I'm guessing that the hand held gimbal many expect to be released tomorrow would almost certainly target the X5 and have audio bundled. This would 'protect' a $2K investment and give it more user options.
It won't compete with a GoPro as a a traditional action camera you'd take into the surf but more mature (and well heeled) users would love a top-notch gimbal stabilised camera to take weddings, vacations etc. If I were Nikon or Canon, I'd be worried. The new usage model might be to use a smartphone for casual videos and the DJI product for super stable videos / casual stills. Heck, with some tweaks, you'd just leave the video on all the time and grab the best stills to save. Or exploit Apple's 'live motion' shots. Or get super low light shots with long exposures... This could be the dawn of a new imaging paradigm like the way GoPro opened up new vistas in imaging!

The hand held gimbal with the X5R is going to be hard to beat.

DJI-Dave Posted at 2015-10-15 02:05
The hand held gimbal with the X5R is going to be hard to beat.

How?

For what DJI is charging for just the X5R you can get a BMD 4k camera AND a gimbal and get a substantially better image based on what we've seen of the X5R so far. This is admittedly little but, considering what a train wreck the X5 is I don't think many people are super optimistic...

SimplePanda Posted at 2015-10-16 20:20
How?

For what DJI is charging for just the X5R you can get a BMD 4k camera AND a gimbal and get a  ...

Well yeah, I guess we will see...

SimplePanda Posted at 2015-10-16 20:20
How?

For what DJI is charging for just the X5R you can get a BMD 4k camera AND a gimbal and get a  ...

Panda, the X5 is not a train wreck.  It is a great camera/gimbal combination.  The issue in my opinion is that users are looking at it as a Auto everything solution.  The X5 is not that.  I uses manual focus, manual camera settings and it performs well for me.  I have three lenses, 12mm, 15mm and 45mm.  You have to calibrate each lens separately.  ND filters are required in most cases to keep the shutter in the sweet spot for this sensor.

Tahoe_Ed Posted at 2015-10-23 13:28
Panda, the X5 is not a train wreck.  It is a great camera/gimbal combination.  The issue in my opi ...

I'm not sure that's true, Ed.

The shooting system you describe, short of lens calibration, is not unique to the X5. You have to do all the same things with the X3 to get a decent image out of it. You need to shoot in manual mode. You usually need to use an ND filter to keep light out so you can keep your shutter at the correct angle. None of these things are unique to DJI cameras - they're how you get great footage from any camera...

The issue a lot of us are having with the X5 has nothing to do with manual vs auto shooting... it's that it's a $2000 unit delivering $500 worth of performance - a camera with a "pro" price, but decidedly consumer performance.

If the X5 was half as expensive, it'd be right in the wheel house and a lot of people I know (myself included) would be pulling out our wallets. But $2000 for a bit starved, 8-bit, 4:2:0 camera? Yikes.

To be clear, this isn't a PRICE issue. It's a VALUE issue. The X5R is supposed to be coming at around $5000 or so. Assuming it does what it says it'll do, it's worth the money. A 4k CinemaDNG RAW unit with a proper log colour AND included proprietary media (512GB) AND a gimbal? $5000 is a fair price for that product and I'm definitely waiting to see it to consider a purchase.

But the X5? For what it costs, you might as buy an X3 considering what you're getting. The X5 just doesn't offer $2000 worth of value, and none of the footage released so far from the X5 (and there is a lot more if it coming out as people get their units) is changing my mind in that regard.

Have you tried the X5?  I fly it often and have a GH4 and a BMPCC the X5 is my go to camera.  There are many things that come into factoring what gear we use.  Part of it is ease of use, ease of transport and set up.  The Inspire and the X5 are superior in those aspects.  I have three lenses that work on all three cameras.  It makes a great option for what I want to do.  Price and value are in the eyes of the beholder.  If the X5 does not work for you then that is fine.  Many find that there is value there and have purchased them.

Tahoe_Ed Posted at 2015-10-23 20:53
Have you tried the X5?  I fly it often and have a GH4 and a BMPCC the X5 is my go to camera.  There  ...

You have a Z15 GH4 and Z15 BMPCC and prefer the X5?

SimplePanda Posted at 2015-10-16 22:20
How?

For what DJI is charging for just the X5R you can get a BMD 4k camera AND a gimbal and get a  ...

have you managed a gimbal and camera of that size before? its not fun....in fact its a hellish nightmare at times.  The x5r and the osmo really will be hard to beat. raw video plus built in gimbal is groundbreaking plain and simple- im sure there will be nuances and hurdles to get it perfect but the idea were almost there is amazing. I really wish they would release CDNG files from the x5R already.

dustwaterwindfi Posted at 2015-11-2 01:10
have you managed a gimbal and camera of that size before? its not fun....in fact its a hellish nig ...

I have. I've used Ronin, Ronin-M, and most often Movi for gimbals - Steadicam, etc as well.  Weight's definitely an issue with standard gimbals (I usually have someone following me around to hand off to / carry the rack) but the images are worth it.

X5R could be pretty nice on the Osmo - it's just going to be pretty pricey it sounds like. Plus, the lens selection may be problematic.

SimplePanda Posted at 2015-11-2 21:22
I have. I've used Ronin, Ronin-M, and most often Movi for gimbals - Steadicam, etc as well.  Weigh ...

Lens selection will be an issue for sure. But a good wide and medium should do it. I always feel limited on the ronin too. i think steadicam is here to stay most likely forever, but the bigger and bigger ronin and movi's with all of the bells and whistle will be replaced with something like a super 35 raw version of the osmo. 5k is not that much money for a 4k raw camera with a 3 axis gimbal built in. The jury is out on the X5r IQ for sure.

dustwaterwindfi Posted at 2015-11-4 21:15
Lens selection will be an issue for sure. But a good wide and medium should do it. I always feel l ...

Yeah, I guess to be fair I'm always a little annoyed when I'm using a Ronin because some of my longer lenses I want to use for shallow DoF don't play so well on the Ronin. The longer the focal length, the more obvious the little micro jitters are as the Ronin tries to stabilize the image. I find shooting in the 30-50mm range gives the smoothest motion (and if you're going gimbal vs. other methods you're probably after silky smooth motion).