When wanting to use a miniature camera and do activities such as hiking or riding a bike, GoPros tend to be the default camera people go with. There’s a good chance they may be the only brand the average consumer knows about. But recently DJI, mainly known for their camera drones, released a serious competitor to the GoPro cameras.

DJI released the DJI Pocket 2 on November 1, a “pocket-sized” camera that captures exceptional video. It has some unique features and is much more improved than its predecessor, the Osmo Pocket. However, GoPro released their new product, the GoPro Hero 9, and it’s not too bad itself. We’ll take a closer look at how the Pocket 2 and Hero 9 match up against each other

Size

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The Pocket 2 weighs 117g and is 4.9 (h) x 1.5 x 1.2 in (l). The Hero 9 is heavier, weighing at 158g, and is 2.8 (h) x 2.2 x 1.2 (l) in. Even though the Pocket 2 is much taller, it’s built-in gimbal makes up for it, as we’ll dive into more later. The Pocket 2 screen is much smaller than the back screen on the Hero 9, and with this year’s GoPro model, there’s a brand new front screen which will help with selfies. If you’re looking to hold your mini camera while recording, then the Pocket 2 would be a much better grip. But if you’re looking to accessories your camera then the size of the Hero 9 is much more ideal.

Camera

For still photography, the Hero 9 can go up to 20MP, and has continuous photo mode, narrow and wide mode, as well as a night mode. There are also interchangeable lenses you can customize on the Hero 9. But if it’s just standard still photography, the Pocket 2 is in a league of its own with a F1.8 lens that can shoot up to 64MP, and has a 4x lossless zoom as well as a with a 8x zoom. The advantage the Hero 9 camera has however is that they have a wider range of modes and interchangeable lenses.

While the Hero 9 does have a night mode, it really doesn’t give it an edge in low light at all compared to the Pocket 2. GoPros are infamous for not performing well in low light, and filmmaker Stephen J Reid compared both cameras in those conditions, where DJI looked much better.

Both cameras shoot 4k video up to 60fps, with GoPro taking it a little further this year where you can shoot 5k video up to 30fps. The Pocket 2 does have HDR video that can shoot up to 30fps but it doesn’t match up to the 5k quality of the Hero 9. One cool feature the Pocket 2 does have is ActiveTrack, where the camera will follow your face wherever it moves for taking photos or video.

Without any accessories, the Pocket 2 has better overall video quality because of its built-in gimbal that provides great stabilization. But if you’re able to get a stabilizing accessory for the Hero 9, the Hero 9 gets the edge.

Sound

DJI made major improvements to their pocket camera microphones this year, by putting four microphones on the Pocket 2. It has better range and overall sound quality than the two microphones on the Hero 9. Many consumers have also raved about how great DJI’s wireless microphone is when attached to the Pocket 2. Their wireless microphone is claimed to be better than both devices built-in microphones. GoPro do not make wireless mics for their devices, so you would have to find a compatible third-party wireless microphone, but it still wouldn’t compare to DJI’s.

Price

The Pocket 2 is priced at $349 on DJI’s website, while they also have a “Creator Combo” option for $499 that come with a lot more extra accessories including a wide-angle lens, a a tripod, and their wireless mic mentioned earlier. Beware that the Pocket 2 is not water-resistant so you would have to buy DJI’s waterproof case if you wanted to use the camera around water. The case is $55 on their website.

The Hero 9 comes in at $399 on GoPro’s website, and they have a $449 bundle option that comes with a hand grip, swivel clip, and a spare battery. If you buy the Hero 9 bundle with a 1-year subscription, you would only pay $349, which is GoPro’s best deal. You would just have to pay $4.17-$4.99 a month for the subscription after one year.

Conclusion

If you need to shoot quick videos and photos without any accessories, the Pocket 2 is the best option. However, if you’re willing to spend the extra money on accessories, the Hero 9 is more versatile. GoPros are always so accessible with the amount of strap-on accessories you can attach it to. Either way, they are both very good miniature cameras.