Bought Phantom 3 but did not meet up to my expectations, the camera work is very very limited so I want to get Inspire 1 instead but I'm seeing some very worrying things, Fly aways? Crashes? RC turning off mid flight. Is the 3000$ Drone more unstable than the one for 1000$?

What are you expecting will be better on the Inspire than the Phantom 3? If I understand your question correctly, you are suggesting the Inspire camera is better than the phantom 3. The camera is essentially the same as on the Phantom 3 professional. The main advantages of the Inspire are the retractable landing gear (propellers won't appear in your video), it supports two remotes so one person can fly and the second person can control the camera (both pan and tilt on Inspire, tilt-only on Phantom), and the Inspire is bigger and heavier so it is more stable in difficult wind conditions.

As for reliability, the Inspire has had some high-profile problems in the past, but most have been addressed with firmware and self locking propellers. The Phantom 3 is brand new and going through semi-monthly firmware updates, so I think the Inspire may actually be more stable at the moment. I recommend getting the aircraft that best fits your needs and ignore the forum noise about problems. Most people are not having problems and the minority that does (including me!) tend to get all the attention.

Well faster, more stable, handles wind better, and flys more like jet.  Much more fun to fly. Cooler looking, more people come talk to u

Setup time, batteries costs, things break more, and bigger, weights more, repair cost, harder fly, more dangerous if crashes

Abe Posted at 2015-5-26 08:18
What are you expecting will be better on the Inspire than the Phantom 3? If I understand your questi ...

I know the sensor stays the same but I was exactly after the ability to pan the camera without the need to turn around the drone.

Inspire with one controller = you must rotate whole drone (or tap screen)

I have both the P3 and the Inspire and I agree with you.   If you are interested in high quality filming the Inspire and P3 are night and day.   Not because of the camera itself but because of the additional control, distance from the props, stability of the craft and other factors.  

I could never get all of the incredible images on the P3 as I do the Inspire.    I can get some but they are hit and miss.   

I don't think you'll find the Inspire has a different level of reliability than the P3, just been out longer so more horror stories.

The vast majority of us haven't had any trouble and it has behaved as advertised.

Tom Adamec Posted at 2015-5-26 17:40
Inspire with one controller = you must rotate whole drone (or tap screen)

Not really, you can use the custom switchs to change the tilt for the pan with just one controller

I don't have the P3 but a V2+ which is great as a grab and go solution. My Inspire 1 is a cool piece of kit and has the possibility to be great but considering the DJI lack of support and having to ship back to China for a cheap electric motor replacement is ridiculous. Personally I would not purchase again or make any recommendations to others to do so and would look for a different platform as I can't see anything changing for the better in the foreseeable. I can only hope that there is going to be some huge changes in their policies, quality control and support.
I'm convinced that without the continuous efforts of the guys here and on the other forums to better the product we will still be an an Alpha version as opposed to a beta version of the machine.

jimhare Posted at 2015-5-27 15:47
I have both the P3 and the Inspire and I agree with you.   If you are interested in high quality fil ...

Thank you. Does anyone know what's up with the two different sets of props? They had to exchanged?

shayd93@gmail.c Posted at 2015-5-28 00:11
Thank you. Does anyone know what's up with the two different sets of props? They had to exchanged?

For new purchasers this is a non issue.

DJI simplified the design by designing quick release props after the initial release.

So as a show of good will gave early owners the new props for free.

But anyone buying in the last month or so will have just received the new quick release props with the Inspire.

I have been flying Phantom-2 for a whiie. I recently considered buy a Phantom-3 (P3) or a Inspire-1 (I1). I ended up buying an Inspire-1.

When comparing the two drones I concluded the following:

1) Inspire-1, rotor's are above the center of gravity whereas the center of gravity of an Phantom is almost between the rotor blades. This makes th eInspire-1 much  more stable than any phantom
2) The Controller of the I1 has a GPS, the controller of the P3 does not. As a result,  Return to Pilot is possible.
3) The camera of I1 and P3 is comparable, with I1 one may replace the camera if someone ever bothers to produce one.
4)  The speed of the I1 is far greater (up to 80 km/h) than the P3 (up to 50 km/h), if you want to follow a car or speedboat this can be done better with an I1 than a P3.
5) One can steadily fly an Inspire-1 up to Windforce 6 Bft whereas i would not recommend flying a P3 in Windforce 5+ Bft. (in holland this means in can fly 80% of the time with my I1)
6)  With I1 I have not had seen rotors or landing gears in my footage.
7) The 11 camera can turn almost 360 degrees. You don't have to turn the drone itself. In reality, it is quite tedious to pan the camera on the iDevice, so this only makes sense if you have a cameraman and a pilot.

Not all is great about the I1, compared to P3:

a) I1 is much bigger than the P3, it's serious luggage if you bring it along on travel. You can not carry an I1 in a small backpack (I have a bulky backpack for my i1)
b) I1 eats batteries like crasy (15 minutes on a battery is not abnormal), you would need 2-4 batteries to have close to an hour of fun.
c)  The folding/unfolding of the I! is great while flying  but its not convenient to carry the I1 in a bag in landing mode, nor is it convenient to leave the camera mounted in travel mode.
d) If you want to be ready to fly (ie. leave the camera on I1) then yoju need to buy an extra landing-mode case of 400-700 US$
e) The I1 community is a fraction of the size of the Phantom community, It;s much easier to find Phantom info/experiences/tips than for the I1. (DJI rexponds faster to Phantom Community than to Inspire community)
f)  The I1 is better than a P3 but not  three-four times better than a P3, I1 is however three-four times more expensive than a P3. If you are cash-restricted, go for the P3 (a Volvo). If you are not; go for the I1 (a Porsche).

For me, the key driver to buy an I1is that it simply makes me feel safer and  hence i fly more comfortable than with a P3.  I don't have a lot of free time, so i don't want to be further restricted to low wind flying.

If you want to become a (semi-) professional I recommend an I1 over an P3 as well. Customers will be more impressed if you bring an I1 instead of a P3 to a shoot.

HobbyPiloot.nl Posted at 2015-5-28 06:03
I have been flying Phantom-2 for a whiie. I recently considered buy a Phantom-3 (P3) or a Inspire-1  ...

Your post only makes me want Inspire 1 more but I already knew most of the differences. I will hopefully make some money by flying this drone (After a lot of practice of course)

http://www.ebay.com/itm/32176690 ... =STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

Do you still this is legit? The price is very inviting and exclusive for a brand new drone.

shayd93@gmail.c Posted at 2015-6-3 08:55
http://www.ebay.com/itm/321766908277?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

Do  ...

The positive feedback suggests they are on the level.

Not sure where they get $3,999 value from since that package is $2,899 direct from DJI.

They mention FREE HARD CASE but they don't way whether it's the one that comes free with every Inspire.  Even if it's a $1,000 case (why would ANYONE pay $1,000 for a case?) then they are still exaggerating the price.  

http://store.dji.com/product/inspire-1

jimhare Posted at 2015-6-3 11:02
The positive feedback suggests they are on the level.

Not sure where they get $3,999 value from si ...

It's a marketting thing to fool people, I work in that kind of enviroment. But now as I understand there are different revisions of Inspire 1 with the latest one being the 'D' version. I'm guessing the guys on the link I posted want to get rid of their stock pretty fast for some reason. I'm extremely worried about buying 3000$ equipment that may fly away at it's own wish.

shayd93@gmail.c Posted at 2015-6-3 14:45
It's a marketting thing to fool people, I work in that kind of enviroment. But now as I understand ...

I'm pretty sure the majority of proven fly aways (not pilot error) have resulted in a free replacement.   

DJI have been pretty good about taking responsibility for glitches.

But there are people who just shouldn't be flying and just panic when something goes wrong.   

jimhare Posted at 2015-6-3 16:53
I'm pretty sure the majority of proven fly aways (not pilot error) have resulted in a free replacem ...

As long as you can prove it's a fly away, but I'm worried because in videos like this one below:



The drone flies several hundred feet before dropping like a rock, not only the drone will be in pieces but if the unit falls on a person or car it will cause very serious damage or death even!

HobbyPiloot.nl Posted at 2015-5-28 06:03
I have been flying Phantom-2 for a whiie. I recently considered buy a Phantom-3 (P3) or a Inspire-1  ...

I appreciate this write up.  I find it interesting you feel more confident with the inspire than the phantom.  Mine comes on Friday and I will be pairing up with a guy who flys them already.   Looking forward to flying the new bird.        

shayd93@gmail.c Posted at 2015-6-3 23:36
As long as you can prove it's a fly away, but I'm worried because in videos like this one below:

...

I am assuming the owner of this Inspire that feel from the Sky, inverted flight etc. was able to find the Inspire and retrieve the video memory card hence the video.  Therefore they should also be able to send the data logs to DJI as this seriously needs further investigation urgently.

It would also be good customer service for DJI to provide constructive feedback for other owners once they determine the actual cause of the freefall/ flyaway.

Reports like this make me very concerned.