I picked up the DJI Action 5 Pro and decided to film the whole thing the moment the box hit my desk, no script and no rehearsal. The video above is the raw unboxing, the physical setup, and my gut reaction as someone who shoots for a living. This post is the written companion to that video, where I slow down and talk through what stood out and who I think this camera is for.
What the unboxing actually felt like
The first thing I do with any new camera is just hold it. The Action 5 Pro is small and dense in the hand, the kind of object you can wrap your fingers around without thinking. Pulling it out of the packaging, the build feels solid rather than toy like, and the magnetic mounting system clicks together in a way that is genuinely satisfying the first time you feel it.
I am not going to read spec sheets at you here. What I can tell you honestly is the out of box experience is clean. The pieces that come in the box are laid out logically, the camera powers on without a fight, and you are not hunting through a manual to figure out which way the mount faces. For a first setup, that matters more than people admit.
First setup and the small frustrations
Setup is mostly pairing, updating, and choosing your defaults. I went through it live in the video so you can see the real pace of it, including the parts where I had to wait. Every modern camera wants a firmware update on day one, and this was no exception, so plan for a few minutes of charging and updating before you actually shoot anything serious.
The touchscreen interface is responsive and the menus are readable, even with my thumb covering half the screen. If you have used a DJI product before, the logic will feel familiar fast. If you have not, the learning curve here is gentle. My one piece of advice is to set up your frame rates and stabilization preferences before you leave the house, because fiddling with a tiny screen in the field is nobody’s idea of fun.
Where an action camera fits a filmmaker’s kit
This is the question I actually care about. I shoot with larger cameras most of the time, so why bother with something this small? The honest answer is that an action camera does things my main rig physically cannot. It goes where I would never risk an expensive body, it mounts to things, and it survives weather and motion that would make me nervous with anything else.
For me the value is the angle nobody else gets. Strap it low to the ground, clip it to a chest mount, throw it on a moving object, and suddenly you have a shot that adds energy to an edit dominated by clean tripod work. It is a B camera and a risk camera, not a replacement for my A camera, and going in with that expectation is the difference between loving it and feeling let down.
Who I think this is for
If you already own a capable main camera, the Action 5 Pro is a complementary tool that buys you coverage and bravery. If you are a creator who lives in motion, travel, cycling, on the water, behind the scenes, it can plausibly be your primary camera because of where it goes and how little it weighs. I would not tell a narrative filmmaker to build a whole production around it, but I would absolutely tell almost any filmmaker to have one in the bag.
My first impression after the unboxing is positive but grounded. It feels like a thoughtfully made tool, the setup respected my time, and I can already picture three or four shots in upcoming projects that only it can give me. I will know much more after I beat it up in the field for a few weeks, and I will report back honestly when I do.
Gear in this video
Here is the gear I unboxed and handled on camera. Some links below are affiliate links, see the disclosure above.
- DJI Action 5 Pro, the compact action camera I unboxed and set up in the video. Solid in the hand with a clean first run experience. Amazon
- DJI Action 5 accessory, an add on for the Action 5 system that expands how and where you can mount or use the camera. Worth a look once you know your shooting style. Amazon
FAQ
Is the DJI Action 5 Pro good for a filmmaker who already has a main camera? In my view yes, as a second camera. It gives you angles, durability, and a willingness to take risks that your main body cannot match, which is exactly what a complementary tool should do.
Can it be my only camera? It depends on what you shoot. For motion heavy, travel, and behind the scenes work it can carry a lot of the load. For controlled narrative or studio work I would treat it as support rather than your primary.
How hard was the first setup? Straightforward. Expect a firmware update and a few minutes of pairing on day one, set your frame rate and stabilization defaults early, and you are ready to shoot.
Did you test image quality in this video? No. This was an unboxing and first setup, so these are first impressions of the hardware and experience, not a graded image quality review. I will cover real footage in a later video.
Keep going
If you want to see the rest of what I run, the full kit lives on my Gear page, updated as things come and go. And if you want the field footage once I have actually put this camera through real work, subscribe on YouTube so you catch the follow up.