DJI S1000 - 5D3 or GH4?

[Dave Partington]

We're putting together specs ready to order an S1000.

We have (or will have) access to both Canon 5D3 and Panasonic GH4 cameras, but the gimbals seem to be camera specific, so we need to order the right one since they are pretty expensive and I don't want to order both.

Other than 4K being an option on the GH4, anyone have experience with either or both these bodies that would lead you to recommend one over the other with the S1000?

[Noa Put]

Don't know anything about the s1000 but 3 things that come to mind that might be an advantage is weight, I think with a comparable lens the gh4 could be up to half the weight of a 5dIII, not sure if that matters? Second one is price as the gh4 is also half the price of a 5dIII if you include similar lenses. 3rd advantage is detail, you need to shoot in raw with a hack on the 5dIII to come close to the 4K detail.
If you need lowlight performance then it's a obvious choice and not sure what advantage full frame has when flying compared to m4/3.

[Chuck Spaulding]

I have a 5D3, I'm waiting for my GH4 to arrive Tuesday. I've seen some very good aerial from both but the 5D3 is certainly heavier which greatly complicates doing aerial.

I'll let you know after I get my GH4, but I think its going to be the hot setup for a lot of mid level productions.

I suggest that you reconsider your choice of MR, there's no way O would trust any DJI with that expensive a camera. There are certainly better quality MR's available to lift this size of payload.

[Dave Partington]

Originally Posted by Chuck Spaulding

I have a 5D3, I'm waiting for my GH4 to arrive Tuesday. I've seen some very good aerial from both but the 5D3 is certainly heavier which greatly complicates doing aerial.

I'll let you know after I get my GH4, but I think its going to be the hot setup for a lot of mid level productions.

I suggest that you reconsider your choice of MR, there's no way O would trust any DJI with that expensive a camera. There are certainly better quality MR's available to lift this size of payload.

Thanks for the feedback. I look forward to your GH4 feedback.

Why don't you trust DJI ? Is it based on flyaway reports on Phantoms or something else?

What other MRs do you suggest for 5D3 / GH4?

[Chuck Spaulding]

Originally Posted by Dave Partington

Thanks for the feedback. I look forward to your GH4 feedback.

Why don't you trust DJI ? Is it based on flyaway reports on Phantoms or something else?

What other MRs do you suggest for 5D3 / GH4?

There are so many variables that go into the decision of which is the right setup for you. There are several reasons that I don't trust DJI controllers to lift expensive equipment. I've had two NAZA's and a WookongM (WKM), I've made a considerable investment in DJI so I didn't come to my conclusions lightly or because of a single incident. I've had two fly-aways, one resulting in 62 stitches to my face but even after that I tried a WKM. All of them flew well, but on a pretty hight percentage of the flights the controller would always do something contrary to my control inputs, usually not anything severe but enough so that it was noticeable. It might start slowly yawing uncontrollably, if I was flying straight and level for an extended period of time when I centered the sticks it wouldn't stop for a second, depending how fast and close you are to something that second feels like an eternity. I then tried the larger and more expensive HFPro, it was great in the sense that it was very dependable, smooth to fly and it NEVER did anything unexpected, easy to setup with great support. It lacked a lot of the functionality that the DJI controllers had but it was rock solid. But I guess all good things come to an end and Hoverfly just kind of disappeared. No one can accuse DJI of NOT making COOL products but I think the quality on much of it is questionable and your always having to upgrade the firmware which oftens creates more problems then it solves. So about a year ago I tried the SuperX, as stable and dependable with more features as the HFPro, not as many features as the DJI A2 but FAR more responsive and trustworthy. It just does what you tell it very well

All of that is my opinion regarding using DJI to fly expensive stuff, I wish the Phantom was available when I started, I think its a great trainer and is almost as indestructible as a GoPro so if all your going to fly is a GoPro its hard to beat.

No matter how you add it up, if your going to fly a DSLR your going to spend at least $7500, more likely around $9500 by the time you get a 3-axis gimbal and all the auxiliary stuff you need to do this professionally so there's no way I would trust a controller that doesn't do exactly what I want when I want it. The trade off in a sense is how much do you either know or are willing to learn about building, or at least integrating components together to build something that works well for you?

I didn't notice when I started this reply but where are you located? Never mind answered my own question. When were you planning on getting one of these?

[Tom Bostick]

5d if you need higher quality photos/low light
gh4 if you need sharper video and 4k recording/lighter payload

its important to know that for the 5d only the 24mm lens is supported.
for the gh4 only the 12mm lens is supported.

I have seen people using different lenses, but you can easily mess up your gimbal if you use it with a non supported lens.

I have not seen any issues with the s1000.

Probably because most of the people that can afford them, are not novice users, who are more commonly flying the phantoms, and smaller quads.

Chuck, If I may ask, what aircraft were you flying that cut you up?
also what platform are you flying with the super x controller?

[Peter D. Parker]

Dave, just a quick basic question but have you had any experience with flying multis?

[Chuck Spaulding]

Originally Posted by Tom Bostick

Chuck, If I may ask, what aircraft were you flying that cut you up?
also what platform are you flying with the super x controller?

I had a Hex with a NAZA Vs2 with GPS, I always take off in manual then once stabilized in about a five foot hover I switch to either Attitude or GPS mode. On that particular occasion immediately when I switched it went to full throttle and turned hard left. I barely saw it coming and I managed to turn away at the last minute or I might have lost an eye.

I had a 330X with a NAZA Vs1 no GPS that I really liked, it was a fun little quad one day it flew away all on its own and I never found it.

DJI 330 w/NAZA on Vimeo

I'm currently flying the SuperX on a medium size quad, Avrotto 2814, 12" props, 4S 6000mah, 2-axis Stella Gimbal with GoPro. AUW about 7.5 lbs.

I'm just starting to build a larger quad, a Hex and an X8, all will probably be SuperX.

[Dave Partington]

Originally Posted by Peter D. Parker

Dave, just a quick basic question but have you had any experience with flying multis?

Simple answer = Yes.

Going to BNUC-S next month.

[Peter D. Parker]

I was dreading that you had no experience and was going to spend a shed load of money and crash on take off!!!!

Good luck on your BNUC.

[Wayne Mann]

Since Chuck brought up the X Aircraft Super X controller I will throw in my two cents. My main Octo has a Wookong M in it and my new backup machine has the Super X for a flight controller. I went with the Super X as there were too many issues with the new DJI A2 at the time. I had heard nothing but good reviews on the Super X controller. I am sure that the Super X does perform well in quads and maybe in hexes, but it flies like crap in the wind with my Octo. As a matter of fact it can be down right scary in 15 to 25 mph winds. From the reading that I have done a lot of people are having the same issues the Super X in Octos.


Wayne Mann
HeliCam Aerial Media Services, Aerial Video, Aerial Photography

[Dave Partington]

Thanks Wayne. I'm also reading lots of scary A2 stories, though none seem to be with the very latest firmware on S1000 frames, so not sure if it's that people haven't upgraded or what.

I'm leaning towards a Wookong controller on an S1000, though I'm still looking around at other frames, like the SkyJib and Gryphon.

I'm not interested in a Quad, it needs to be bigger with rotor redundancy, like an octo or bigger otherwise it's just not safe to go flying with decent kit aboard.

[Jem Moore]

We've been flying the S800 with the NEX7, but have just moved to the S1000 with GH4. GH4 is much lighter, more manoeuvrable and of course with 4K on board, if you don't get the shot exactly right you have a second chance in post. and then there's the slomo option, 96fps, which is also awesome for aerial shots. All in all, I'd have to recommend the GH4 for aerial over the 5d MkIII, and we have both so it's an informed opinion. Good luck!

[John Cash]

GH4. Much Lighter, and much better video image. As stated if you were doing photos then it would be more of a choice but the 5D is so heavy and it doesnt have the video quality

Im waitng on my S-1000 too. GH3 Zenmuse. I have a partner with a GH4 so we will be able to fly that with some slight mods to the video out on the GH3 gimbal.

As far as flight controllers go, other brands are out there but when you look at what gimbal choices thier are DJI still is clearly in the lead. Its the only flight controller/gimbal controller that talk to each other and thats what makes the zenmuse so much better .

I have a tarot 960 with an RCtimer legacy gimbal. Its ok, but in wind the image quality suffers from bumps and dips as the craft bobs up and down slightly. The legacy is using the 8 bit alexmos controller and would be better with the 32 bit but it wont compare to the zenmuse

Jem-where did your demo reel go? I wanted to listen to your music track. Im looking for 1 minute of royalty free music