Internal 32-bit float stereo paired with lossless 120mm reach from a 20mm lens — all inside a genuinely pocket-sized 10-bit 1-inch sensor gimbal camera?

[Clark Nikolai]

14 hours ago, kye said:

Maybe the draw is that they're old, and therefore that's the novelty, but I've heard people gush over how they love the JPEG look from cameras that have 2MP cameras and the JPGs are hugely compressed and full of artefacts etc.  

...

Here's another one comparing Hi8 vs MiniDV on the basis of the image alone..  24K views!

...

It might also be a nostalgia thing, where the image quality is desirable because it's poor, but in exactly the right way.

I do think nostalgia, even for a time someone wasn't alive for, is a big factor. Another is authenticity, the title is telling on the comparison video. Which is "more authentic?". I think with so much fake stuff out there, or over polished, commercial media, that there's naturally a desire for something real. 

I know a young woman, in early 20s, who last year shot in miniDV for the nostalgia and poor quality. That surprised me because I remember when miniDV was considered high quality (compared to what low budget video makers had access to previously). Things move on. 

There's also trends, as the saying goes, when hemlines are down they can only go up. Now that people can do 8K pristine video easily and cheaply, then low quality and dirty is a refreshing change. About 12 years ago I was searching for, and found, a pocket camera that saved in raw. It was great and I loved how I was able to edit in post nicely, etc. This year it died and so I pulled out the old jpeg-only camera from the drawer and I've been shooting with it. Now, instead of cringing when I see the jpeg artifacts, I accept it as a normal look for a cheap snapshot and kind of a style that's now "approved" by others (at least on YouTube.) The ergonomics are great too. I can have it in my side pocket and while cycling, reach down with one hand, put my hand in the wrist strap, turn it on and take pictures without stopping. You can't do that with a phone. I sometimes wish that the amazing image stabilization and other features that iPhones have was available in a little pocket camera. 

Anyway, I can dig all sorts of things. It's just another brush to choose.

[BTM_Pix]

I think a lot of people feel the world was a brighter and more optimistic place in the 90s and 2000s so it’s a way of putting their current selves back into that time.

Easy to write that off simply as nostalgia but I think at this present time it’s actually a deeper thing as a coping mechanism.

 

 

[kye]

15 hours ago, Clark Nikolai said:

I do think nostalgia, even for a time someone wasn't alive for, is a big factor. Another is authenticity, the title is telling on the comparison video. Which is "more authentic?". I think with so much fake stuff out there, or over polished, commercial media, that there's naturally a desire for something real. 

I know a young woman, in early 20s, who last year shot in miniDV for the nostalgia and poor quality. That surprised me because I remember when miniDV was considered high quality (compared to what low budget video makers had access to previously). Things move on. 

There's also trends, as the saying goes, when hemlines are down they can only go up. Now that people can do 8K pristine video easily and cheaply, then low quality and dirty is a refreshing change. About 12 years ago I was searching for, and found, a pocket camera that saved in raw. It was great and I loved how I was able to edit in post nicely, etc. This year it died and so I pulled out the old jpeg-only camera from the drawer and I've been shooting with it. Now, instead of cringing when I see the jpeg artifacts, I accept it as a normal look for a cheap snapshot and kind of a style that's now "approved" by others (at least on YouTube.) The ergonomics are great too. I can have it in my side pocket and while cycling, reach down with one hand, put my hand in the wrist strap, turn it on and take pictures without stopping. You can't do that with a phone. I sometimes wish that the amazing image stabilization and other features that iPhones have was available in a little pocket camera. 

Anyway, I can dig all sorts of things. It's just another brush to choose.

All good points and it's like everything in that when two people make the same choice it's probably a mixture of everything but in different proportions for each person.

Nowadays I think the "poor" image quality of these older cameras is just viewed as "a look" that you would make from a position of having creative options rather than being something you didn't want to choose but had no better options.

Speaking of pulling a camera out of your pocket with one hand, does the camera button on the new iPhones help?  IIRC you can double-click it to open the photo app of your choice (default or otherwise) and also use that button to take a photo or start/stop recording.  I have a grippy case for mine and holding it with one hand is a very secure experience, with the only wrinkle being that it's so grippy it can be difficult to get it in and out of a pocket unless you've gotten the angle right and the fabric isn't in tension etc.

[kye]

15 hours ago, BTM_Pix said:

I think a lot of people feel the world was a brighter and more optimistic place in the 90s and 2000s so it’s a way of putting their current selves back into that time.

Easy to write that off simply as nostalgia but I think at this present time it’s actually a deeper thing as a coping mechanism.

Agreed..  You've likely heard of the term "anemoia" which is from The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows which aims to come up with new words for emotions that currently lack words, and it means "Nostalgia for a time or a place one has never known".

It's gaining popularity too, with that blip being April 2024...

[ND64]

30 minutes ago, kye said:

Nowadays I think the "poor" image quality of these older cameras is just viewed as "a look" that you would make from a position of having creative options rather than being something you didn't want to choose but had no better options.

"Old look" has a similar function to "film look". Both separates the content from reality by not being accurate. Modern camera are capable of representing the real world as it is, like they're just mirrors. But the artist wants to make a dream for the audience. You don't perceive a mirror image as a dream. 

[BTM_Pix]

2 hours ago, kye said:

"Nostalgia for a time or a place one has never known".

It's gaining popularity too, with that blip being April 2024...

That’ll have been Arsenal fans thinking they were going to win the Champions League.

There was a similar book in the early 80s by Douglas Adams and John Lloyd called “The Meaning Of Liff” which used the names of places and assigned them with a definition of a new word.

AITH (n.) The single bristle that sticks out sideways on a cheap paintbrush.

BANFF Pertaining to, or descriptive of, that kind of facial expression which is impossible to achieve except when having a passport photograph taken.

ELY (n.) The first, tiniest inkling you get that something, somewhere, has gone teribly wrong.
 

etc.

I have just got a new passport which has a terrible Banff that I will now have to endure for ten years.

[Clark Nikolai]

8 hours ago, kye said:

You've likely heard of the term "anemoia" which is from The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows which aims to come up with new words for emotions that currently lack words, and it means "Nostalgia for a time or a place one has never known".

I hadn't heard of it before. Thanks.  It reminds me of when the chain store Restoration Hardware first opened up in Canada. They were buying up old patents and remaking products from 100 years ago. I would have nostalgia for these things (tools, kids toys, appliances) then realized I had never seen them before. Even my grandparents didn't have these things (Canada, before the 1980s had our own manufacturing and design of goods so typical appliances and tools that everyone had were different than the US ones that Restoration Hardware remade.) It was funny how easy it was to create an environment in a store that you would get caught up in. Good store though and unique product line. Sadly, about ten years ago though they did a redesign of the company (probably for more shareholder profit) and now it's just another Bed, Bath and Beyond knock-off. There's no reason to go there anymore.

[Emanuel]

On 6/16/2026 at 11:37 AM, BTM_Pix said:

I’d have urged caution in buying the Luna before DJI released the Pro version of the Pocket 4 anyway but now the P4P has been officially released in China then I would definitely hold out for some comparisons.

One of the major USPs of the Luna is the excellent removeable remote screen but it seems DJI have an interesting solution with a small external remote for the P4P.

(...)

Oh and the 17 stops of dynamic range of the P4P is interesting too.

 

Indeed : ) 

https://freewellgear.com/blogs/news/dji-osmo-pocket-4p-vs-insta360-luna-ultra

But:

On 6/12/2026 at 12:39 AM, Emanuel said:

(...)

And here’s another feature that is, undeniably, not only pure fun:

...but just useful enough to say the least : X

I wonder whether will Insta360 POV Head Tracker, or something similar, come to the Osmo Pocket ecosystem too?

Will DJI eventually offer something like this?

If they do, it might sound a little like DJI quietly admitting that Insta360 has come up with something genuinely unique this time or once again? LOL* ; )

At least for now...

*disclaimer: happy DJI user here and just as happy an Insta360 camper...

 

The FrameTap remote is interesting, but it is not really the same thing.

The Luna’s head-controlled POV accessory makes it** feel like a more distinctive product:

**AND Insta360 products, in general, BTW... : X

[BTM_Pix]

10 hours ago, Emanuel said:

The FrameTap remote is interesting, but it is not really the same thing.

It allows you to operate the camera fully remotely so it is fundamentally the same thing.

To be honest, if I was going to use such a thing then having a compact palmable remote is more appealing than walking around looking like I’m holding a crucifix like the Luna option.

But it’s one more thing to carry so there is that.

The head tracker is very smart and for people doing instructional videos it is excellent - even if it does look like you are carrying ET in a papoose when you are out and about.

I guess the drawback is that it is excellent for seeing what you are seeing but falls down as a concept when doing the other 50-75% of what vloggers do which is getting their own face in reacting to what they are seeing.

One issue might be trying to be discreet as you have to look at someone and ET sat there swivelling to do the same does draw more attention and gives off a mobile surveillance unit vibe.

It such an eye catching feature though that I would expect DJI to be emulating it soon.

 

 

[kye]

48 minutes ago, BTM_Pix said:

The head tracker is very smart and for people doing instructional videos it is excellent - even if it does look like you are carrying ET in a papoose when you are out and about.

The head tracker seems like it'll be an absolute game-changer for a small number of niche uses and a curio to everyone else.

I'm wondering if it'll be a way to get natural looking gimbal footage, rather than the not-robotic-but-not-organic-either panning / tilting that we seem to get at the moment.  Maybe akin to the difference between a shoulder-rig and a tripod?
The next evolution of it might be to use it to control the camera on a drone - the current state of that art is very robotic.

Still, neither of these is of much use to me, so I'll just be reminded of that Renault model that pointed the headlights left and right along with the steering so you could see where you were going while cornering as well as when going straight.