Hello everyone,
I am in the process of purchasing an Inspire 2 with the X5S camera. I see that there are two activiation keys I can purchase (CinemaDNG and Apple ProRes) and was wondering if the X5S camera is capable of 4k 60fps PAIRED with Apple ProRes. If AppleProRes cannot shoot 4k 60fps, is it worth purchasing CinemaDNG to shoot 4k 60fps rather than regular H.264/H.265 using a micro SSD? Also, the computer software I use is Windows 10. Is Apple ProRes/CinemaDNG compatible? Or would I have to convert my footage?

Apologies in advance for my lack of expertise in this area. Just want to confirm all of this before I make a purchase like this.

Thanks.

Hi.

Unfortunately you can't record ProRes in 50/60P, only 25/30P. I've got no idea why this is the case but it is and I believe it's the same for the X5S/X7.

You can record 50/60P in CDNG and the quality is really good. The file sizes are massive and it takes ages to convert into a usable codec but in my opinion it's worth it. The quality is as good as your going to get for a aerial camera and easily stands up to my Sony FS5 A7S2..

I've actually stopped recording in ProRes because I'm on an old firmware that has the DLOG ISO locked at 500 which I find too noisy, much more so than CDNG which I shoot in standard with no issues apart from rendering. I think the DLOG has been improved with later firmware's but I'm trying to stick with the one I've got.

Maybe someone could give some feedback on how usable DLOG is currently?

One thing to bare in mind is that when shooting 50P the camera crops into the sensor quite a bit. I'm not sure of the exact ratio but it's very close to a double crop so you'll need a super wide lens. There are a couple you can use for the X5S - 8mm/9mm - but your stuck when shooting with the X7 as the widest DJI lens is 16mm.

Cheers,

Rowan

Appreciate it Rowan! Great information.

Hello there. I appreciate your time bringing this query to us. The Zenmuse X5R records CinemaDNG video, which then needs processing in DJI CINELIGHT to create Apple ProRes video. Through the new CineCore 2.0 Image Processing System on the Inspire 2, the Zenmuse X5S can directly export Apple ProRes video when using an appropriate DJI Inspire 2 License Key and when equipped with the DJI CINESSD. You may refer to our website: https://www.dji.com/zenmuse-x5s/info#specs