If your trip is cities, food and family, get the DJI Osmo Pocket 4. If it involves water, snow or a helmet, get the GoPro HERO13 Black. If you want to film everything and decide the shot later, theme parks, boats, a road trip, get the Insta360 X5. Most people who travel to see places, not to do sports, will be happiest with the Pocket 4.
They solve different problems
It's tempting to compare these three on resolution, but that's the least important difference. The Pocket 4 is a small camera on a motorised gimbal: it physically holds the lens steady, which is why walking shots through a market in Marrakech or down a street in Tokyo look smooth rather than bouncy. The GoPro is a tough little box that's waterproof on its own and bolts onto anything. The X5 has a lens on each side and films in every direction at once, so you point it at nothing in particular and frame the video afterwards on your phone.
Beaches, snorkelling and rain
This is where the Pocket 4 drops out. It has no waterproofing, so it's a camera for dry land. The GoPro HERO13 Black is waterproof to 10 m without a case, enough for snorkelling off Cancún or the reef in Barbados, and it shrugs off rain, sand and being dropped on a dock. The Insta360 X5 goes deeper on paper, to 15 m, and its lenses can be swapped if you scratch one on rocks, which is the most common way 360 cameras die.
City trips and family video
For walking-around video, the Pocket 4 wins clearly. The gimbal smooths footsteps in a way the others do with software, and its 1-inch sensor is noticeably better when the light drops: a night market in Taipei, a dim restaurant, a mosque interior. It's also the least conspicuous: it looks like a fat pen, so people act naturally in front of it. It has 107 GB of storage built in, and a microSD slot on top, so a long trip won't fill it.
Battery on a travel day
DJI quotes about four hours for the Pocket 4. GoPro quotes up to two and a half hours of recording from its Enduro battery, and the X5 ranges from about 90 minutes at full 8K to just over three hours in its endurance mode. The GoPro and X5 batteries pop out, so carrying a spare or two is easy. Spare batteries go in your carry-on, never in checked bags; camera batteries are far under the 100 Wh limit, so they need no airline approval.
Size and weight
All three weigh about the same: 154 g for the GoPro with its battery, about 190 g for the Pocket 4 and 200 g for the X5. Size is the difference. The GoPro and Pocket 4 fit a jacket pocket; the X5 really wants its selfie stick, which, handily, disappears from 360 footage. If your bag is already at the limit on a Basic fare, none of them will be the problem.
So which one?
Pocket 4 for city breaks, visiting family, food and anyone who wants their phone video to look better. GoPro HERO13 Black for beaches, snorkelling, skiing, hiking and rough trips. Insta360 X5 for theme parks, boat days and road trips, and for people who'd rather edit later than miss the moment. If the Pocket 4 is more than you want to spend, the older DJI Osmo Pocket 3 has the same idea and the same 1-inch sensor, with a microSD card instead of built-in storage. And if you mostly photograph meals and views, honestly, keep your money: your phone is already very good at that.
Our full travel camera guide, with batteries and memory cards →