CINESSD - Can it be upgraded?

[Jabolfan]

Just got my full boat I2, but did not buy the CINESSD yet.
Trying to figure out if the SSD in the casing can be replaced with an off the shelf M.2 SSD (would need to match the MFG possibly or just performance)
Any have one and have any insight into what you can and can't do?
Is there a custom firmware on the SSD?
Paying almost $1,000 for a M.2 500GB SSD is just theft

 

[Quadpilot]

Just got my full boat I2, but did not buy the CINESSD yet.
Trying to figure out if the SSD in the casing can be replaced with an off the shelf M.2 SSD (would need to match the MFG possibly or just performance)
Any have one and have any insight into what you can and can't do?
Is there a custom firmware on the SSD?
Paying almost $1,000 for a M.2 500GB SSD is just theft

No, you cannot use any SSDs other than the DJI ones, since there is encryption encoded that allows readout only with the CineSSD reader. Remember, this is not just any M.2 SSD, but has much faster read/write capabilities.

The reason you are paying so much is the integration with the CineSSD hardware onboard the I2. Most high-end camera manufacturers charge license fees to enable use of CinemaDNG or ProRes formats. DJI is not the exception. Same goes for the SSDs: try pricing some ARRI or RED media.

 

[Mark Taylor]

It appears to be a Samsung 960Pro with encryption enabled, so no, we aren't going to be using any alternatives to the DJI item any time soon...

 

[jb.]

No, you cannot use any SSDs other than the DJI ones, since there is encryption encoded that allows readout only with the CineSSD reader. Remember, this is not just any M.2 SSD, but has much faster read/write capabilities.

Actually, it appears the CineSSDs are just M2 SSDs. Probably NVMe drives, but nothing actually special about them except for the enclosure and the encryption to keep you from using off-the-shelf drives.

The reason you are paying so much is the integration with the CineSSD hardware onboard the I2. Most high-end camera manufacturers charge license fees to enable use of CinemaDNG or ProRes formats. DJI is not the exception. Same goes for the SSDs: try pricing some ARRI or RED media.

Actually ARRI cams use SxS Pro cards internally and record ARRIRAW to external recorders like the Convergent Odyssey series. Nothing proprietary about either (Convergent stuff uses off the shelf SSDs).

RED cams do use proprietary REDMags, but those actually ARE more than just an M2 SSD in a fancy case.

I've also never seen any company charge for recording CinemaDNG... since it's an open format. But I could have missed someone doing so.