DJI Inspire 1 - 4K Quadcopter

[Harm Millaard]

I found some beta review that may be of interest: DJI Inspire 1 - Mark and Romeo's Aerial Adventures ...

[Dave Partington]

The footage from their review was pretty disappointing. While the images aren't too bad, there's way too much rolling shutter / jello effects all over the place for me to even think about using that footage for a professional shoot.

Really disappointed.

I'm now back to looking at the Align M690 (waiting for some decent reviews) or the S900.

[Chuck Spaulding]

DJI has always had the cool factor going for it but IMO this is much less of a game changer than the Phantom was.

I think the integration of Lightbridge into the Tx is a good idea but the fact that you have to use that camera, and even if it was a decent camera it doesn't appear that you can use it for anything else the way you could with a GoPro, is like putting 13" bias ply tires on a Lamborghini.

Why spend so much money, R&D and marketing on a product thats considerably more expensive that provides arguably not that much more functionality.

The concept is great and I'm sure they'll sell a lot of them but do we really need another way to fly a GoPro? So DJI fancy's themselves a camera manufacturer...

[Mike Watson]

I agree.

This would have had twice the game-changer factor if they'd made this new bird with all those features and no camera. The statement would be "we're going to own the R/C aerial market, and let the camera manufacturers do what they're best at". Instead, the statement is "we're going to do a slightly-above average job at everything, and you're going to need a whole new bird every time there is an advance in camera technology".

[Robert Benda]

Mike, isn't this the quadcopter that they specifically say the camera is swappable, so that its upgradable?

I think the criticisms are spot on, though that is one thing they did right.

[Mike Watson]

Swappable with something else made by DJI, yes, I believe so. I am not led to believe it is swappable with anything third party.

I think we are limited by the fact that DJI is making the camera. It will never be anything better than the best camera a helicopter company could design. When I go to KFC, I order fried chicken. They have a hamburger on the menu, but if you wanted a burger, why not go to Burger King?

[Mark Dobson]

In terms of the whole package the camera definitely seems to be the week point at the moment. But I also get the impression that few of the people who have posted raw footage online have much experience in getting the best out these small cameras mounted on aerial gimbals.

The camera comes with an ND Filter but whether any of the footage has been acquired using this filter would be guessing. Philip Bloom has used the Inspire 1 on a recent shoot and given it an overall thumbs up. He mentions that DJI are planning to release a 'protune' type flat profile setting via a firmware update but regrets that the low data rate that this camera ( like the gopro 4 ) ships with. Not sure if this can be changed?

To be fair none of these tiny cameras are going to get anywhere near something like a GH4 and we will have to wait till the beginning of December to get a bigger range of sample videos to assess.

Big Movember Prize added! DJI Inspire One AND Ronin together! Plus my initial thoughts after a week of flying the Inspire One. | Philip Bloom

[Sabyasachi Patra]

Originally Posted by Mike Watson

I think we are limited by the fact that DJI is making the camera. It will never be anything better than the best camera a helicopter company could design. When I go to KFC, I order fried chicken. They have a hamburger on the menu, but if you wanted a burger, why not go to Burger King?

It is said that the sensor in the Go Pro and the DJI Inspire 1 is the same one and it is made by Sony. From the footage I don't think it is much different. However, we will know only when someone does a side by side with a Go Pro 4.

Any one here in the preorder list?

[Chuck Spaulding]

That's what I like about DJI, they're Inspire to shoot with a GoPro.

[Greg Boston]

I was recently looking into the DJI Inspire after learning that they showed a hand held gimbal at CES 2015 for use with the Inspire camera. Like others though, I'm keen to find out if DJI is going to offer a mount for other cameras on the existing gimbal.

Things I do like are that the feature set of this bird seem to be an attempt at appeasing the FAA's requirements for commercial operation (ie provision for second controller dedicated to camera operation). I also like the underbelly sonic sensor and camera for indoor stable positioning in the absence of GPS signals. The rectilinear lens for eliminating fish eye is what I wish GoPro would offer.

Mini rant alert:

It just seems a bit ironic to me that all those years back in the early 1990's when I was flying model airplanes, no one seemed to care. And those airplanes didn't have the luxury of HD FPV, GPS position hold and return to origin, auto land (the Inspire can do this because of the belly sensors). Now we have all this advanced on board tech that makes RC flight so much more precise, and everybody wants to ban or severely limit their usage.

-gb-

[Mark Dobson]

I'm happy report that the Inspire 1 is potentially a great product.

I say potentially because, as many of you will be aware, there have been, and still are some fairly dramatic teething problems. For me this is all par for the course with a quadcopter that is so radically different from anything else DJI have manufactured.

The most dramatic fault reported is of props coming loose in flight. To fix this DJI have now designed and manufactured a simple and well designed prop lock which should get people back up flying next week if reports are accurate.

I've flown my Inspire about 3 times now in my local park and it is a joy to fly. Very robust controls and a comprehensive pilot app that makes changing any settings a lot easier. And compared to aerial filming with a go-pro it is now possible to just start and stop the recording.

But it is really quite a big beast. Much larger and heavier in real life than in the photos I saw. And the auto take off and land option is really luxurious and fun to use as it automatically raises or lowers the legs depending on whether you are going up or coming down.

It accelerates and stops very quickly and overall feels well set up. I anticipate a fair amount of time flying before I get up to speed with all that it offers.

I will post a link to some trial clips when I've processed them.

[Greg Boston]

Thanks for that info, Mark. I hadn't heard about the prop issue. Will look forward to your additional reports on reliability.

Still wondering about alternate camera options in the future. I've looked into other quad rotors, but nothing that ties it all together as well as the Inspire.

-gb-

[Andy Wilkinson]

Some interesting footage with the DJI Inspire 1 in this first test.

Inspire 1: Sausalito and Las Galinas estuary on Vimeo

[Noa Put]

Nice, very stable shots, did you use a gopro?

[Andy Wilkinson]

Noa, not my film!!!!

But, yes, shots are pretty stable, except when a pan is started/ended. Nice not to see the fish-eye of typical GoPro footage too. It's (deliberately) a "warts and all" first test so you can see how the DJI Inspire 1 performs. Notes on the Vimeo page (and on PVC website) are well worth reading. Sure, there are artifacts in the footage and some bits that would obviously be edited out in any final "real film" - but I have to say I'm pretty damn impressed.