X500 Pro Max vs Osmo Pocket 4P - Which Camera is Better?

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Purchase:

Osmo Pocket 4P - https://geni.us/ZVsCUpw 

 Phone or Pocket Camera?

The Vivo X500 Pro Max is the more versatile camera, but the DJI Osmo Pocket 4P has better color and a more cinematic look. I filmed the same scenes on both, from a car show to a campfire to my bunnies in the backyard.

The Vivo is a phone built around its cameras. The Pocket 4P is a tiny video camera on a gimbal. Most of my shots were in each camera's standard color mode, so you see what they look like straight out of the camera.

The two cameras at a glance

A bigger sensor is like a bigger bucket for catching light. Neither camera is officially sold in the US.

Colors straight out of the camera

The Pocket 4P wins on color. In standard mode, the Vivo pushes reds toward orange. A bright red truck looked almost orange on the Vivo, while the Pocket kept it a true red.

I saw the same thing in a product shot and at sunrise. The Vivo gave the sky an "orange sherbet" look. The Pocket went more purple, with the orange held in a thin band near the horizon.

Skin tones

The Vivo surprised me, and I think it wins on skin tone. I've recommended the Pocket 4P as a talking head camera before, so I didn't expect a phone to keep up.

The Vivo adds a little strawberry-orange tint, but faces still look good. The Pocket gives a more neutral skin tone, but in harsh window light it looked less flattering to me.

In mixed lighting at a car show, the Vivo's 2x shot looked more like it came from a mirrorless camera. The Pocket's 3x shot looked more like a phone.

Bright vs. cinematic

The Pocket 4P looks more cinematic, while the Vivo looks brighter and flatter. Like most phones, the Vivo lifts the mid-tones. That brightens the whole picture but takes away contrast, especially when the sun is behind your subject.

The Pocket keeps darker shadows and more contrast, which gives a movie-like look, as long as you set your exposure right. Its bigger 1-inch sensor helps it hold onto the bright and dark parts of a scene at the same time.

Stabilization and framing

Stabilization was about even, which surprised me. The Vivo uses optical and electronic stabilization, and the Pocket uses a real mechanical gimbal. On a low shot of my bunnies, the Vivo even looked a little steadier.

The bigger difference is seeing your shot. The Vivo's 6.85-inch screen makes it easy to check focus. The Pocket's 2-inch screen is tiny, but you can use the DJI Mimo app to watch the shot on your phone from a distance.

That app helps a lot with low, upside-down shots. With the Vivo, I had to redo one of those shots five or six times because I couldn't see the screen.

Low light and flicker

The Pocket 4P is cleaner in low light. At the same ISO 3200, the Vivo showed more grainy noise, while the Pocket's bigger sensor kept the picture cleaner.

Phone stabilization usually falls apart at night, but the Vivo held up really well while I walked. Still, it had a flicker problem under indoor lights. I fixed it by matching the shutter speed to the lights, but that raised the ISO and added noise. The Pocket removed the flicker on its own.

Slow motion, photos, fire and lens flare

• Slow motion: Both shoot 4K at 240fps, which is up to 8x slow motion. The Vivo's sky looked grayer, and the Pocket's had more color.
• Photos: The Vivo shoots up to 50MP and the Pocket up to 37MP. I still liked the Pocket's photo better because it had more contrast.
• Fire: In standard mode, the Vivo smeared the flames together, while the Pocket kept each flame sharp. The problem went away when I shot the Vivo in Log, so I think the phone's processing causes it.
• Lens flare: The Vivo's flare had a streak and a digital-looking glow. The Pocket's was a softer, rounder glow that looked cleaner.
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Shooting in Log and using LUTs

The Vivo is easier to use if you want a finished look without much editing. Log is a flat-looking video mode that saves extra color and detail for editing later. Both cameras shoot 10-bit Log, and once I color graded the footage, skin tones looked great on both.

The Vivo has two big advantages here. First, you can shoot Log on all three of its cameras. Second, you can load your own LUT, which is like a color filter file, so you see the final look while you film.

With the Pocket's D-Log 2, plan on adding a LUT or doing some color grading after you shoot.

Price and buying in the US

The Pocket 4P costs a lot less. It starts around $560 and goes a little past $700 depending on where you buy it. The Vivo runs about $1,300 on eBay.

Neither one is officially sold in the US, so you'll have to import. With the Vivo, check that it works on your phone carrier before you buy, and don't expect a US warranty. I just use mine as a camera.

Which one should you buy?

Get the Vivo X500 Pro Max if you want: 

• One device for photos, video and zoom
• Three cameras, from a wide 0.6x to a 3.5x zoom
• A finished look in the camera using your own LUT
• A big screen to frame shots and check focus

Get the DJI Osmo Pocket 4P if you want: 

• Rich, true-to-life color and a cinematic look
• Cleaner video in tricky or low light
• A real gimbal for smooth walking shots
• A lower price and swappable microSD cards

FAQ

Is the Vivo X500 Pro Max better than the Osmo Pocket 4P? In a lot of my tests, it was just as good or better, especially for skin tones and having more cameras to choose from. The Pocket 4P is better for color, contrast and low light.

Which one has the bigger sensor? The Pocket 4P. Its 1-inch main sensor is bigger than any sensor on the Vivo.

Can both shoot 4K at 240fps? Yes. Both can shoot 4K at up to 240fps for smooth slow motion.

Can I buy them in the US? Not officially. You'll need to import either one.

Will the Vivo X500 Pro Max work on my US phone plan? It might, but none of the specs I found list its US network bands, so check with your carrier first.

Final thoughts

In my opinion, the Vivo X500 Pro Max is better than an iPhone, and in a lot of cases it's just as good as or better than the Osmo Pocket 4P. I'm happy using it as my main camera, as long as I'm not shooting in low light. When the lighting gets tricky or I want that cinematic look, the Pocket 4P is my go-to.

If you do pick up the Osmo Pocket 4P, my Osmo Pocket 4P course will help you master it and get amazing, cinematic shots.