced at £455 ($519 US) at launch for the dual-screen combo. They’ve switched from the all-in-one format of the DJI Action 1 to a modular system for the Action 2. Today I’m unboxing the camera for you.
DJI ACTION 2
Dual screen combo: https://amzn.to/3q33eXo
Power combo: https://amzn.to/3k1EElJ
GoPro Hero 5 Session: https://amzn.to/3CNVwUA
TRANSCRIPT
I’m Jay Shareef, and if you’ve watched this channel before, then you know that I absolutely love the original DJI Action. This week, they launched the DJI Action 2, and today, I’m unboxing it for you. I don’t normally do unboxing videos, but this is a special occasion. I’ve been waiting for a long time to get my hands on a DJI Action 2, and it’s finally here. Just to be clear, I have paid for the camera with my own money. I don’t owe DJI anything, which means I can produce honest reviews, and I’ve got plenty of reviews coming up. In the next week, I’m planning to release the following comparisons: DJI Action 1 vs. DJI Action 2, DJI Action 2 vs. GoPro 10, and DJI Action 2 vs. Insta360 Go 2. I might also put out a video comparing the Action 1 to the GoPro 10, so subscribe to the channel if you’re interested in seeing any of those. Let’s get on with the unboxing.
Unboxing
The box of the DJI Action 2 is covered in plastic. I know some people love this bit, taking off the plastic, but for me, taking off the plastic means that you bought it, and you can’t give it back. I’ve heard some things that make me want to send this straight back, but let’s see. There’s a QR Code, I suspect, as this is a DJI product, that you probably have to activate it before you’re allowed to use it. That’s always been a pain, but at the same time, when you activate a new product, you usually get some firmware updates, and I suspect, this has had plenty of firmware updates since it was created and sent to the warehouse.
It comes with a whole load of paperwork, not interested. This is what we are interested in, however, the two camera modules, one, of course, being the camera itself and the other being a screen/battery/SD card slot. In all honesty, I can’t imagine using just a little camera thing on its own, but at the same time, when you combine the two, the whole thing becomes non-waterproof. I have here the camera module. This looks very good. I like it. What I’m going to do is compare it to the GoPro Hero Session in terms of size, which is kind of what it seems like they’re trying to replace.
They are about the same silhouette in one direction, but certainly this is a hell of a lot smaller than the GoPro Session. Looking at them from the top, they look about the same. But, from another angle, you see there’s a big difference. The GoPro Hero Session is fatter I would say. It’s a lot bigger, and that’s not surprising because the GoPro Hero Session has a much bigger battery. I believe it’s about two or three times the size of battery in the GoPro than you get in the DJI Action 2. It looks like this is going to have a far more limited battery life than this GoPro that is six years older.
Of course, the big difference is that on the back of the DJI Action 2, you have a little screen which you can use to control it. I’m told the menus are in essence, identical to the Action 1. This has a tiny little LCD thing that is able to give you limited information, but also lets you control a lot of the settings. It’s surprising how much you can do just with this little screen. It was a smart move, but comparing the two, there’s definitely a big difference in terms of size. Right now, I prefer the GoPro Session, if I’m absolutely honest with you, but let’s see what happens when we do the proper tests later. Let’s carry on with the unboxing.
Here, we have the screen extra battery/charging module with SD card slot. I do like the look of this, but what can I say? I’m still not sold on this modularity business. I’m really not. What I will say is these are two beautiful pieces of kit. They look absolutely gorgeous, the brushed aluminium. The main module seems to have one microphone, whereas the other piece seems to have one to three microphones built in. If you want to be vlogging, you need this extra screen module. You can’t live without it if you want decent sound and if you want to be able to see yourself as well, frame your image, then this is vitally important, this vlogging module.
I’m going to call it a vlogging module. I’m sure they have a different name for it. It’s actually called dual screen combo. That’s what it says on the box. Right, on with the unboxing, USB cable. I don’t need that because I’ve got so many USB-C cables already from many other cameras. We also have a magnetic lanyard thing that can use if you want to wear the camera like a necklace while you’re walking around. I don’t really see myself using it much. It has two parts. Presumably, you wear it under your shirt. That’s going to play hell with the microphones. Then the other piece magnetically finds it. I don’t like this.
I’m done with this because, quite frankly, I don’t see any situation where I would be using this. Like I said, that is a lovely gimmick, but it’s not for me, not interested at all in wearing the thing, because I’m essentially buying this as a vlogging camera, and I’m judging it as a vlogging camera. The idea of walking around with this thing dangling from your neck here all the time, I don’t know what scenario I would do that. If you’re doing action sports, I’d be worried that it would fly off because yeah, the magnet is strong. Don’t get me wrong. It’s a strong magnet, but it’s not that strong. Is it sturdy? Yes, it is sturdy, but is it as sturdy as putting a screw thread into something?
No, I don’t think it will be. It’s tough to get off, but even still, if you’re doing proper action sports, not sure how I feel about this, but there it is. The next thing we have is a magnetic adapter mount. This is how you connect your DJ Action 2 to a GoPro Shorty Stick or any kind of GoPro attachment. Again, it seems quite sturdy. The little flaps on the side suggest that it’s holding it in place. The magnets are quite strong and the additional flap is quite good. Next, we have a ball joint. You can just connect a tripod and then the magnet will keep your camera in place. It’s so strong that it pulled a camera towards it. It’s just a stiff ball joint that you can manipulate and then stick a tripod to.
That’s essentially how I would be vlogging. Essentially, I would be pointing it at myself. I do like it. I haven’t charged it, but there’s clearly some charge in here because a light came on. You have to charge the top module, the main camera, via the bottom module. Who came up with that? I know that Insta360 Go 2 does a similar thing, but who came up with that and thought that was sensible? Yeah, I get it. If you have a USB-C connector into the top module, it’s definitely not going to be waterproof. But the moment you connect it to the bottom module, the whole thing stops being waterproof. This screen module, the vlogging module, is not waterproof in any way.
I’m not quite sure how rugged it is. It all looks beautiful. All this brushed aluminium, the machining has been done to a phenomenally high standard. There is one final thing in the box. I have no idea what it is supposed to be. This is a sticky reusable, sticky thing. The camera is magnetic. Both modules, I believe, are magnetic at the bottom, so you could in theory attach these to all kinds of metal objects. Basically, this is for sticking onto non-metallic surfaces. That’s what this is really about. So that’s it. These are the things that you get when you buy your DJI Action 2. This is literally it, and this charging cable.
It’s not a lot for £455 (prices may change). It isn’t. I’m not impressed, and I’m a little bit disappointed with what we’ve got here. But at the same time, the proof of these things is always in how you use them and whether they are effective in getting done what you want to get done. Are they capable of doing the job that they’re supposed to do? That is what I’m going to find out when I do my full comprehensive review. That will come out in a few days because I want to spend some quality time with this camera and work out whether it really is worth £455 (prices may change). That’s $520 (prices may change) in the US. That’s a lot of money.
I bought my Session, this second-hand Session just recently, and it cost me £120. That’s about $150. And compare it to this. I actually love this Session, and I’ve gone to so many places with it. I’ve used it in so many places. People don’t even realize it’s a camera. They’re not quite sure what it is. I’ve been in places where cameras aren’t allowed with this running. Nobody has noticed. Nobody has cared. You might think, isn’t the DJI Action 2 exactly the same thing? Sure, but the GoPro Hero Session has three times the battery of the DJI Action 2.
Once you attach it to the battery module or the vlogging/screen module, it’s a lot bigger in terms of profile than the GoPro Hero Session. In terms of portability, I still prefer the GoPro Hero Session, even though it’s slightly fatter. I get that there’s a possibility this has a niche appeal and this has its uses. It’s just that limited battery. It’s 480 milliamp hours? That’s just pathetic in terms of battery life. Also, there is no SD card in here. There is just 22GB of useful memory. I can put a 128GB, maybe 256GB SD card into the Session.
You can see why the GoPro Hero Session from five or six years ago, seems like a better deal than the DJ Action 2. I don’t want to sound totally negative. There may be a possibility that this camera and its many additional accessories are a fantastic, useful, valuable vlogging tool. We’ll find out soon. Subscribe and you will be able to see my upcoming reviews of the DJI Action 2 being compared to the Action 1, the GoPro Hero 10, and the Insta360 Go 2. I might also throw in a real life, real world comparison with the GoPro Hero Session.
Bonus Unboxing
By the way, if you saw my previous video where I bought a vlogging camera bag, I actually sent that one back. I didn’t like the color. Black is very boring. What I did was I ordered another one in a different color. Let’s open it up, two unboxings for the price of one. This is the replacement that I ordered. I think this is a much more pleasing color for my vlogging bag. It’s Peacock Blue, and I think it suits me. It’s probably not as nice against the blue hoodie that I have on now, but I think generally, this is a nicer color for a vlogging bag than the plain old boring black. I just thought I’d update you in case you get confused the next time you see a video of me wearing this when I previously told you that I bought the black one. Anyway, that’s all for today. I’ll be back with another video very soon.
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