Hey all

Just looking for some opinions

Do you think the x7 system is worth investing in this late in the inspire 2's life cycle

I have several people asking for it for jobs, but with DJI's track record of changing camera mounts every generation, I've a fear that it will become obsolete as soon as the new drone will be announced.

And that's the other thing. I'm not sure the Inspire 2 drone is actually good enough to justify that x7 camera. I find the drone's flight too instable for any serious, slow, close up cinematic shots. It dances in the air too much. So the hope is the inspire 3, whenever that is announced, will be an improvement in these areas in particular. but then the fear is that the x7 will not be supported on that drone.

so really its a catch 22 unless someone can tell me that I'm wrong and that the x7 is just worth it full stop

Cheers

If your client specially needs 6K over 5.2K then there are some great deals out there on the X7. If the transition between the Inspire 1 and 2 is anything to go by I strongly doubt that the X7 will be compatible as and when (if) an Inspire 3 is released. I'd say go for it on the understanding your clients have a demand for it. Crunch your numbers and if the jobs pay for the camera then it's surely worth it.

I see these questions all the time with cell phones, cars, etc.
if you are a professional and this is your bread and butter, then you should know the answer already.

Since you don't,

If you have clients right now asking you to shoot in 6K, then you get the product you need to get the job done. I can go into more depth with my response but its really simple.

It's not the 6k I'm after, it's the dynamic range, highlight rolloff improvements etc.

I've lost one or two jobs specifically because of the camera not being the x7. But by the same measure I'm trying to figure out if not having those jobs and saving 7k while waiting for a new system is a better use of the money than jumping in at this stage and being forgotten about in 6 months.

So yeah, its down to numbers. Will it pay for itself? Sure.
But is it money better spent waiting on the new unit whenever it arrives? That's the question. Because this will be an investment as opposed to a purchase to throw down on the balance sheets and forget about. I'm not at that level yet.

If there was some way of knowing that it would fit the next gen inspire then I'd jump on board right away. I guess this was a silly question to ask in the first place as it's down to my personal situation, but I'm interested to hear other peoples thoughts on it.

Mike9129 Posted at 7-16 10:54
It's not the 6k I'm after, it's the dynamic range, highlight rolloff improvements etc.

I've lost one or two jobs specifically because of the camera not being the x7. But by the same measure I'm trying to figure out if not having those jobs and saving 7k while waiting for a new system is a better use of the money than jumping in at this stage and being forgotten about in 6 months.

The X7 system will let you going in film industry for years, competing successfully with top notch ground based filmmaking cameras worth 50K and more. That's for sure. So, it's more about Inspire 2 rather than camera itself life expectancy. That said, infamous Inspire's mid-air wobble is a matter of the luck of a draw. Mine is rock solid, but it took me a while to hand-pick the proper one.

The lifecycle question is definitely a question that has to be examined.

"And that's the other thing. I'm not sure the Inspire 2 drone is actually good enough to justify that x7 camera. I find the drone's flight too instable for any serious, slow, close up cinematic shots. It dances in the air too much."

I agree,  I get the feeling that the I2 is already working hard to stabilise its own inherant instability, so why put a sophisticated camera on it!  The gimbal clamp ring on mine (alloy) was worn away by the stainless bayonet on the camera mount, which was poorly de-burred.  The switch verifying the that the bayonet is locked stopped working causing the vibration absorbing board to need changing, it has had the motors (all 4) replaced by DJI under warranty - and I bought it new only 18 months ago.

I would really like to have a camera in the air with similar characteristics to our RED (super 35) for obvious reasons, but  not on the Inspire 2!!  Given that the I2 seems to be worse than the I1 in many respects, is there any guarentee that the I3 will be any better?  I have feeling that DJI are too busy adding refinements before they get the basic system to be rugged, reliable and stable.  

With DJI's non-existant  policy on long term system compatibility you could have  4  expensive paper weights on your desk before too long!  They could decide to drop the whole system for all we know.