I'm looking into buying a new Inspire 1. I like the camera and how it doesn't have the fisheye distortion from the GoPro cameras. I currently fly a 3D Robotics Iris+ but the fisheye takes a lot of time in post to correct, plus the remote video feed loses signal a lot.

Which is why I'm looking at the Inspire 1.

- The thing is that I need to be able to fly it by myself while also being able to frame my shots. Is this possible with the Inspire and how difficult is it?

- Is there an app that I can use that pilots the Inspire 1, allowing me to focus on framing my shots while keeping an eye open to make sure it's not flying into anything?

- If there is an app, how well does it work and can you program it to fly sideways (slider-style shots) and go around corners in a smooth fashion? I remember that the previous Phantoms would simply stop at a waypoint and rotate around, making for a really mechanical-looking video shot.

its not difficult at all to fly and shoot at the same time if you have some skills, but with only one remote you'll not be able to turn your camera left and right.

You'll have no problem shooting on your own.  Everything I've ever shot has been just me.

http://forum.dji.com/forum.php?m ... =9738&fromuid=21263

To answer your question, no, there are no auto-pilot functions, though some may appear in the future, probably from a third party developer.    I've never seen that as a problem.  Like holding a camera, I want full control of all movement and with some practice you'll be able to pilot and shoot at the same time.

timswimm Posted at 2015-7-28 12:25
its not difficult at all to fly and shoot at the same time if you have some skills, but with only on ...

This is incorrect.   You can set the the C1 button to toggle between tilt and pan and use the dial to control the camera in any direction you need.

jimhare Posted at 2015-7-28 14:16
This is incorrect.   You can set the the C1 button to toggle between tilt and pan and use the dial ...

oh i see, i'll try it out,  thanks for your correction

timswimm Posted at 2015-7-28 14:19
oh i see, i'll try it out,  thanks for your correction

It's an awesome feature, perfect for solo flying!

jimhare Posted at 2015-7-28 14:24
It's an awesome feature, perfect for solo flying!

Agree! I use it all the time. C1 to switch modes and C2 to reset the camera YAW if needed.

Works well - in fact it's the only way to operate it now as dual op mode is broken!

Thanks for the feedback! I like the Inspire, but honestly one of my main worries is the really bad reputation that DJI has made for itself. The people who have drones that need repair or replacement seem to continually be in a state of hell waiting for parts to come in, repairs to be made, warranties to be honored, etc. Is this a big worry?

It's a different situation for us in Australia.

EEHobbies has setup an authorised repair facility in Oakleigh, so we don't have the issue of having to deal with the procedural issues of DJI's US facility.
Colin and his team are great and very customer focussed. They have factory trained techs and full access to spares/tools.

I would have no issues purchasing an I1 in australia - assuming that you don't need waypoints or Nav functions and that the camera will suit your needs.

Ah, sorry, I'm actually still talking about the US. I'm only visiting Aus at the moment, but the forum picked up my location. I'm still only talking about the issues in the US though.

Ahh, my mistake!

Anyway, if you do purchase a I1, hopefully you don't have to deal with the warranty/repair/support system.

Another feature that is rarely talked about in here is putting the bird in IOC (Intelligent Orientation Control).  I never even thought about using this as I though it was mainly for those who got turned around flying the bird back to them as the sticks would be backwards. However, if you position the bird where the nose of the bird is pointing in the direction such that it will do a fly-by past a object of interest,  you can just push the right stick forward and then when you start to approach the object, use the left stick to yaw the bird left or right. The beauty is, the bird continues to fly in a strait line. This allows you to point the camera using the yaw of the bird, which quite frankly, is a lot smoother than using the yaw (pan) of the gimbal. Another advantage, is now you can use the pitch (tilt) of the gimbal combined with the yaw of the craft to control two axis at the same time as you fly by an object.

I read this on a post yesterday and went out and tried it this morning. It works beautifully.

Houston

houston Posted at 2015-7-31 03:28
Another feature that is rarely talked about in here is putting the bird in IOC (Intelligent Orientat ...

I can't wait to try that myself!

I wish I had something of interest to photography here in the city of steel, galls, and concrete but nothing that is worth posting. Cant wait to see what you come up with JIm.

houston Posted at 2015-7-31 03:28
Another feature that is rarely talked about in here is putting the bird in IOC (Intelligent Orientat ...

You explained that perfectly !

houston Posted at 2015-8-1 10:02
I wish I had something of interest to photography here in the city of steel, galls, and concrete but ...

This is a problem I have also ...
But for me I think it´s all about me not longer being able to see the beauty of the things I have been looking at for 40 years ...

Most of us has probably never seen how it looks where you live ... and would find it a lot more interesting than you do ...

Also ... this is the challenge for any camera operator ... to find the angles that makes boring things look interesting ...

I always reset the IOC as part of my pre-flight checklist.  It does provide that reassurance to re-establish orientation if you need it.  I just reset the IOC whilst the nose is pointing in the direction I want to head out from talk-off, that way I always know where it will come back to if I pull back on the right stick.  

I will also try out the camera control whilst in IOC as mentioned by Houston next time I am out.

The IOC camera control trick worked perfect in the previous firmware but now that I have updated, the craft doe not travel a strait line any more.  I used to be able to take off, put it in IOC, RESET orientation, press the stick forward and while moving forward in a strait line, apply some yaw and the craft would continue in this strait line. Then I could pull back on the stick and the craft would come back perfectly on this same line. With the new firmware, it is all F*&^%k up. It goes out on the direction you set the heading (reset) most of the time, but comes back sever degrees from the original line. See the attached illustration.

Here is the path pushing the stick forwards and backwards in GPS mode



Here is the path pushing the stick forwards and backwards in IOC mode. Sucks. Was so happy to have found this feature useful and now in one update it deos not work.



I have tried this several times and it racts a littel different each time. not near as consistant as it was in the previous firmware.

jimhare Posted at 2015-7-31 18:17
I can't wait to try that myself!

Jim,  was wanting to know if you ever had a chance to try out this IOC trick and how it worked out for you. IF you look at my post in here towards the bottom, you will note that it does not seem to work as well as it did for me in the previous firmware version.

houston Posted at 2015-8-15 10:18
Jim,  was wanting to know if you ever had a chance to try out this IOC trick and how it worked out ...

Hey Houston,

Yeah, got it working on both the Inspire and P3.   Kind of had the same results as you, where it was basically working but didn't seem to be 100% consistent going back and forth.  

Was really cool having it spin like a frisbee, rotating on its axis while moving in a line!

So in previous firmware the line was always consistent?  

Yes, in the previous firmware, it was solid as a rock. I was very impressed with it. I felt confident in it enough to fly close to trees doing this, now, I wouldn't even dream of it.  Very disappointing. One step forward, 2 steps backwards. Its not like this model has millions of combinations to test, so it amazes me that they do not check these things out before releasing.  Now I will admit that I have not recalibrated my IMU since the firmware update and I have done that tonight after being reminded about that in a previous post. So I will test tomorrow and report back, but I am not expecting too much but would be quite happy if that ends up being the case. Unless of course, you have done so and are still having the same problem as I am .

Houston

Recalibrating the IMU made no difference. It renders this functionality useless. I have some jobs lined up and I am petrified to make any changes fearing that it may ground the Inspire. Arghhhh. So frustrating. Will the day ever come that we can be more confident in DJI's firmware upgrades?

houston Posted at 2015-8-16 01:52
Recalibrating the IMU made no difference. It renders this functionality useless. I have some jobs li ...

New there was another something else I was going to check last time I was out when checking drift and gps hover holding, just couldn't remember what it was.

Oh well it will be another flight and yet another thing I must remember to check functionality of instead of just flying and enjoying.