I'm still investigating the option to buy the very expensive SSD and licenses to be able to shoot RAW 5.2K.  My struggle is to get convincing proof that at the end the finished product will be so much better.  Let us assume we take two I2 copters with X5S cameras.  One has the SSD & licenses and the other just the SD.  We shoot the same scene - same conditions.

The SSD/licenses video has to go through a much more labour intensive process - the workflow takes much longer.  After everything is done the client wants this product to be available on a 4K screen (in most cases a 4K TV) - so in order to play the rendered product usually ends up in MP4 format (but surely not lossless).

The begging question is (for me) what is the value added to the end product that the client gets by using the SSD / license route rather than the much cheaper / faster SD route?

I'll appreciate some sober / enlightening  thoughts about this please.

Anyone that already uses SSD / Licenses....?

It all depends on how you use your Inspire 2 output.

If you take the MOV or Mpeg 4 output and do very little editing and upload it to YouTube or the web or sell it to the real estate customers,  you should not bother getting the ProRes and DNG licenses.

On the other hand, if you are shooting for the movie industry or broadcast TV, you definitely want these licenses.  This type of work needs the following features that you get from ProRes and DNG.

1. The maximum dynamic range allowing professional post processing

2. The ability to do extreme color grading

3. Neither of these formats has run length encoding and minimizes compression artifacts.  When you edit or do any effects you uncompress and then recompress the data.  This adds artifacts.

4. The movie industry or broadcast TV will require you to deliver ProRes.  They frown on files that start as Mpeg 4 and then are converted back to ProRes.

If you have not done professional post processing for movies or TV, you won't need theses licenses.
Here is an excellent tutorial on preparing DNG files for editing:   ... Now you know what you are in for.

I have the licenses and have shot for both movies and TV commercials.

Ray

rmaxwell.dccnet Posted at 2017-2-2 08:53
It all depends on how you use your Inspire 2 output.

If you take the MOV or Mpeg 4 output and do very little editing and upload it to YouTube or the web or sell it to the real estate customers,  you should not bother getting the ProRes and DNG licenses.

Thanks Ray!

In a nutshell, if you don't want raw - you should have bought a phantom. Raw on the inspire is rather impressive - one i saw my first file I was hooked.

thomasakira Posted at 2017-2-2 11:01
In a nutshell, if you don't want raw - you should have bought a phantom. Raw on the inspire is rather impressive - one i saw my first file I was hooked.

I have two Phantoms...  Now I want RAW!

There are however Inspire 2 owners with X4S cameras - and they are very happy to be I2 owners without RAW.  But I guess I know what you are saying...  Problem is I will also have to experience RAW before I'll be totally hooked as you rightly say.  

I am one of the I2 X5s owners that does NOT have raw licenses and SSDs.  I'm considering starting with pro-res.  I'm very used to raw processing for well over a decade in photography.  My concerns however is time and I'm limited in my experience with editing video.  Yes, it is a completely different animal (or planet?) than photos.  It's tough to spend well over 1k for the keys hardware if I wont have time.  I do want the maximum out of my videos.  I'll see how it goes.  Seeing posts by Ray doesn't help me (sarcasm), now I want to buy it!  

Unless you're shooting for Hollywood you don't need RAW. If you needed it you'd really know you needed it if that makes sense

John.

If I record Prores I still should be able to download and work with the prores file on a PC?

thomasakira Posted at 2017-2-2 11:01
In a nutshell, if you don't want raw - you should have bought a phantom. Raw on the inspire is rather impressive - one i saw my first file I was hooked.

A phantom doesn't do 60mph, for those of us that shoot things that go fast that's more important than RAW.

John

steelej80.googl Posted at 2017-5-2 12:31
A phantom doesn't do 60mph, for those of us that shoot things that go fast that's more important than RAW.

John

Seems that after the last update 60 mph is also no more....