DJI’s US Restrictions Just Handed the Pocket Camera Market to Insta360

DJI advertises its new Osmo Pocket 4 at $499. In the United States right now, that price does not exist. The best deal one reviewer could find was $659 through a third party seller, and DJI cannot do anything about it, because the company still cannot get the camera authorized for official US sale.

Insta360’s answer, the Luna Ultra, ships straight from the manufacturer for $769.99 with no workaround required. It is also built by a company headquartered in the same Chinese city as DJI, one that just went public on a Shanghai exchange and listed DJI by name as a competitor in its own paperwork. The camera recommended as the safer American buy is, by nearly every measure that matters to a national security regulator, exactly as Chinese as the one it is replacing.

Insta360’s Second Lens Wins the Image Fight

Both cameras use 1 inch sensors and hold up well in good light. The difference is what Insta360 bolted onto the side.

The Luna Ultra pairs its main sensor with a second, dedicated telephoto camera, something no global Osmo Pocket model currently offers. SlashGear’s hands on testing found the digital zoom usable up to 12x in the right lighting, a level of quality the reviewer said he actually reaches for during real shoots rather than treating as a gimmick. DJI still wins one category outright: slow motion, with 4K capture at up to 240 frames per second against the Luna Ultra’s 4K at 120fps. Insta360 counters with resolution, topping out at 8K video where the Pocket 4 is capped at 4K.

Both cameras record a flat LOG profile for editing flexibility. On raw color, preference is subjective, and some shooters will still favor DJI’s rendering. But across a full round of side by side test footage, the reviewer settled on the Luna Ultra as the better everyday camera.

DJI’s Drone Heritage Still Shows in the Software

Hardware innovation is only half the fight. DJI has spent close to a decade refining flight software for drones, and that experience carries over into its handheld gimbal line in ways Insta360 has not caught up to yet.

The clearest gap is motion timelapse, a programmable feature that lets an integrated gimbal camera move through a preset path while shooting a timelapse sequence. The Luna Ultra does not have it. Insta360 has said the feature is coming, but it is not there today, and for a camera built around a mechanical gimbal, that is a real gap against a rival that has offered similar tools for years.

Outside that one feature, the gap narrows fast. The Luna Ultra’s on screen interface tested as more intuitive than most competing gimbal cameras, DJI included.

A Detachable Screen Cuts Both Ways

The Luna Ultra’s whole screen and control panel pops off the camera body, turning it into a standalone remote. That is not a small trick. It let the reviewer track a subject and pull off a tight headshot from an angle during a professional shoot that would have been physically impossible with the camera mounted normally.

The tradeoff shows up in daily use. Dirty contacts between the camera and the detached module triggered on screen warnings more than once, forcing a reseat before shooting could continue. That is the kind of vulnerability that also raises questions about water resistance, since a gap built for a detachable module is a gap dust and moisture can both find. The remote’s own battery life is limited once separated from the camera body, even though the main unit’s battery holds up fine.

By comparison, the Pocket 3, the Pocket 4’s predecessor, survived years of rough field use in the same reviewer’s kit without similar complaints. Neither camera is built rugged, but the Pocket 4 currently inspires more confidence for messy, physical shoots.

Why Is DJI’s Own Camera So Hard to Buy in America?

DJI cannot get new products authorized for US sale because it was added, alongside foreign made drones broadly, to the Federal Communications Commission’s Covered List in December 2025, a designation that blocks new equipment from receiving the FCC approval required to legally import or sell wireless electronics in the United States. The rule was not written narrowly. It reaches beyond drones into the cameras and accessories DJI sells under the same corporate roof.

The mechanism traces back to the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act. Section 1709 of that law ordered a national security review of DJI and fellow drone maker Autel Robotics, with an automatic penalty if no agency finished the review by December 23, 2025. No agency did. On December 21, an executive branch panel issued a national security determination anyway, and the FCC’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau acted the next day, expanding the Covered List to cover foreign made uncrewed aircraft systems generally, plus, specifically by name, all communications and video surveillance equipment produced by DJI and Autel.

That second, company specific clause is why a handheld camera with no propeller is caught in a drone security fight. Video and communications gear made by DJI, not just its aircraft, cannot get a new FCC equipment authorization, and without one, DJI cannot legally sell a new device like the Osmo Pocket 4 through official US channels. DJI has reportedly told regulators the fight could cost it close to $1.5 billion in 2026 US sales alone, spanning roughly 25 delayed product launches across drones, cameras and stabilizers.

• Existing DJI drones and cameras already in US hands keep working. The rule does not disable owned equipment.
• Retailers can still sell any device model that received FCC authorization before December 22, 2025.
• New models, and even some firmware or hardware revisions to older ones, may need a fresh authorization they cannot get.
• DJI has firmware and security update protection for existing gear guaranteed through January 1, 2029.

DJI is fighting back through both the FCC and the courts. The company filed a petition for reconsideration in January 2026 and a separate appeal at the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in February, arguing the FCC exceeded its authority. Public comments on that petition closed in May with more than 460 filings logged.

Concerns about DJI’s data security have not been grounded in evidence and instead reflect protectionism, contrary to the principles of an open market.

A DJI spokesperson said that in a statement responding to the FCC’s December ruling, arguing the company’s products have already survived years of government and independent review.

• DJI calls the process procedurally flawed and is asking a federal appeals court to overturn it.
• AUVSI (the Association for Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International), whose president Michael Robbins said recent history shows why the country must secure its supply chains, backs the restriction.
• China’s Commerce Ministry called the decision a “wrong practice” and said Beijing would act to protect Chinese firms.

Two Shenzhen Companies, One American Shelf

Here is the part that gets lost in a straight camera comparison. Insta360, formally known as Arashi Vision, is headquartered in Shenzhen, the same Chinese city where DJI is based. It is not a smaller, unrelated hobbyist brand stepping into a gap. It is a direct, well capitalized regional rival.

Insta360 went public on Shanghai’s STAR Market in June 2025, and an SEC filing disclosing Xunlei’s stake in Arashi Vision confirmed Chinese regulators had cleared the offering that same year. Shares jumped roughly 285% on debut, pushing the company’s market value past $9.6 billion. In its own IPO materials, Insta360 named DJI, alongside Nasdaq listed GoPro, as a direct competitor.

The Luna Ultra itself is a Leica co engineered flagship, built around Leica Summicron lenses paired with a 1 inch 8K sensor and a detachable touchscreen Insta360 calls an industry first. None of that engineering is happening anywhere outside China. A US rule aimed at reducing dependence on Chinese made drone technology has, in this one product category, left American buyers choosing between two cameras built roughly in the same place.

The Real Price Gap, Channel by Channel

Strip away the regulatory backdrop and the value math still favors Insta360, just not by the wide margin the sticker prices suggest once every channel is counted.

At $659 against $769.99, the Luna Ultra costs only about $110 more while adding a second lens, real zoom and a detachable remote, which is why the reviewer called it the clearly better value for US buyers specifically. Insta360 also sells a $969.99 Creator Bundle adding a wireless mic, a wide angle lens and a battery handle for buyers who want a full kit out of the box.

Outside the United States, where the Pocket 4 sells at its true $499 MSRP through authorized retailers, the calculus flips. DJI has also already built its own answer to the Luna Ultra’s second lens, a dual camera Pocket 4P priced around $525 in China. As of this writing it has no confirmed date to reach the US at all.

Insta360’s Growth Could Put It in the Same Crosshairs

Insta360 is not a scrappy underdog anymore. It is a public company with a market value in the billions, roughly 70% of its revenue coming from outside China, and a growing footprint of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connected cameras sold to American consumers.

The current Covered List language reaches Insta360’s product category not at all, because the company does not build uncrewed aircraft and Section 1709 names only DJI and Autel by their corporate names. But the underlying policy goal, onshoring sensitive hardware production and cutting reliance on Chinese made communications equipment, does not distinguish between a drone maker and a camera maker in any way that would survive close scrutiny if Insta360’s US sales kept climbing. The rule that reshaped this camera category was built around one company’s name in a law. It would not take much rewriting to add a second.

For now, the choice is simpler than the policy behind it. DJI still makes the more field tested, more durable pocket camera. Insta360 makes the more capable one, and in the United States, it is also the one you can actually buy.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is It Illegal to Buy a DJI Osmo Pocket 4 in the US?

No. There is no criminal penalty for owning or buying a DJI camera in the United States. The FCC’s Covered List blocks new equipment authorizations, which is why official retailers cannot sell new units at DJI’s advertised MSRP, pushing buyers toward marked up resellers or gray market importers instead.

Does the FCC Restriction Apply to Insta360 Products?

No. The December 2025 Covered List expansion targets foreign made uncrewed aircraft systems broadly and names DJI and Autel Robotics specifically for their communications and video equipment. Insta360 does not manufacture drones and is not named in the underlying law, so its cameras are unaffected.

Can I Keep Using a DJI Camera I Already Own?

Yes. The Covered List only blocks new FCC equipment authorizations going forward. It does not revoke approvals already granted, and DJI gear with pre December 2025 authorization is guaranteed firmware and security updates through January 1, 2029.

What Is the DJI Osmo Pocket 4P?

It is a dual lens, telephoto equipped version of the Pocket 4 that DJI began selling in China for roughly $525, built specifically to compete with cameras like the Luna Ultra. It has no confirmed release date for the US market.

Is the Insta360 Luna Ultra Also Made in China?

Yes. Insta360, legally named Arashi Vision, is headquartered in Shenzhen, the same city where DJI is based, and went public on Shanghai’s STAR Market in June 2025 at a valuation above $9.6 billion.